As a former US Marine I am no stranger to tough training. From all I can gather from history books, documentary films and other sources there has never been a more perfect warrior culture than that of the Spartans. US Marines are exceptionally well trained for war. Spartans, however, were bred for it. Every aspect of Spartan culture was aimed directly toward creating and maintaining the most elite fighting force ever devised. The only weakness that I could ever find was the Spartan's outright refusal to utilize archery in any way. They viewed archery as a weakness, a coward's weapon. If the Spartans had employed even a small contingent of archers behind the Phalanx Xerxes forces would not have had the chance to flank Leonidas. Xerxes forces would all have been dead or fled by day two. Xerxes, on the other hand, had everything from foot archers to horse archers to heavily armored chariot archers. This was Xerxes strength. His infantry had simple leather armor and wicker shields that were easily torn asunder. Had Leonidas been sending continuous volleys of arrows raining down on Xerxes rearward troops while grinding the front line with his impenetrable phalanx I honestly believe that Leonidas would have prevailed and sent Xerxes forces fleeing to the four winds well before the goat path was discovered! Even still, the Spartans pyrrhic victory at Thermopylae will echo through through history for ages yet to come as a standard of courage for every warrior. The Spartans were truly an amazing tribe of warriors.
The Spartans may have been the best individual soldiers of their time, but the very system that produced those soldiers had many flaws, flaws that ultimately doomed the city-state. To briefly summarize: a city run by disloyal, terrified slaves who far outnumbered Spartans. A harsh and selective training process that ensured a relatively small army. A military culture that almost completely refused to evolve or adapt combined arms tactics. And an attitude towards routing/surrendering that insured when they were defeated, the losses were catastrophic.
@MrRensoku I believe the warriors sent to guard that "hidden pass" were NOT spartans...but were from the local area. When they thought the Persians would attack their own villages, it was then that they left their posts and went to their village's defense.
Fun fact, the letter L ( Λ) on the Spartan shield means "ΛΑΚΕΔΕΜΟΝΙΟΙ" . The American military uses it on tanks, pretending to be badass.... Of course no modern soldier can actually reach even the testicles of a Spartan warrior.
Yakob Izzrael Dude, as a Greek I ask you to please stfu. You know less than nothing, quoting garbage...Even the bible was written almost 500 years after the fact....moron.
I'd like to have seen you mention how Leonidas was not the last Spartan killed. He fell during the last stand. The Spartans were enraged and fought their way to his body. As the Spartans surrounded and guarded Leonidas' body, the Persians were unable to retrieve it. The Persians withdrew and killed the Spartans with volleys of arrows as they were unable to continue a melee.
"...didn't win the battle..." The Greek forces crippled the Persian army so thoroughly that the Persians had to cancel their invasion and try again several years later when they had rebuilt their fleet and conscripted basically a whole new army. Considering that the initial objective was to buy time until the rest of Greece noticed how serious the situation was, I would call this an incredible victory for the Greeks and one of the most crushing defeats in history for the Persians. You also left out the part where half the Persian ships were destroyed by unexpectedly pointy rocks before they even landed.
Read your history. The stand of Thermopylae, though brave, made barely a dent on the Persian army, and the outcome of the war would likely have been the same even if the battle was never fought. Also, that thing about spartans never surrendering or retreating? False. Happened on many occasions and the only reason that idea came about in the first place was because of Thermopylae. A lot of these "Facts" Are more like "severely stretched truths"
misconception is spartans did surrender or retreat, what they didn't forgive was routing: you can surrender if you have no chance of victory, you'll live to fight another day, you can retreat to reorganize, but if you leave your weapons and flee, that's a big no no
Probably not a chicken Man that's dogsh*t...It did delay the persians invasion to Greece and it did make a difference and the outcome of the war would likely not had been the same as well as also reducing persians morale by a lot...As far as Spartans never surrendering or retreating I don't know much about that happening but if you know of any battles they surrendered or retreated I'd like to know about that tell me about it from a reliable source the battles that they surrendered...
+Probably Not A Chicken Actually, if the battle wasn't fought, there would most likely be no soldiers garrisoned there, as it would be stupidity to not come from Thracia. In almost every scenario imaginable, there would be an invasion from Thracia.
The Spartans stood in the middle of the line, and Leonidas stood in the middle of the Spartans. And oh by the way, he was 60 years old. Truly one of histories greatest badasses.
Jack Carressa I don't want to disrespect your opinion but I would like it if you could tell me more about the subject and the tactics why do you think they are wrong?
Agree, however were 3,000 soldiers in the thermopilas, led by Spartans who refused to withdraw, then the legend was born, while others left they stayed.
I alway thought "then we shall fight in the shade" was the best. Referring to the arrows of the Persians being so numerous as to block out the sun. Original bad ass cool.
Yes going around killing unarmed people(the surrounding greek nations) once in a while like in the purge is not horrifying.They were a military dictatorship who despised democratic values(not horrifying at all)
When Philipus of macedonia( Alexanders father) conquered Greece he gave the spartans a message, saying If he wins the war against them, they will be forever his slaves if they don't surrender. The spartan answer was: If. Philippus and alexander both stayed clear of sparta and left it alone. Now that is bad ass.
And that my friends, is one of the examples of the origin we have today for the phrase "Laconian speech"... Simple, to the point, non-flamboyant speech that gets the point across. For those who don't know, Laconia is the region Sparta was in.
12 year old Spartan boys were allowed to take part in a contest, where every one of them got whipped 30 times. the ones that did not cry or scream while getting whipped, got a bust (statue) with their names on, in a central street of Sparta!!! When the Persians arrived for the first time, an athenian messenger was sent to Sparta, to ask for help . arriving at the kings palast, he noticed, that there were no guards at all, so he just walked on, till he met the king, playing at that moment with his daughter. he asked if the king is not afraid of assasinators, living in there without any bodyguards. the king answered to him, that no assasinator would anyway have a chance against him...
@@aidandavis6530 If you were being sarcastic you would have spelled the word the same as the OP. But you couldn't manage that, so it looks like a correction. If you want to be a smart arse, get it right.
