This Video Breaks Down the Extreme Training That Made Spartan Soldiers Such a Force to Be Reckoned With

The Infographics Show on YouTube specializes in animations which simply and succinctly summarize complex or obscure subject matter from the realms of history, geography, literature and more. Following on from a post which illustrated the grueling ordeal of “Hell Week” in Navy SEAL training, a more recent video examines the training of a much older military institution: the Spartans.

Known throughout history as fierce warriors, and immortalized in pop culture via the movie 300, the Spartans were famous in the ancient world for having never lost a battle in over 150 years. Thanks to fitness events like the Spartan Race, the name is still synonymous with physical strength and resilience.

Military training in Sparta started at the age of 7. This was when all well-born boys would be inducted into the traditional “agoge,” the traditional tutelage in Spartan society. In addition to learning how to read and write, the curriculum including hunting and athletics. The agoge also came with a strict diet, where students were only permitted to eat a restricted amount of food, in order to prevent them from becoming slow or sluggish in their training (and teach them some “mind over matter” lessons at the same time).

At the age of 18, these students became reserves in the Spartan army, and from there they had a period of 10 years to earn a place as an official soldier. If they failed to do so in that time, they were only granted partial Spartan citizenship; something which would have made them social pariahs.

Check out the video below for a full rundown of Spartan fighting style and military tactics, and the significance of each piece of armor and weaponry:

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