Average Spartans Quiz | 10 Questions | History

Answer: None of these

Spartans came from Sparta, hence the name. Athenians live in Athens, Thebans in Thebes, and Ephialtes is not a place but an Athenian politician.

Answer: Hoplite

Though phalanx is not the correct term used for a hoplite, they can be referred to as such as they used the phalanx formation.

Answer: Spartiate

They are renowned today as the perhaps the best warriors of Ancient Greece and by some as the best that warriors that ever lived.

Answer: 7

The boys spent the majority of their life at a military boarding school and were put through rigorous training.

Answer: Heracles

Hercules was the Roman name for Heracles. He was said to have extraordinary prowess as well as being sexually promiscuous. He had incredulous strength and valiance in or outside of battle. All the Kings of Sparta were said to be descendants of him and, as they are argued to be perhaps the greatest warriors that ever lived, it is likely true.

Answer: False

The Spartan women were taught in both literary and physical education. It has been said that the women of Sparta of more beautiful than 'average'. They always wore revealing clothes such as short dresses or skirts; unlike the Athenian women, who often wore heavy clothes, concealing most of their body, it was even allowed for them to walk around completely nude - and it was custom for both men and women to do so at festivals.

Answer: 30

They left the military at the age of thirty, and were put into active reserve where they could be summoned at any time. Only at the age of sixty were they liberated from military service.

Answer: They were abandoned

Indeed, the Spartans only wanted boys likely to become fit for military service. If a baby was under weight or seemed weak, it was abandoned. A typical male Spartan citizen could become a politician if he wished, but all had to go through physical training first.

Answer: The Battle of Thermopylae

The Battle of Thermopylae was what the film "300" was based on. The Battle of Leuctra was the pivotal point which led to the demise of the Spartiates. The Battle of Sphacteria was between the Spartans and Athenians, not Spartans and Persians. Lycurgus is not a battle, but a legendary lawgiver of Sparta - he is believed to be a mythical character by some, but many others believe he was responsible for transforming Spartan society into one of the strongest military powers that ever existed in ancient history.

Answer: Aristodemus

Aristodemus was sent home along with another who had caught the eye infection, Eurytus. Eurytus, however, knowing this would be the final battle, turned back blind and met his demise charging into the enemy. For this reason, Aristodemus was derided and rejected by the other Spartans as a coward.

He fought valiantly at the Battle of Plataea and with such rage that the Spartans regarded him as having redeemed himself - but did not give him any reward because he fought with suicidal recklessness. In the film "300" the narrator is called Dilios.

He is also stricken with an eye infection before the battle and may be based on Aristodemus. Pantites' history is close to that of Aristodemus; he was ordered by King Leonidas on an embassy to Thessaly but he failed to return prior to the Battle of Thermopylae and was cast out by the Spartans as a coward. Unable to live with the disgrace, Pantites hanged himself.

Herodotus is a Greek historian who lived in the fifth century BC. He tells the story of both Pantites and Aristodemus.