Molon Labe (or ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ) is a classical Greek phrase meaning “come and take [them],” attributed to Spartan King Leonidas as a defiant response to the demand that his army lay down their weapons.
edgar tovar Spatans see a kind of life-philosophy or mindset, in expressing themselves precise, but still with a small number of words in their phrases. some where else, the greeks would have said: "come and receive them", but the spartans would say:" come, receive", because they were sure, that that would be enough to not get misunderstood. and believe me, they never got misunderstood. the prototype of a Spartan in modern measures, is Clint Eastwood in his gunman-roles, in Italowestern films (of sergio leone). Imagine a State, where everybody works not for himself, but for the State, and all behave like the clint Eastwood film character. on the other side, in Athens , people speak and discussed a lot, and so democracy arose... tha athenians also dispised doing stuff only for oneselves, the State was always equal important. "idiot" means still nowadays "a person taking care of private business, ignoring the State", and bacame in Athens a very big isult beiing called like that. later, every body took over this word, but only few know how it arose.
It's a famous ancient Greek phrase. If you want to say it in ancient Greek just say "Molon lave". but you say the "o" like in the word "wrong" and the "a" like in the word "have".
300 is actually pretty accurate. They only changed a few things for cinematic purposes. Like, it wasn't King Leonidas that kicked the Persian messanger into the well, but it did happen some ten years prior to the battle of Thermopolyae. And the mystics with the girl they called the oracle. Those salt fumes that she breathed in, they are highly hallucinogenic, and it is strongly recomended that nobody get high off them. The battle really did last two days. And the Spartans had killed so many Persians that they were demoralised, and lost the war shortly after. The Persians really did bring their country with them to fight. Meaning that they brought elephants, rhinoceroses, and grandes made from pottery containers that they called magic. All in an attempt to scare their enemies into surrendering. And Spartan women really did use their sexuality to get members of congress to act in their favor.
Well it probably wouldn't even be possible. None of the actual ethnic Spartans were anything but child-birthers (women) and soldiers (men). Everything is money, a country can focus purely on economy, simply develop a strong weapon with that stability and money and easily kill all of a nation that did that focused on a largely ineffective program like that. Individual prowess like this is useless for modern war. However, I personally would like to see the same thing applied but to Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. You could probably create individuals that are considered "geniuses" in other countries.
The Turks took over Greece 1453AC, till 1838AC. A long time, but did not manage to set a foot on Sparta... the people are still gut soldiers, and it is also isolated Up on a mountain... later, cities with naval ports became much more important, because of trading...
Most feared warriors of all was the celts romans greeks feared most because man and wife fought together only ppl who had women warriors putting men only armies to shame!
Really great video but an important note is that it wasn't really just 300 Spartan soldiers alone. When Leonidas discovered that Xerxes learned of the goat path that would allow him to surround the Greek army, Leonidas released his 5,000 Greek allied forces to retreat to a more defensible position because he knew they would be doomed. He also knew the Persian army was too close for them to safely retreat so he and his 300 Spartans stayed behind to hold the position but he also forced the 400 Theban soldiers to stay and fight because they were sympathetic to the Persians. Aside from that, 700 Thespians volunteered to stay as well, claiming they would not let the Spartans die alone. So the force was actually just short of 1,400 soldiers, not 300. Still very impressive odds.
there were 300 Spartan warriors and the rest were citizens of other city states who took up arms so really it was 300 Spartans and some well intentioned amateurs
I saw a documentary on the History channel several years ago. Most of the facts presented there were also in this video, but there was at least one discrepancy. That being the age at which Spartan males went to live in the barracks; according to the documentary, it was age 5, not seven. Also, when the boys were punished when they got caught stealing, they, in fact, were not being punished for stealing, but for getting caught. This was due to the fact that if a Spartan soldier was somehow cut off from his unit, he;d be expected to survive any way he could, including stealing what ever he needed.Also, yes, they were lashed, but, only until the boy asked for the beating to be stopped. However, because it was a point of pride and honor to NOT ask for the beating to be stopped, it was not uncommon for a boy to be beaten to death. The battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartan Hoplites AND their 'battle squires" Hellots who had earned the right to serve a Spartan soldier directly. Most of these Helots knew how to use weaponry, though their primary purpose was to carry the Spartan soldiers food, water, extra weapons (to replace those that would inevitably break during a battle,) and other extra equipment.Still, at the battle of Thermopylae,many of the battle squires ended up in actual combat, due to the need for numbers. Oh and the two men who survived the battle? This was due to their being physically ill, which kept them from fighting. A third said "F-it" and fought anyway. It should also be noted, the Helots were not slaves, though the Spartans did keep slaves, as did MOST Greeks. The Helots were however, second class citizens. All in all, though, a great video.
-Revived Spartans: We came here to meet our ascendants... And we still cannot see where they're hidden. Perhaps behind the crowd of those chubby people talking to rectangles in some weird language? -Random Spartan soldier: Maybe they died a long time ago? -Revived Spartans: LOLOLOLOLOLOL... Oh...
-Revived Spartans: We came here to meet our ascendants... And we still cannot see where they're hidden. Perhaps behind the crowd of those chubby people talking to rectangles in some weird language? -Random Spartan soldier: Maybe they died a long time ago? -Revived Spartans: LOLOLOLOLOLOL... Oh...
A proper series. Like ‘Game of Thrones’ scale proper. Roughly hour long episodes, some longer, some shorter, and they accurately depict what happened during those days/years.
of cource they could have wifes and children, but lived separated till they get 30. they visited their families daily, but slept every night still in the army barracks... by the age of 30, they were more or less obliged to get married... so to say, do what you want, but we expect that you get married at latest when you are around 30 years old... it is like women in the western civilisation untill before 60 years: if they were not married by the age of 30, it looked pretty stange...
One would think that with all the male bonding between 7 and 30 -- key developmental years -- that there would have been a lot of bisexuality among the boys/men, maybe among the women, too. I believe people are born with their sexuality (90+% hetero), but the culture could/would have promoted same-sex affairs.
