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The Spartan Warrior Way If you were born a male in Sparta about 2500 years ago, you had no real chance to choose a profession. One profession chose all boys. That profession was the life of a soldier. Unlike Athens, which encouraged the “finer” aspects of life, such as arts and philosophy, the ethos of Sparta revolved around the warrior culture (in other words, the over-the-top machismo that runs through the movie 300 may not be an exaggeration after all). Spartan males started the journey to warriorhood as early as...

Food of the Spartan Warrior Spartans were fierce warriors who lived to fight. Boys were trained the ways of the sword and spear from an early age and by the time they joined the army, they were killing machines feared and admired by the enemy in equal measure. To complement their obviously formidable military training was a diet to match. That figures. Leonidas’ 300 repelled Xerxes’ enormous army of men and beasts not just by fighting skill but a stamina that’d make modern CrossFitters seem like casual morning joggers. ...

The Greek Shield "To lose one's shield is the basest of crimes," wrote the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. "Come back with your shield or upon it," says the Spartan mother to her son in another popular anecdote. For over two millennia, the shield was a vital cog in the military armory. Of course, it has never been exalted like the sword or other weapons. But, in ancient times, the shield was viewed as the mark of a warrior, even more so than the weapons he carried. Here, we focus on a G...