1. Greece
   South America
2. USA

Between the 6th and 4th centuries in Greece, Sparta was a society know for its fierce warriors. These men were highly trained and fought with incredible tenacity.

1. loud, annoying toga parties
   disco balls and strobe lights
2. a wall of men

Who needs walls when you have muscular warriors armed with swords? Lycurgus helped promote the mentality that Sparta should train its men to an extreme extent to protect the country.

1. the day they turned 18
   at the age of 8
2. as babies

Sparta was serious about its warriors. All babies were inspected to ensure that they’d make suitable warriors.

1. Their entire family was exiled.
   They were left to die.
2. They were given jobs as weapons makers.

Was your baby maybe a little cross-eyed or pigeon-toed? If Sparta’s leaders felt your child wasn’t really suited for warrior life, he was abandoned on a mountaintop.

1. basic literacy skills
   religious indoctrination
2. military training

The agoge was the military regimen that taught boys to fight. Young boys also learned to hunt, fend for themselves and work together as part of a team.

1. loving one’s mother
   devotion to the state
2. the importance of oily up one’s beefy muscles

At agoge, boys were indoctrinated from the very beginning. They were taught that the defense of the state was more important than anything else.

1. age 2
   age 7
2. age 16

At age 7, boys were taken from their families and placed in agoge. From then on, they became tools of the Spartan military.

1. They didn’t understand how to build walls.
   The Spartans demolished them.
2. They didn’t have any stone.

Sparta literally demolished its own walls. It was a show of boldness meant to reinforce their beliefs in the the power of their military to defend their homes.

1. They considered it an honor.
   They felt it ruined their families.
2. They hated the government.

Spartan families viewed agoge as a great honor. They were more than happy to send their young sons off to train as warriors.

1. sheep urine
   wine
2. the blood of enemies

Infants were bathed in wine. This practice was performed in hopes of making the babies as strong as possible.

1. They crawled home.
   They were raised by wolves.
2. They died of exposure.

These days, we’d regard it as the ulitmate cruelty — leaving infants untended outdoors. Many Spartan babies simply died of exposure.

1. South Africans
   Persians
2. Russians

In 480 BC, the Spartans engaged in their most iconic fight ... the Battle of Thermopylae. There, they clashed with the Persians, who were led by Xerxes I.

1. The Persians had only rocks as weapons.
   The forces were nearly equal.
2. The Spartans were vastly outnumbered.

At the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persians had a vast army ... and the Spartans had only a few thousand. But they knew the terrain and put it to their advantage.

1. an ancient tanning salon
   a narrow passage on a famous battlefield
2. the mythical doorway to Hell

The Hot Gates referred to narrow passageway at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans funneled their Persian enemies into The Hot Gates, where Persian numercial superiority didn’t matter.

1. He wanted to use Sparta’s warriors as his own.
   He wanted to capture all of Greece.
2. He wanted Sparta’s gold mines.

Xerxes I was infuriated by the defeat of his army at the Battle of Marathon. In response, he created an enormous military and set out to occupy all of Greece.

1. common meals shared by warriors
   a special sword
2. a type of talisman for battle

The syssitia was a critical part of Spartan culture. There, the men shared a common meal instead of eating with their wives, yet another way that the society emphasized military over personal family life.

1. There wasn’t enough food to go around.
   So they would be accustomed to hunger in battle.
2. It made them meaner.

Spartan leaders didn’t give boys in agoge enough food. The idea, of course, was to prepare the boys for the hardships of battle, when food was often scarce.

1. to grow crops
   to give birth to more warriors
2. to raise nice children

Women knew their purpose in Sparta — to make more warriors. And to that end, they were physically fit and active, all the better to make stronger, healthier babies.

1. 20
   30
2. 40

Their youth was dedicated to the military. Spartan warriors were not even allowed to take wives until they turned 30.

1. They were thrown into a bottomless pit.
   They were fed to lions.
2. They were denied full citizenship.

Men who couldn’t pass agoge were deemed as lesser people. They were never granted full Spartan citizenship.

1. land
   three wives
2. a barrel of gold

Truly, it was a honor for men to complete their agoge training. They not only became full citizens, but they got land, too.

1. kill indiscriminately
   steal
2. pray

Boys in agoge were given the bare minimum to survive and encouraged to steal whatever else they needed. They weren’t scolded for stealing ... but they were punished harshly for getting caught.

1. They were granted 5,000 acres of land for every man they killed.
   It was easier than their training.
2. They enjoyed eating the flesh of their enemies.

Spartan military training was relentlessly difficult. Men were often relieved to go off to actual battle, as it meant a break from the hardships of constant drills.

1. about three days
   30 minutes
2. three months

For three days, the outnumbered Spartans beat back a Persian army that incredible power. Time and again, then Spartans stood tall, even though things would probably not end well for them.

1. A Greek traitor gave them vital secrets.
   The Spartans ran out of food.
2. The Persians used nukes.

Today, his name is synonymous with backstabbing. Epihaltes, a Greek traitor, gave the Persians information about secret path that bypassed the Spartans, and the result was a Spartan defeat.

1. They were slaves.
   They made weapons.
2. They were politicians.

The Perioeci were tradesmen in Spartan society. They had a number of important functions, including weapons creation.

1. hoplites
   enlightened
2. scurilous

They were hoplites — Spartan soldiers. With their bronze helmets and large shields, hoplites intimidated enemies from all over the region.

1. slaves
   Spartan women
2. a conquering force

The Helots were the lowest people in Spartan society. They were the slaves. And they helped the country function by performing all essential tasks that made the machinery of civilization work.

1. It conquered yet another king.
   It was drowned.
2. It surrendered.

In 425, at the island of Sphacteria, the virtually unthinkable happened. The Spartans surrendered. It was the end of an iconic age.

1. 40
   60
2. 80

It was a nearly lifelong service. Spartan men started their training at 7 and served to age 60.