There is a pretty curious unproven speculaton, proposing, that it is logical, that the 300 Spartans of the battle of Thermopylae consisted out of 150 pairs, and the reason was, that those two soldiers in a pair not only knew each others fighting tactic perfect, in order to form, both together, a perfect killing machine, but were also sentimentaly bound to each other , in order to protect each others life with his own life...
Time travelling Leonidas and his 300 arrive in the 21st century America to see locals arguing over whether men are women.... Justice gets dispensed... That's the movie I want to see.
the Spartans were so strong and powerful that not even Alexander the Great dared attack the city state. and when the Romans eventually took the city, the legions had been all but destroyed by Spartan resistance
Sparta didn’t have the strongest army they were more politically advanced than any other Greek state/city but Argos had the strongest army while Sparta was known for its women and politics
I didn't know that part of Spartan battle against the Romans, it may have been a terrible one. Adding the fact that the Spartans were no more in their glory day as the King Leonidas and that they were not fighting weak persian eastern units but professional troops that were destined to changed the world
@@jeffjacob5479 Nope. They were still around, and were avoided. It could be for two reasons, though. Spartan lands were poor. And Sparta kept it that way on purpose. Basically ensured that no conqueror would come after them due to an abundance of resources. King Philip I also avoided them, and was famous for getting the reply "if" and "neither" on his initial messages to them. As someone mentioned, they didn't have the strongest army. It's like saying the SAS is the strongest army, it's pointless, as their numbers are to few. Spartans produced what we could consider "Special OP forces". That's really it. They had the strongest fighters. But having the strongest fighters doesn't mean you'll win.
Alexander the Great's father, Philip II of Macedon, tried to annex Sparta after subduing several other Greek city-states. He sent a message: "If I invade Laconia I shall turn you out." The Spartans replied with a single word: "If." There was no invasion.
Sparta was like a sleeping beast quiet and keeping to themselves until ticked then they could take over the modern world Sparta did everything right in terms of military and mental destruction
THANK YOU FOR SERVING to all of you who were nobley in our US military !!! I live in a military family where my husband and his brother-in-law, who we help, are 100% service connected US disabled veterans. To be honest, sometimes I don't do it right and get tired and not very sweet = WHAT AN INSPIRATION THESE SPARTAN WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE !!! The wives used to say, when their men went into battle, "SPARTAN. COME BACK WITH YOUR SHIELD OR ON IT !!!" WOW, ISN"T THAT SOMETHING.....C.H.
we are ok here tbh money or not weather and lifestyle helps a lot combined with my view from my balcony direct to Acropolis , but i am packing my stuff to Germany ,... money issues
I remember when I was in fifth grade me and my friends made a game called 300. 1-3 people will be off the equipment and trying to get on and climb to the top while 1-5 people try to keep them from getting on. We called it 300 because my friend was almost at the top and I pushed him off while yelling "THIS IS SPARTA!!!" he was OK btw
Theres finally a video game thats AAA that uses the Spartan Lore....AC Odyssey ....YAY!!! well there was another, Titan Quest and its a fantastic game just over 10 years old and it wasnt full 3D it was a diablo style 2D game, but still great visuals for that style even in 2019. I LOVE LEONIDOS and the 300 spartans, the 1st movie in the mid 2000s was amazing.
My ancestors are Spartans from Greece and I'm a American Greek who served the marines in the Korean and Vietnam war. War is part of life either at home or abroad.
What we consider Horrifying if not inhumane today, was honorable and expected back then. This training and expectations often then not elongated their life's in peace time and ensured less losses in battle.
Your voice and facial features remind me of an Englishman that did breakfast commercial's back in the 80's... Yes, I'm that old lol "and YES, I would like the Biscuits and gravy also"
The 300 spartons didn't actually die like they did in the movie. Leonitas actually fell in battle before many of his other men and then fighting continued as the rest of the men struggled to save leonitas's body, but to no avail.
John Xray Actually noone knows what happened. Some people say that Leonidas was the last man standing for at least ten minutes before he died. Noone survived there to know for sure :/
Phalanx is a Greek word and "The Phalanx" formation was used by many Greek City States and regions, It dates back way before Alexander the Great. Philip II of Macedon (Alexanders father) invented the 8 meter long Pike (The Sarissa) and adopted it into his armies Phalanx formation with devastating effect....Alexander was a military genius, but he inherited a fantastic armed force from his father Philip II Neither Alexander nor Philip invented "The Phalanx", but like all Greek Hoplites (armed Warrior) they used it!
Not to mention there is a difference between phalanx and shield wall formation. The Spartans mostly used the shield wall, as it was far more fluid in battle, whilst the phalanx was more limiting.
Your pronunciations of some of the words are funny..... Xerxes is one that I giggled at... Such a great video! Love the research you put into it and how quickly you gave information with such little time. Very great vid guys!! Subb'n fa sho!
@A Scam Involving Corndogs hell no!! I grew up in the late 80s early 90s. Everything except the the older men having sex with boys part.. I'm not down with raping underage people of any kind yuck!!
Roman legions were very different from Greek military, and they were already formed before they conquered Greece. The Romans actually copied their army more from other latin tribes, switching from their original hoplite-style battle wall to a more flexible manipulic system, where men were divided into groups that could move around when ordered. The Scutum shield was copied from the Celts of northern Italy, as was their chainmail and the famous montefortino helmet. Their navy was copied from the Carthaginians. The Roman military changed and evolved over time, and their equipment varied regionally. For example the western legions wore chainmail and a short sword, bu eastern legions would use scale armour and spears due to the prevalence of horse archery in the eastern regions etc. Basically, whenever an enemy managed to defeat the Romans or inflict heavy casualties or other difficulties on them, they adopted their enemies equipment or tactics. In Fact, the reason why Rome conquered so much territory while Sparta did not, was because Romans constantly adopted new ideas and employed them, while Spartans refused to change with their enemies.
Wow I’ve just been watching recently released videos on the Side Projects Channel and Simon has a much longer beard and it was shocking to see him here with a short beard and he looks thinner in the face too
"Why do the Spartans fight with such short swords?"
"So that we may get close to our enemy."
"That and we're not compensating for anything."
Laconic phrase aka spartan wit
What about the Spartan spear?
