In 1998 comic book artist, writer and graphic
novelist Frank Miller, known for his work with The Dark Knight, Daredevil and
Wolverine published a graphic novel
titled 300. In 2007, Frank Miller’s
graphic novel was brought to the big screen in the major motion picture 300. It
was a box office smash. Prior to the movie, I knew nothing of Sparta or the
Spartans and honestly, I had no interest in them. After the movie, as a
Soldier, I was captivated by the idea of a culture whose citizens were warriors
to the core. And within the military community, many units quickly adopted
images and the name “Spartans” for their respective unit’s nickname. A friend I
know even refers to his son as “The Spartan Child.” During the first few classes in my Western
Civilization class, I was exposed to some interesting facts about the Spartans and
the Persians. My curiosity was peaked and I wanted to know what was true and what
was “Hollywood” when it came to the portrayal of the Spartans. How were they
able to have a society purely made up of warriors? Did they really discard less
desirable children like in the movie? Did they build homes, farm and hunt? And
most importantly, did 300 Spartans take on the entire Persian Army? I desired
to know the true history about the Spartans, as well as life within their
society.
Movies take liberties when telling stories
and at times this can serve as a tool for you to question and seek the truth,
and expand your knowledge on the subject. Sparta, known
today as Laconia, was located on the southern tip of Greece and is roughly 100
miles south west of Athens. It is surrounded by mountains to the north, east
and west. What’s generally known of the Spartans is that they were a
militaristic society, amazing warriors and just hard as nails which is true.
Members of the Spartan society were socialized into this militaristic way of
life, which began directly after birth. Boys and girls were taken in front of
the elders, known as the Gerousia and their the child was viewed and thoroughly
inspected. If the Gerousia felt the child did not meet their criteria, they
were discarded. In short, they were killed. Children that passed the inspection
were given a bath in wine and returned to their parents where they could grow
up strong and taught to fear nothing (McCutchen, 2000) . At the age of 7, boys were indoctrinated into
a program which focused on survival, fighting, self-reliance and physical
fitness to name a few. This program was called the Agoge. In the movie they
briefly mention the Agoge through dialogue and visual references but nothing in
great detail. The Agoge was a state run and sponsored program which all boys
entered; as part of the training, young boys would be thrust out into society
where they had to fend for themselves which included stealing food since the boys
were not fed. It was believed that by starving a Spartan boy spiritually, you
would make him tall and strong because eating too much would make him short and
fat. When fighting for food, resources, or mere sport, these fights could turn
brutally violent. The Agoge conditioned the boys physically and mentally
sending them down the path to becoming a Spartan warrior.
During the Agoge they were constantly
watched and evaluated. For example, if a boy was caught stealing, he was beaten
and punished. What’s interesting is that he wasn’t punished for the crime of
stealing, he was punished because he was caught or seen stealing. At the age of
12, their official military training began at the hands of older Spartan
warriors. These men were seasoned, in their early 20’s and held the title of Iren. The boys were under the direct
supervision and tutelage of their Iren until they reached the age of 18 at
which time they were considered men.
What isn’t generally known is the two groups
that supported the Spartan’s way of life; those two groups being the Helots and
the Perioeci. This is how were they able to have a society purely made up of
warriors. This is why they didn’t farm, hunt or even build
homes. “Because Spartan men were professional soldiers, all manual labor was done
by a slave class, the Helots (Staff, 2015).” Well in most societies when folks
aren’t doing the manual labor they typically have slaves doing it. Like other
societies, they fought and conquered other areas which led to their massive
slave contingent called the Helots. Calling them “slaves” depended on who you
asked as some referred to the Helots as slaves and other considered them a
class in-between slave and free men. The Helots, which means “captives,”
originated from two major areas: Messenia, which is west of Sparta and Laconia,
which was to the south of Sparta. Helots did all the farming and were required
to give up portions of their harvest to Sparta. They also supported the Spartan
society in roles such as military aids, servants and nurses, just to name a few
of the unskilled jobs they maintained. Since they greatly outnumbered the
Spartans, the ratio was 7 to 1, there needed to be a way of keeping all of
these Helots in check.
