The Warrior Ethos
Steven Pressfield
Quite a daunting read, The Warrior Ethos by retired Marine Steven Pressfield, is a short, non-fiction book based off of the Warrior Ethos of the Ancient Spartan People. Although it is not probable that there will be another organization that comes remotely close to comparing to the Spartans, this book does serve as a good leadership tool for men and women who serve, but also for non-military members who are looking to upheld a set of values to enhance the purpose they're fighting for.
Honor, shame and love stood out as the three main Ethos the Spartans upheld, with honor being the one that took the most precedence in daily life. It seemed to be truly an honor to serve as a Spartan and fight for a country
This book is about the Spartans warrior culture and how it ties into the Marine Corps values, and the present day warrior culture of our Marine Corps.
Spartan's were a dominating army that were more strong then all of the of the other armies from different city-states. now we need to know what they did at home while the men were at war. It's like when the U.S. Army goes out for war, what do the rest of the military soldiers go when the rest are at war. This is something that we need to discover from the Spartans and we also need to know if the strengths outweighed the weaknesses or did not.
The government in Sparta followed a very different coarse than that of the Athenians. It was controlled by an oligarchy in which the power was held by a group of five men called ephors. Working below the ephors was the Council of Elders and an Assembly. Male citizens over age sixty could serve on the Council while anyone, male or female, over the age of twenty could be a member of the Assembly. Though the citizens had little say in the decisions made by the government, the system worked effectively. Over the years, the Spartan's brutal reputation in war grew so great that other nations and city-states were too frightened to attack Sparta even though the Spartan army was no larger then eight thousand men. The Spartan Constitution called for all men to begin their military education at the age of seven, where they were trained to be tough and self-sufficient. Every man in the army fought with a great deal of passion for his country. Life in Sparta may have been rough, but the rest of the Greeks envied the Spartans for their simplicity, straight forwardness, and fanatical dedication. The beliefs of Sparta were oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. The combination of this philosophy, the education of Spartan males, and the discipline of their army gave the Spartans the stability needed to survive in Ancient Greece.
In Thucydides’ History, the Spartan king Archidamus outlines the values he idealizes in the Spartan soldiers, namely self-control and discipline which in turn create shame and courage. These values are similar to those defined by Socrates as vital to the formation of virtuous guardians of kallipollis in Books 2 and 3 of The Republic. Socrates’ ideal values are courage, moderation and a sense of shame. Thus, since there are parallels in the values idealized by both Archidamus and Socrates, it is probable that both the Spartan soldiers and the guardians of kallipollis will resemble each other to an extent.
Sparta valued their religion and how they ran things in the kingdom. They had the same religion as the Greeks did. They had cults in which they worshiped Zeus like the Greeks and had buildings made for Zeus to make sacrifices or to praise him. They were very low in population and could hardly keep their soldiers organized and in check. The Spartans had an Oligarchical rule where they passed money and property down through their families to make sure they would have money; this is how they stayed rich.
Once upon a time in the plains of Texas lived a strong warrior named Brawn. Brawn was more than a warrior he was considered a God by most because of his many abilities. Brawn had the strength to do anything along with the intelligence to solve any problem he was a remarkable engineer and highly respected by the people from his village.
It was also very important that they learned to have respect for everyone around them. The life that was lived by a Spartan was a very hard life and not many people can go through with that kind of life in this age which is what made them so powerful and
The creed of the noncommissioned officer is a baseline for all noncommissioned officers Corporal all the way up to Sergeant Major, on how to conduct oneself in the leading of soldiers. It does not outline every single situation you may come into throughout your military career but if you live this creed then you should be set for success. In this paper we are going to take an in depth look into the creed and how you can apply every aspect of it to leadership.
Second, the Army is governed by two related ethos. On the first day of initial training Soldiers are taught the importance of the seven Army values and begin to memorize the Soldier’s Creed. Like doctors and lawyers, “the military is an expert group, charged by its client to conduct work governed by a professional ethic” according to Lieutenant General Robert Caslen. A recent study commissioned by the Army found that 93% of Soldiers share their personal with the one set by the Army. Again, according to Caslen “the Army Values have sustained our institution through some of our most difficult years and will continue to be the foundation of our profession.”
Spartan elders and kings were also very serious about the preservation of the Spartan’s history, culture and way of life. This is why they did not encourage foreigners to visit Sparta or anything that may corrupt their way of life. Sparta did not leave behind much art, literature or historic artifacts; but they considered their everyday life or the way that they lived to be a masterpiece all its own.
Battles, wars, conflicts—these deadly disagreements have been fought since the beginning of mankind. As we travel down history’s timeline, we meet many different types of soldiers from the Ancient Romans, to the British Redcoats, to Vietnam draftees. However, one group of armed forces triumphs all: the Spartans. Spartan’s decades-long training, innovative battle tactics and survival tests make them the most elite and dedicated warriors of all time.
In my opinion since most police officers will spend most of their field time in non-tactical situations unlike the military and even though some police organizations use a Quasi-Military style of policing most of the police officers should not be compared to warriors. In a “Warrior environment” there is strict discipline, strict respect for chain of command and ranks, administrative intensity or too much micromanaging, centralization or not many chances for junior police officers to make decisions on their own, everything is followed by the book leaving no room for creativity, these are all good things in a military organization but in a police organization these characteristics of the “Warrior environment” would make it very hard for police
The entire Spartan society revolved around the army, essentially making it the key aspect of Spartan life and culture. The army influenced areas such as education and social structure as well as being the most important defence of Sparta in both combat and reputation.
Most aspects of Spartan society were based around the three virtues proclaimed in the Great Rhetra: equality, austerity, and military fitness. Equality manifested in Spartan society with the admission to the Ekklesian assembly, and through social institutions including the agoge and syssitia. The virtues of austerity and military fitness manifested in the minimalistic lifestyle the Spartans lived; strengthened in the agoge and the spartan army. Austerity was taught from an early age, with a neglectant style of parenting adopted to teach their children obedience.
and other things that make life worth while. I believe the price was to high