@@gardenstateshake8238 their opponents needed to earn the right to get murdered in close quarters
@@gardenstateshake8238 Phalanx formation wouldn't have worked without the length
As a former US Marine I am no stranger to tough training. From all I can gather from history books, documentary films and other sources there has never been a more perfect warrior culture than that of the Spartans. US Marines are exceptionally well trained for war. Spartans, however, were bred for it. Every aspect of Spartan culture was aimed directly toward creating and maintaining the most elite fighting force ever devised. The only weakness that I could ever find was the Spartan's outright refusal to utilize archery in any way. They viewed archery as a weakness, a coward's weapon. If the Spartans had employed even a small contingent of archers behind the Phalanx Xerxes forces would not have had the chance to flank Leonidas. Xerxes forces would all have been dead or fled by day two. Xerxes, on the other hand, had everything from foot archers to horse archers to heavily armored chariot archers. This was Xerxes strength. His infantry had simple leather armor and wicker shields that were easily torn asunder. Had Leonidas been sending continuous volleys of arrows raining down on Xerxes rearward troops while grinding the front line with his impenetrable phalanx I honestly believe that Leonidas would have prevailed and sent Xerxes forces fleeing to the four winds well before the goat path was discovered! Even still, the Spartans pyrrhic victory at Thermopylae will echo through through history for ages yet to come as a standard of courage for every warrior. The Spartans were truly an amazing tribe of warriors.
The Spartans may have been the best individual soldiers of their time, but the very system that produced those soldiers had many flaws, flaws that ultimately doomed the city-state. To briefly summarize: a city run by disloyal, terrified slaves who far outnumbered Spartans. A harsh and selective training process that ensured a relatively small army. A military culture that almost completely refused to evolve or adapt combined arms tactics. And an attitude towards routing/surrendering that insured when they were defeated, the losses were catastrophic.
@MrRensoku I believe the warriors sent to guard that "hidden pass" were NOT spartans...but were from the local area. When they thought the Persians would attack their own villages, it was then that they left their posts and went to their village's defense.
very informative. you a history teacher?
Soldiers take life; Warriors defend life. You're a soldier.. and so were the Spartans. My point? Know the difference. :)
Fun fact, the letter L ( Λ) on the Spartan shield means "ΛΑΚΕΔΕΜΟΝΙΟΙ" . The American military uses it on tanks, pretending to be badass.... Of course no modern soldier can actually reach even the testicles of a Spartan warrior.
Damn that moment when you realize that every spartan who ever made it to 45 was more badass then you'll ever hope to be.
Yahshwah Andressohn had to be harder than a coffin nail
Yakob Izzrael
STAHP IT.
Yakob Izzrael Dude, as a Greek I ask you to please stfu. You know less than nothing, quoting garbage...Even the bible was written almost 500 years after the fact....moron.
Leonidas was in his late 40s in the battle of thermopyles
Anyone who beats dark souls already gets that title
"Imagine being bullied by someone in school and your teacher would come over and join in too"
I don't have too, seen it happen.
boo hoo
Same here
@Jackie Price Over 20 years too late my friend, but I appreciate it.
Save as many as you can.
Weren't you home schooled?
Kids need more bullying nowadays
I'd like to have seen you mention how Leonidas was not the last Spartan killed. He fell during the last stand. The Spartans were enraged and fought their way to his body. As the Spartans surrounded and guarded Leonidas' body, the Persians were unable to retrieve it. The Persians withdrew and killed the Spartans with volleys of arrows as they were unable to continue a melee.
"...didn't win the battle..."
The Greek forces crippled the Persian army so thoroughly that the Persians had to cancel their invasion and try again several years later when they had rebuilt their fleet and conscripted basically a whole new army. Considering that the initial objective was to buy time until the rest of Greece noticed how serious the situation was, I would call this an incredible victory for the Greeks and one of the most crushing defeats in history for the Persians.
You also left out the part where half the Persian ships were destroyed by unexpectedly pointy rocks before they even landed.
Read your history. The stand of Thermopylae, though brave, made barely a dent on the Persian army, and the outcome of the war would likely have been the same even if the battle was never fought.
Also, that thing about spartans never surrendering or retreating? False. Happened on many occasions and the only reason that idea came about in the first place was because of Thermopylae.
A lot of these "Facts" Are more like "severely stretched truths"
misconception is spartans did surrender or retreat, what they didn't forgive was routing: you can surrender if you have no chance of victory, you'll live to fight another day, you can retreat to reorganize, but if you leave your weapons and flee, that's a big no no
Probably not a chicken Man that's dogsh*t...It did delay the persians invasion to Greece and it did make a difference and the outcome of the war would likely not had been the same as well as also reducing persians morale by a lot...As far as Spartans never surrendering or retreating I don't know much about that happening but if you know of any battles they surrendered or retreated I'd like to know about that tell me about it from a reliable source the battles that they surrendered...
+Probably Not A Chicken Actually, if the battle wasn't fought, there would most likely be no soldiers garrisoned there, as it would be stupidity to not come from Thracia. In almost every scenario imaginable, there would be an invasion from Thracia.
Read Herodotus for the whole story :)
The Spartans stood in the middle of the line, and Leonidas stood in the middle of the Spartans. And oh by the way, he was 60 years old. Truly one of histories greatest badasses.
He was never ment to be king nor rule
They were all gay
@@idimmueleven7585 like you.
@@idimmueleven7585 Nope
In his 70's actually.
I have seen a lot of bullshit videos about Spartans but this was not one of them, very good job bro. Respect from Greece.
Jack Carressa I don't want to disrespect your opinion but I would like it if you could tell me more about the subject and the tactics why do you think they are wrong?
Spartans surrender to Athenas in some batles, just the nobles are Spartans, like a army they dont are so great.
Agree, however were 3,000 soldiers in the thermopilas, led by Spartans who refused to withdraw, then the legend was born, while others left they stayed.
Murilo exactly :)
The Thespians also remained to make a last stand. Why are they ignored, by history?
Today "children stop fighting, lets talk!"
Back then in Sparta "children, stop talking and fight !"
