Athenians and Spartans

The Greeks were certainly a war-like people-especially the Spartans. The Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: soldiers who fought on foot on land. Spartan boys were trained from age seven. The word spartan actually means showing indifference to comfort or luxury. Basically, this definition says that spartan can describe something barren or minimal-does not need all the extras. Moving on to Athens, they had a very strong naval power: soldiers who fight from a boat on water. Athens had a great infantry too, but nothing compared to their navy. The Athenians most effective weapon was the trireme. The trireme was a technological marvel. At the time, it was the fastest ship in the world. The trireme was rowed by up to one-hundred men on three levels. The trireme could used as a battering ram as it was agile and fast. Another great war strategy of the Greeks was the phalanx. Men, close in rank, would fight in densely packed groups with long  spears protruding in all directions for defense along with interlocking shields. The soldiers would advance slowly upon their target and attack. 

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