“The teenage boys who demonstrated the most
leadership potential were selected for participation in the Crypteia, which
acted as a secret police force whose primary goal was to terrorize the general
Helot population and murder those who were troublemakers. At age 20, Spartan
males became full-time soldiers, and remained on active duty until age 60 (Staff, 2009) .” Typically around
the age of 16, they were selected for admission into the Crypteia. As Crypteia,
the young men were given free rein to do as they pleased in order to keep the
Helots in line. This included beatings, intimidation tactics and even
humiliation. For example, the members of the Crypteia would often get the
Helots intoxicated and make a mockery of them in the streets. This also served
as a lesson to members of the Spartan society as how not to act, especially in
public. Helots who were smart, rebelled or was showed the potential to be an
upstart, were dealt with quickly. The Crypteia were ruthless and to grasp the
extent and the power they were granted, typically once a year in the fall, they
were allowed to kill a Helot and suffer no consequences (Staff, 2009) . The Spartans did
appreciate that a live slave was much better than a dead one. And though they
were treated brutality, they ensured that the Helots were able to continue to
support their way of life.
With the Helots doing the day to day tasks
within the society, the Spartans needed someone to create and furnish their
weapons. This task was performed by another group, the Perioeci. Their stance
within the Spartan society was strange yet unique. Unlike the Helots, the
Perioeci, which means “dwellers-around,” were free men who lived primarily in
the highlands and beach areas. They did have the ability to move freely to
other areas and countries where the Helots and average citizens of Sparta were
not. They also served as a buffer between the Helots, Spartans and other
Greeks.
There is a scene in the movie where King
Leonidas’s wife, Gorgo, interrupts during his conversation with the Emissary
from the Persian Army at which the Emissary protests and asks her what gives
her the right to speak during a man’s conversation. Her reply was short and
quick, “Because only Spartan women give birth to real men!” Now hearing that in
a movie, it can be dismissed as good writing or a great movie quote. But it
seems that the comment was spot on for its depiction of a Spartan woman’s
attitude and demeanor. “The Spartan women were good judges of manhood. A
foreign lady once remarked to the wife of a Spartan commander that the women of
Sparta were the only women in the world who could rule men. "We are the
only women who raise men," the Spartan lady replied (McCutchen) .” We know the men
who were conditioned at an early age and it appears that the women were too. It
was believed that to bare a future Spartan warrior, women needed to be strong
and fit. Not only were the women expected to be mentally strong but they also
exercised and presented a very fit appearance. Unlike women in other areas of
Greece, Spartan women were well read and educated in music, philosophy and the
arts. A strong and healthy mother resulted in a strong and healthy child was
their philosophy. Girls were also paraded in front of boys nude. That way they
could be shamed into staying fit if they indeed were not as fit as their peers
or if they appeared fat (Legends & Chronicles, 2007) . Girls were also
taught to fight and wrestle as these skills were passed on from mother to
daughter. I can only imagine this mentality in today’s society.