In which Leonidas replied
"COME AND GET THEM!!!!!!"
Lol.. Most epic moment in history and in cinema.
I alway thought "then we shall fight in the shade" was the best. Referring to the arrows of the Persians being so numerous as to block out the sun. Original bad ass cool.
Terry Peart
Yes of course that's a very epic moment as well.
HELLASgate7 He said "ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ" not "Come and get them"
Which means come and take them
Μολων λαβε
Well some of them felt more like badass facts rather than horrifying ones.
I liked it either way
jonathan smith horrifying....for their enemy
Yes going around killing unarmed people(the surrounding greek nations) once in a while like in the purge is not horrifying.They were a military dictatorship who despised democratic values(not horrifying at all)
actually it was a military communism to be exact
When Philipus of macedonia( Alexanders father) conquered Greece he gave the spartans a message, saying If he wins the war against them, they will be forever his slaves if they don't surrender. The spartan answer was: If. Philippus and alexander both stayed clear of sparta and left it alone. Now that is bad ass.
And that my friends, is one of the examples of the origin we have today for the phrase "Laconian speech"... Simple, to the point, non-flamboyant speech that gets the point across. For those who don't know, Laconia is the region Sparta was in.
*Battle of megalopolis has entered the chat*
12 year old Spartan boys were allowed to take part in a contest, where every one of them got whipped 30 times. the ones that did not cry or scream while getting whipped, got a bust (statue) with their names on, in a central street of Sparta!!!
When the Persians arrived for the first time, an athenian messenger was sent to Sparta, to ask for help . arriving at the kings palast, he noticed, that there were no guards at all, so he just walked on, till he met the king, playing at that moment with his daughter. he asked if the king is not afraid of assasinators, living in there without any bodyguards. the king answered to him, that no assasinator would anyway have a chance against him...
" assassinator" bruh
@@aidandavis6530 Did you seriously correct his spelling?? The word is assassin, you're both wrong.
Caoimhe Goggins 1,000 IQ plays. Notice the quotation marks troglodyte
@@aidandavis6530 If you were being sarcastic you would have spelled the word the same as the OP. But you couldn't manage that, so it looks like a correction. If you want to be a smart arse, get it right.
@@Gogs126 he's pointing out the mistake, not correcting it Sherlock
How great was Leonidas's last stand that we still write songs about it today!
The Spartans would react violently to the show My 600lb Life.
Just one word for the spartans. Respect.
Just three words for the spartans. THIS IS SPARTA!
I will always love this phrase, "THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!".
Cringe_Destroyer what about Molon Labe?
Molon lave = come, receive! just 2 words, as the answer of Leonidas, when asked to give up their weapons, before the battle begann...
Molon Labe (or ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ) is a classical Greek phrase meaning “come and take [them],” attributed to Spartan King Leonidas as a defiant response to the demand that his army lay down their weapons.
edgar tovar
Spatans see a kind of life-philosophy or mindset, in expressing themselves precise, but still with a small number of words in their phrases. some where else, the greeks would have said: "come and receive them", but the spartans would say:" come, receive", because they were sure, that that would be enough to not get misunderstood. and believe me, they never got misunderstood. the prototype of a Spartan in modern measures, is Clint Eastwood in his gunman-roles, in Italowestern films (of sergio leone). Imagine a State, where everybody works not for himself, but for the State, and all behave like the clint Eastwood film character. on the other side, in Athens , people speak and discussed a lot, and so democracy arose... tha athenians also dispised doing stuff only for oneselves, the State was always equal important. "idiot" means still nowadays "a person taking care of private business, ignoring the State", and bacame in Athens a very big isult beiing called like that. later, every body took over this word, but only few know how it arose.
Klaus Brinck small number of words forming lives
The " Special Forces" of the ancient world.
Lay down your arms...
Sparta: Come and get them.
Doesn't get more badass than that.
First scene was the best. This is Sparta!
It's a famous ancient Greek phrase. If you want to say it in ancient Greek just say "Molon lave". but you say the "o" like in the word "wrong" and the "a" like in the word "have".
After watching this its got me in the mood to watch 300
Me too
watch the 300 spartans its older but better
Please uí
Read gates of fire by Stephen Pressfield for the aftermath of the defeat.
Those Spartans were a hardhearted breed of people. Wow!
who kept slaves and constantly practiced excessive homosexuality and that doesn't bother you
I would love to see a movie that depicts the Spartans accurately
would be damn interesting to see a system with innate chronical flaws slowly decaying into a state of impotency
Watch the first movie about the Spartan 300 it`s very close, it`s in B+W.
300 duh
the 300 spartans older but better
300 is actually pretty accurate. They only changed a few things for cinematic purposes. Like, it wasn't King Leonidas that kicked the Persian messanger into the well, but it did happen some ten years prior to the battle of Thermopolyae.
And the mystics with the girl they called the oracle. Those salt fumes that she breathed in, they are highly hallucinogenic, and it is strongly recomended that nobody get high off them.
The battle really did last two days. And the Spartans had killed so many Persians that they were demoralised, and lost the war shortly after.
The Persians really did bring their country with them to fight. Meaning that they brought elephants, rhinoceroses, and grandes made from pottery containers that they called magic. All in an attempt to scare their enemies into surrendering.
And Spartan women really did use their sexuality to get members of congress to act in their favor.
These people were hearty to the point of not being understandable to modern folk. They were each a super hero in and of themselves.
“I’m just big-boned” 😂 Tell that to the spartans and get rekt!
What if some country had a similar program to spartan agoge today? can you imagine the outrage of the international comunity?
***** i mean an actuall military unit of modern spartans all trained from childhood.
Nikola Petrović It would be discouraged since that kind of treatment is extremely inhumane.
***** What do you mean its called media?
woah I almost cut myself on Audree's edge
Well it probably wouldn't even be possible. None of the actual ethnic Spartans were anything but child-birthers (women) and soldiers (men). Everything is money, a country can focus purely on economy, simply develop a strong weapon with that stability and money and easily kill all of a nation that did that focused on a largely ineffective program like that. Individual prowess like this is useless for modern war.
