Re:Agoge
by hirundo on Wednesday August 26, 2020 @10:13AM
(#24282639)
Given spartan relative military dominance in that era, it did produce skilled soldiers. But it's quite possible that the skills required to function well in a shield wall are compatible with being broken and dysfunctional otherwise. That's a common modern trope, e.g., with Vietnam vets.
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According to the article I quoted (specifically, part VI [1]), their military dominance is a bit of a myth, and was more based on reputation even at the time.
[1] https://acoup.blog/2019/09/20/collections-this-isnt-sparta-p...
>the skills required to function well in a shield wall are compatible with being broken and dysfunctional otherwise
Thebes, with their sacred band, would suggest that broken men gets trashed by men fighting for love.
Well, ACOUP also argues that sparta really never was very militarily dominant in the major wars (ie with persia/athens), and even in their local area, they largely dominated through their large population of helots (slaves), winning by number rather than military prowess or individual fighging capabilities
Actually, one of the defining features of hoplite armies is that they didn't require a lot of skill. Hoplite armies were pretty much blunt force instruments. And yet, even within that context, Spartan armies were pretty bad on a tactical level.