At the age of 18, females were given
physical tests and once they passed, like their male counterparts, they were
considered citizens and could look forward to marriage. But the most important
thing was they could now bare Spartan children. If and when a woman decided to
marry she was whisked away by her friends (bridesmaids) to a secret location (Staff, 2009) . Once there they
would shave her head, dress her in men’s clothing and she would await her
husband. Once married, the two would meet in secret for years with him sneaking
out from his military barracks so that he could be with his wife. At the age of
30, he would leave the barracks and they could live together. Sneaking out of
the barracks wasn’t allowed and getting caught resulted in severe punishment
like
when he was young. Again, punishment wasn’t instituted because he snuck out,
but because he was caught sneaking out or back in. “Marriage was important to
Spartans, as the state put pressure on people to have male children who would
grow up to become citizen-warriors, and replace those who died in battle. Men
who delayed marriage were publically shamed, while those who fathered multiple
sons could be rewarded. (Staff, 2009) ”
The Battle of Thermopylae, or known to the
masses as 300 was a battle in which
300 Spartan warriors accompanied their king, King Leonidas, in an attempt to
stop the Persian Army from advancing south to Athens. 300 Spartans fought and
gained access into history. But just how much of the portrayal in the movie was
accurate? As explained, there is a lot more to the story and culture of the
Spartans than revealed in the movie. Leonidas didn’t leave Sparta with just 300
Spartans serving as his personal body guard, enroot to the “Hot Gates,” the
scene of the epic battle. There were actually 6,000 to 7,000 Greeks who
accompanied the 300 plus Spartans as they moved north east to meet the Persians
and stop their advance. The Greeks and Spartans held their own until a Greek
told King Xerxes of a pass that would take them around and through the
mountains which would allow them to attack Leonidas’s forces from the flanks
and rear. Leonidas realized that the Persian Army had begun to maneuver on them
and some of the other Greek fighters; knowing what was surely to happen,
retreated. Leonidas then decided he’d send the majority of his men back to
Sparta and only 300 Hoplites remained at his side (Staff, 2009) . Yes, all male
citizens of Sparta were warriors, however not all were Hoplites. The characters
seen in the movie or what is typically visualized when someone says a “Spartan”
were actually the Hoplites. They were considered the cream of the crop and they
fought using shields, spears and swords; famous for using a tactical formation
called a Phalanx. In this formation each man uses his shield to form a wall and
was linked in with the man next to him. With strength and training, the
Hoplites would fight as one single unit, thrusting with their spears and protecting
with their shields. However this formation was vulnerable from rear and flank
attacks.
The Hoplites that remained at Leonidas’s
side were accompanied by Thespians and Thebans. They fought bravely until all
had been killed. Leonidas and his fellow Spartans did receive the beautiful
death that all Spartans crave however, we now know they were not alone. Like
most dominate societies over time even Sparta could not maintain its supremacy
on the battlefield. The Spartans, in 371
B.C.E. suffered a crippling defeat during the Battle of Leuctra at the hands of
Greeks who had fought alongside them during the Battle of Thermopylae, the
Thebans. General Epaminondas, a Theban General, a year later led a force into
Spartan territory and freed the Messenian Helots who we know to have been
enslaved by the Spartans (Staff, 2009) . As time progressed
the Spartans became a second-rate power in Greece.
Knowing why Hollywood takes liberties when
retelling tales helps you to acknowledge that the movie 300 only covers the spectacular highlights of the Spartan’s.
Focusing on the history of the Spartans makes for great action while omitting
the hard facts, and certainly makes the story of the 300’s heroic deeds and
fighting spirit at the Battle of Thermopylae that much more impressive. But
truth be told, 300 Spartans didn’t fight and die alone. They were rigorously
militaristic society, none which would have happened without the Helots and the
Perioeci. Having thousands of slaves allowed for the focus on war fighting with
no concern for the mundane tasks. When compared to today’s standards, we see
that they went to great extremes to make it so. For example, they killed
children that weren’t fit to live in their society and postured naked young
women and girls in front of boys for the sole purpose of humiliating the flabby
ones. None of this would be acceptable behavior but for a warrior culture like
the Spartans it was fitting. Movies are great entertainment and sometimes they
can be used to retell a historic tale. But take note that movies typically
exaggerate or over emphasize charters and actions. If you want the truth, grab
a history book. You’ll find it has more accurate information than a Hollywood
block buster.
Legends & Chronicles. (2007). Retrieved 04 17, 2015, from Legends &
Chronicles:
http://www.legendsandchronicles.com/ancient-civilizations/ancient-sparta/spartan-women/
McCutchen, W. H. (2000). web.archives.org.
Retrieved April 17, 2015, from 15 Ancient Greek Heroes from Plutarch's Lives:
http://www.e-classics.com/lycurgus.htm
Staff, H. (2009, May 3). History.com/topics/ancient-history/sparta.
Retrieved April 17, 2015, from History.com:
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/sparta
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