However, I personally would like to see the same thing applied but to Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. You could probably create individuals that are considered "geniuses" in other countries.
WHAT!? So This is The 1st Spartan Program Ever.
Yeah sorry bro
Yes, and that too without any genetic engineering or power armor!
Dude there were 2 halo spartan projects before you. They just weren't call Spartans
@@speedercat154 I think he’s calling the Greek Spartans more warrior than those from project Orion
I mean, there's the Michigan State Spartans but they suck
Im Greek and i must say your "GREEK WORD" accent IS QUITE GOOD M8 ...KUDOS :)
hey man so how is the place that sparta was located now a days ? is it just rocks? or something are there any remains ?
talis2797 Dude Sparta still exists as a city :P
omggg dude i soo wanna go there haha awesome man
talis2797 Its a small town but still ..there are monuments too see ...
The Turks took over Greece 1453AC, till 1838AC. A long time, but did not manage to set a foot on Sparta... the people are still gut soldiers, and it is also isolated Up on a mountain... later, cities with naval ports became much more important, because of trading...
I just keep imagining how tough spartan kids would be, growing up like that.
Most feared warriors of all was the celts romans greeks feared most because man and wife fought together only ppl who had women warriors putting men only armies to shame!
Really great video but an important note is that it wasn't really just 300 Spartan soldiers alone. When Leonidas discovered that Xerxes learned of the goat path that would allow him to surround the Greek army, Leonidas released his 5,000 Greek allied forces to retreat to a more defensible position because he knew they would be doomed. He also knew the Persian army was too close for them to safely retreat so he and his 300 Spartans stayed behind to hold the position but he also forced the 400 Theban soldiers to stay and fight because they were sympathetic to the Persians. Aside from that, 700 Thespians volunteered to stay as well, claiming they would not let the Spartans die alone. So the force was actually just short of 1,400 soldiers, not 300. Still very impressive odds.
They were 7000...but actually only 300 from Sparta!
He literally said that in the video. Do you mofos fully watch anything before typing?
there were 300 Spartan warriors and the rest were citizens of other city states who took up arms so really it was 300 Spartans and some well intentioned amateurs
Greek: Spartan why your sword is so small?
Spartan: Its long enough to reach your hearth.
Your what?
Hearth. Like the "fireplace" or "home".
I've been a subscriber for many years, this video has been sitting here, for 4 years, I finally decided I'd watched it, tonight.🤔 Oh boy!🙂
I have kicked sooo many people in the chest because of that movie.
Did you cause serious damage?
what pit did you kick them?
He Sparta Kicked them, what do you think?
Yakob Izzrael Troll.
Yakob Izzrael You did nothing, I felt nothing, and if you drop dead in the woods nobody would care cause nobody saw it.
,I Respect Spartans who Died for their Land . Respect From Turkey
I saw a documentary on the History channel several years ago. Most of the facts presented there were also in this video, but there was at least one discrepancy. That being the age at which Spartan males went to live in the barracks; according to the documentary, it was age 5, not seven. Also, when the boys were punished when they got caught stealing, they, in fact, were not being punished for stealing, but for getting caught. This was due to the fact that if a Spartan soldier was somehow cut off from his unit, he;d be expected to survive any way he could, including stealing what ever he needed.Also, yes, they were lashed, but, only until the boy asked for the beating to be stopped. However, because it was a point of pride and honor to NOT ask for the beating to be stopped, it was not uncommon for a boy to be beaten to death.
The battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartan Hoplites AND their 'battle squires" Hellots who had earned the right to serve a Spartan soldier directly. Most of these Helots knew how to use weaponry, though their primary purpose was to carry the Spartan soldiers food, water, extra weapons (to replace those that would inevitably break during a battle,) and other extra equipment.Still, at the battle of Thermopylae,many of the battle squires ended up in actual combat, due to the need for numbers. Oh and the two men who survived the battle? This was due to their being physically ill, which kept them from fighting. A third said "F-it" and fought anyway. It should also be noted, the Helots were not slaves, though the Spartans did keep slaves, as did MOST Greeks. The Helots were however, second class citizens.
All in all, though, a great video.
Imagine if we revive Spartans today. What would they think about our modern world?
-Revived Spartans: We came here to meet our ascendants... And we still cannot see where they're hidden. Perhaps behind the crowd of those chubby people talking to rectangles in some weird language?
-Random Spartan soldier: Maybe they died a long time ago?
-Revived Spartans: LOLOLOLOLOLOL... Oh...
-Revived Spartans: We came here to meet our ascendants... And we still cannot see where they're hidden. Perhaps behind the crowd of those chubby people talking to rectangles in some weird language?
-Random Spartan soldier: Maybe they died a long time ago?
-Revived Spartans: LOLOLOLOLOLOL... Oh...
Weak cowards and idiots!
They would probably be fascinated by cars, planes, computers, tv, etc. enough to keep them pretty occupied.
I can already see that becoming an internet sensation. "Spartans react to 300"
I think we need an accurate film about Sparta,Leonidas and the battle of Thermopylae
A proper series. Like ‘Game of Thrones’ scale proper. Roughly hour long episodes, some longer, some shorter, and they accurately depict what happened during those days/years.
"Our Arrows Will Blot Out the Sun. Then We Will Fight in the Shade"
Pyrrhus of Epirus, the cousin of Alexander the Great tried to take over Sparta, but a Spartan woman killed him when he invaded the city
Excellent and concise, most real portrait of an age lost to history, but the ideas still persist in totalitarian thinking. Frank Cipriani
Love this period of history :)
Yeah a pederasts heaven...
Yea, I was wondering about that....no women until 30?
Yea ok...so they were celibate until then....riiiiiight.
of cource they could have wifes and children, but lived separated till they get 30. they visited their families daily, but slept every night still in the army barracks... by the age of 30, they were more or less obliged to get married... so to say, do what you want, but we expect that you get married at latest when you are around 30 years old... it is like women in the western civilisation untill before 60 years: if they were not married by the age of 30, it looked pretty stange...
One would think that with all the male bonding between 7 and 30 -- key developmental years -- that there would have been a lot of bisexuality among the boys/men, maybe among the women, too. I believe people are born with their sexuality (90+% hetero), but the culture could/would have promoted same-sex affairs.
