>Sparta was only good at war because during their height, they were the only city state that actively prepared and drilled for war. Everyone else was an amateur militia. In context of other groups that trained for war, they were nothing special
Do you agree with Hans van wees, /his/
>>914248
No thats bullshit. All city states spent at least 1 month of the year training their citizens in hoplite warfare. It was a legal requirement if you were a citizen.
>>914248
Special operations forces are only good at war because they actively train for it
>>914255
>1 month per year vs 20 years of constant training and active service
>>914255
Also, this. Greeks were at war all the fucking time. Spartans trained significantly more. I'm sure that there is some optimal amount of training that results in the most efficient results but, in general, Spartans were excellent soldiers.
>>914248
To a large degree yes.
There were men in other city states who fought full time as hoplites and would often hire themselves as mercenaries. Athens would have professional soldiers and sailors. The spartans are different in that their entire male citizenry devoted themselves to fighting.
But that doesnt mean they were one shotting elephants and killing a million dudes by breaking formation. They trained for war also because they had tons of slaves who hated their masters.
>>914269
>1 month per year
you know that's literally 1/12th of your adult life, right?
how often do you get to the gym?
>>914292
4 days a week actually but I do see what you mean.
>>914289
>But that doesnt mean they were one shotting elephants
Legionaries confirmed to be superior
>>914292
Um, changing it into a fraction doesn't negate the fact the Spartans training was a lifelong, daily pursuit. There's no comparison.
Do you have a better chance of beating a UFC fighter who trains only one month of the year or the one who's done it daily since birth?
>>914648
UFC fighters don't train every day as your muscles need rest but I get your point.
Or maybe I'm mistaking them with bodybuilders kek.
>athenian navy
>amateur militia
Sparta took the preparing for war to extremes
>>914248
>They were only good because they practised so much they were good
>If they didn't practise to become good they wouldn't be good
Smart guy
>>914248
Too bad their navy sucked ass.
>>914248
They didn't even win against other greek city states that much. They also had no cavalry.
>>915172
Didn't this change once they added boarding ramps? Or was this some other group?
>>916428
I don't think so. This was during the Corinthian War iirc.
>>916428
>Didn't this change once they added boarding ramps? Or was this some other group?
Did you get this from the 300 sequel...
The Romans did this in their wars with Carthage though.
>>914292
6 days a week actually
>>914248
What did the Greek city states thought about the rest of the world? did they consider themselves the most powerful region in the world and never feared invasion? Before and after Persia
>>914248
>they were only better than the rest because they put more effort into it
Who would have guessed?
>>914248
Eh maybe?
In the grand scheme of things the army that drilled thirty days a year still has a good chance of beating an army that has drilled for 20.
>>918071
"lol look how pure and virtuous we are, stoic living forever, ugh this people don't even think hardship improves your soul"
They called the rest of the world barbarians yet they were the ones who said decadence and wealth makes men weak.
>>918071
Greece was largely viewed as backwards, poor, and irrelevant by the rest of the world. After the second Persian War, Athenians created the Delian League which transformed into essentially a maritime naval and trade empire.
The man who commanded the Greek fleet at Salamis eventually fled to the court of Xerxes the Great's son's own one. Irony is a hell of a thing, especially when the same man maintained Persian defenses against Greek attacks once he was made a satrap.
>>914248
Yup!
>Late for Marathon
>Claimed all the glory at Thermopylae even though there were plenty of other Greeks there
(we never hear about the glorious 500 Thespians, do we)?
Demanded to be in charge of navy at Salamis, despite having little naval experience (being a landlocked city in the middle of a landmass, whose navy consisted of other city states navies)
>Didn't want to join in for Plataea because party-time, and only sulked in when mom and dad pulled plug on record player
>Only attacked Persians at Plataea when dead chicken bones said OK
Sparta was like modern day America. They talked the talk, but rarely walked the walk, and bullshitted about it afterwards.
They even paid barbarians to destroy Athenian democracy, rather than doing it for themselves.
Elite my ass!
Sparta was overrated. The "amateur" Athenian army matched them just fine when they fought.
>but muh comic books
>>916428
Idk about Sparta but sounds like you mean rome and the corvus.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvus_(boarding_device)
>>914289
>They trained for war also because they had tons of slaves who hated their masters.
This. I've been re-reading Thucydides for a study group, and while T. is a very tacit writer, he does make it clear that a lot of the moderation, prudence, and slowness of Sparta was guided by a fear of the Helots.
>>918724
did Spartans kill your dog or something?
>>917938
you think their training was only 2h per day durring that month?
>>918955
Meme culture