There is a pretty curious unproven speculaton, proposing, that it is logical, that the 300 Spartans of the battle of Thermopylae consisted out of 150 pairs, and the reason was, that those two soldiers in a pair not only knew each others fighting tactic perfect, in order to form, both together, a perfect killing machine, but were also sentimentaly bound to each other , in order to protect each others life with his own life...
Time travelling Leonidas and his 300 arrive in the 21st century America to see locals arguing over whether men are women.... Justice gets dispensed... That's the movie I want to see.
Love your channel. I watch several videos a day.
Spartan always motivates me 🔥🐾🔥
It's really mind numbing how violent human civilization has classically been...
Your comment is so much funnier when read in a posh brittish accent
GregJoshuaW Stefan molyneux Thulean Perspective channels
GregJoshuaW That's how they survived. We have forgotten how the world is. Weakness will destroy the western world
We need to return to the old ways ! This life is boring, peace is boring. War, war is the ultimate entertainment.
Well spartans were one of the ancient warrior-countries.Only the genetically strongest could even survive the training
the Spartans were so strong and powerful that not even Alexander the Great dared attack the city state. and when the Romans eventually took the city, the legions had been all but destroyed by Spartan resistance
Sparta surrendered to Rome and got butchered in every battle they engaged against the legions
Sparta didn’t have the strongest army they were more politically advanced than any other Greek state/city but Argos had the strongest army while Sparta was known for its women and politics
I didn't know that part of Spartan battle against the Romans, it may have been a terrible one. Adding the fact that the Spartans were no more in their glory day as the King Leonidas and that they were not fighting weak persian eastern units but professional troops that were destined to changed the world
Pretty sure Sparta was out of power before Alexander the Great rose up.
@@jeffjacob5479 Nope. They were still around, and were avoided. It could be for two reasons, though. Spartan lands were poor. And Sparta kept it that way on purpose. Basically ensured that no conqueror would come after them due to an abundance of resources. King Philip I also avoided them, and was famous for getting the reply "if" and "neither" on his initial messages to them. As someone mentioned, they didn't have the strongest army. It's like saying the SAS is the strongest army, it's pointless, as their numbers are to few. Spartans produced what we could consider "Special OP forces". That's really it. They had the strongest fighters. But having the strongest fighters doesn't mean you'll win.
Alexander the Great's father, Philip II of Macedon, tried to annex Sparta after subduing several other Greek city-states. He sent a message: "If I invade Laconia I shall turn you out." The Spartans replied with a single word: "If."
There was no invasion.
Sparta was like a sleeping beast quiet and keeping to themselves until ticked then they could take over the modern world Sparta did everything right in terms of military and mental destruction
keeping to themselves? they had wars with other city states just to practice wars.
I’ve screamed “THIS...IS....MY...HOUSE!!!!!” Soo many times after watching this movie
Proud of my heritage: imagine having that badass' name!...
Thank you, Simon, for this potted history of the Battle of Thermopylae.
THANK YOU FOR SERVING to all of you who were nobley in our US military !!! I live in a military family where my husband and his brother-in-law, who we help, are 100% service connected US disabled veterans. To be honest, sometimes I don't do it right and get tired and not very sweet = WHAT AN INSPIRATION THESE SPARTAN WOMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE !!! The wives used to say, when their men went into battle, "SPARTAN. COME BACK WITH YOUR SHIELD OR ON IT !!!" WOW, ISN"T THAT SOMETHING.....C.H.
This movie taught me that yelling everything and spitting whilst yelling proved me to be royalty.
To be blunt I would have just packed my stuff up and moved to Athens.
Or move to America!
Thanks, I'll take your advice. (I'm moving to Athens next month)
we are ok here tbh money or not weather and lifestyle helps a lot combined with my view from my balcony direct to Acropolis , but i am packing my stuff to Germany ,... money issues
@@kyleferguson7621 How's Athens treating ya?
Nah they will kill you immediately
Making Sparta Great Again!
With the way I was raised, I think my father was a reincarnation of a Spartan instructor. I have the whipping scars to prove it!
Awesome Spartans really in small numbers fought overwhelming odds even if they died They won none the less.
And I thought 23 months of millitary training was at some points "bugger". I feel elated!
I remember when I was in fifth grade me and my friends made a game called 300. 1-3 people will be off the equipment and trying to get on and climb to the top while 1-5 people try to keep them from getting on. We called it 300 because my friend was almost at the top and I pushed him off while yelling "THIS IS SPARTA!!!" he was OK btw
Spartans were so bad ass! =o)
Skin Bear and barbaric and brutal
Skin Bear It's an honor to be born and live in Greece
Μόνο το παρελθόν μας είναι λαμπρότατο, το παρόν μας είναι σκατά και απ'ότι βλέπω το μέλλον μας θα είναι ακόμα χειρότερο...
Not as much as persians.
ahahhah Nice....I am crying
it's interesting how many of the Spartan rules and customs are still active nowadays in people's minds and style of behaviour.
Mom: "Put away those toys NOW!"
Me: 15:35
Kid, if you have the courage to say that to your mother, you are already a Spartan at heart! :D
@@krishanubanerjee6955 yeah
+Top Tenz Thanks for this "new" top ten about Sparta...SWEET!
hey top tenz, a list about General Patton would be really interesting considering the mythos that surrounds him.
great video as usual
"Earthquake?"
"No captain, battle formations!"
Macedonians and spartans the Greek war Machines
Filthy Guy don't forget Argos the place of heroes and Athens of the strong navie
Thebes: Hold my beer...
Macedonian had better technology like the longer spear which was a huge advantage at the time.
@ilirjan zhiti macedonias are Greek. plus we are not the ones with blind forefathers.
Why do we have the same lame username
Theres finally a video game thats AAA that uses the Spartan Lore....AC Odyssey ....YAY!!! well there was another, Titan Quest and its a fantastic game just over 10 years old and it wasnt full 3D it was a diablo style 2D game, but still great visuals for that style even in 2019. I LOVE LEONIDOS and the 300 spartans, the 1st movie in the mid 2000s was amazing.
Interesting video. I’ve been wondering how many Spartans were left at the final battle at Thermopylae
My ancestors are Spartans from Greece and I'm a American Greek who served the marines in the Korean and Vietnam war. War is part of life either at home or abroad.
So was my father. Thank you for your service.
Sparta was more badass then Athens/Athenia im sorry.
Until I saw it typed out I never realized the relationship of Thermopylae and "hot gates"
dude i love these videos, I know a few of these facts but still fun learning. also you have that history teacher swag its funny
What we consider Horrifying if not inhumane today, was honorable and expected back then. This training and expectations often then not elongated their life's in peace time and ensured less losses in battle.
Showing Vikings in contrast with disciplined formations is ironic: shield wall.
how about that one lunatic spartan ghost that slaughters entire mount olympus
As much as badass that would sound, it isn't fact. Though I wish it was
Ah, kratos 😂👌
@@khiemnguyen8395 and you
Last word i heard from this ghost was
.
.
.
BOI
and the Words still Echo through time and space, "THIS IS MY WORLD I WILL SHARE IT WITH NO ONE"
A new dawn has begun, a dawn of freedom, and the whole world will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it-WOW.
Can you do a video on Pirates?
plenty of videos of Somalians
Nothing horrifying about it,just the Spartan way of Life ♥️ IYl.
I'd like to see some Halloween themed videos,on the holiday itself or maybe some paranormal footage.Thanks top tenz.👍
these types of vidz are so much better w/o the live commentators. music,graphics, the story...thats it
Does anyone else crave bacon and eggs while watching a TopTenz? no? okay..
Your voice and facial features remind me of an Englishman that did breakfast commercial's back in the 80's... Yes, I'm that old lol "and YES, I would like the Biscuits and gravy also"
would you like to hear the good news of jesus Christ?
BigCannon Adventures actually, yes! Just polished off a bowl of fried eggs mm...true
number 7,sounds like where they got the idea for the movie(the purge) from.
Ha! Love it! You can see me to the left of the screen at 6:50.
You forgot to mention the Phalanx relied on the length of the spears. 18 ft long in many cases. This is why they overlapped so well.
EIGHTEEN FEET ?!
Xerxes is not pronounced 'Zer-uh-sees'. It is 'Zerk-zees'.
Spawn Of Science it’s not a top tenz video without this doof badly mispronouncing something.
We call him "Kserkso" in Croatia
Spartans knew if training was at a younger age they'd be badass when they were older but yeah it wasn't the best way of teaching either
Still interesting after 2nd view, 7 months later. Great work team.
Has anyone noticed how Simon's new videos have sound quality that is light-years better than his old videos, this one included
The 300 spartons didn't actually die like they did in the movie. Leonitas actually fell in battle before many of his other men and then fighting continued as the rest of the men struggled to save leonitas's body, but to no avail.
John Xray Actually noone knows what happened. Some people say that Leonidas was the last man standing for at least ten minutes before he died. Noone survived there to know for sure :/
Efthimis Goysios What about the guy who ran back to tell the story
The persens survived and propably other people who werent warriors
It's common knowledge that he was the first one to die on the battlefield. Rumor has it that some of the Immortals giggled when they saw this.
John Xray he likely left before the battle was over to alert the other city states
Phalanx is a Greek word and "The Phalanx" formation was used by many Greek City States and regions, It dates back way before Alexander the Great. Philip II of Macedon (Alexanders father) invented the 8 meter long Pike (The Sarissa) and adopted it into his armies Phalanx formation with devastating effect....Alexander was a military genius, but he inherited a fantastic armed force from his father Philip II
Neither Alexander nor Philip invented "The Phalanx", but like all Greek Hoplites (armed Warrior) they used it!
Philip's phalanx had 5m long sarrisa. It evolved into longer during diadochi wars
Not to mention there is a difference between phalanx and shield wall formation. The Spartans mostly used the shield wall, as it was far more fluid in battle, whilst the phalanx was more limiting.
That Spartan at 7:11 has Betty Boop on his shield!
💃🏻🛡🗡
Your pronunciations of some of the words are funny..... Xerxes is one that I giggled at... Such a great video! Love the research you put into it and how quickly you gave information with such little time. Very great vid guys!! Subb'n fa sho!
So badass!
We need to make a time machine and send SJWs to ancient Sparta
kelly shea no...
THE PAUL BROTHERS
We need to send these Tide pods eating yuppies in a time machine back to Sparta to grow some nut hair!!
@A Scam Involving Corndogs hell no!! I grew up in the late 80s early 90s. Everything except the the older men having sex with boys part.. I'm not down with raping underage people of any kind yuck!!
they will die instantly
You first
You don't become the world's fighting elite by cutting flowers and petting kitty cats!
4:16 THIS explains a lot about modern day America and Britain.
Congrats on 500k guys, very well deserved!
Rome copied everything from Greece and especially Sparta
Roman legions were very different from Greek military, and they were already formed before they conquered Greece. The Romans actually copied their army more from other latin tribes, switching from their original hoplite-style battle wall to a more flexible manipulic system, where men were divided into groups that could move around when ordered.
The Scutum shield was copied from the Celts of northern Italy, as was their chainmail and the famous montefortino helmet. Their navy was copied from the Carthaginians. The Roman military changed and evolved over time, and their equipment varied regionally. For example the western legions wore chainmail and a short sword, bu eastern legions would use scale armour and spears due to the prevalence of horse archery in the eastern regions etc. Basically, whenever an enemy managed to defeat the Romans or inflict heavy casualties or other difficulties on them, they adopted their enemies equipment or tactics.
In Fact, the reason why Rome conquered so much territory while Sparta did not, was because Romans constantly adopted new ideas and employed them, while Spartans refused to change with their enemies.
Rome copied their empire after Assyria (except for their religion).
Rome would’ve defeated sparta in a week
@Al Strider Romans absorbed other cultures, architecture, even other Gods!
Wow I’ve just been watching recently released videos on the Side Projects Channel and Simon has a much longer beard and it was shocking to see him here with a short beard and he looks thinner in the face too