Special Forces: Ancient to Modern

This week I've decided to do something different and go on a different but relevant topic. the evolution of special forces in the military from Medieval times to the modern-day Heralds of death we have nowadays.

I will be splitting up this discussion into Several sections each covering a specific warrior or time period. 

 Lets begin with one of the most known Elite Warriors of the ancient world, The Spartan. Popularized and romanticized in modern entertainment, the spartan was one of the most RESILIENT, feared and skilled warriors proving their worth time and time again both on the battlefield and in the state. Because they were so widely known, Spartans had a strong reputation to keep which they solidified literally from birth. when a boy spartan was born, he was bathed in wine by his mother to see if he was strong enough to survive. if he did  he was the brought to his father to be examined and then to the priests. if either of them deemed the infant unfit, weak, or EXPENDABLE, he was then thrown off the chasm of Mount Taigetos and left to die. As harsh as this seemed, this was a necessary measure to ensure that the military state stayed strong because there was no room for weakness.

Many Spartan Boys were cast off into the wild to fend for themselves for a long period  of time
this helped solidify survival instincts and the need to fend for himself

At age 7, boys were taken away from their mothers and sent to live in a system known as Agoge  in this system, they were taught and made physically tough, disciplined and educated to an extent. they lived in barracks where they were expected to maintain themselves and keep order and were fed a very minimal amount of food in order to discourage sluggishness. this type of harsh lifestyle physically and mentally prepared these boys for a life of Hardship and war. being treated as sub-humans with little privilege also gave them the thick skin needed to live in a harsh military state.

A Somewhat dramaticized  painting of a spartan warrior.

Throughout this time period of youth, Spartans were taught all that was needed to know on the battlefield. Because they functioned as a unit Spartans were taught a great emphasis on unity and Structure. learning to fight with a spear and a shield were some of the most vital points of a young spartan as well as swordsmanship. They were also taught to become masters of Pancration, one of the most lethal and effective martial arts to this day, also the precursor to today's mixed martial arts.Structured on both  Boxing and wrestling, it introduced life or death situations that Spartans would be facing if unarmed on the battlefield. by the time they were twenty, they would have already been considered an elite warrior in almost any other army at that time. At age 20, they were considered a man, and were thus drafted into the military.

King Leonidas as Depicted in the film "300" 

The actual military proved it's worth several times throughout history repelling hordes of Persian empire (the greatest in the world at the time) who sought to invade and conquer the Greeks. Most notably was the battle of Thermopylae, where king Leonidas and three hundred Spartans repelled wave after wave of elite Persian forces. Until they were betrayed and cut down by flight after flight of heavy arrows. their skill and courage inspired the rest of Greece to stand and fight back sending 10,000 Spartans and 30,000 free Greeks against the Persians in the glorious battle of Plataea, crushing Xerxes and his Horde and erasing the Persian Threat for several centuries. In this way, the Spartans were the most feared group of warriors striking terror into every foreign invader's heart while instilling the first seeds of democracy.

Now The Spartans were brilliant on the Battlefield and viciously effective when it came to war, but what about covert operations? When you needed to assassinate a warlord or slip past enemy lines unnoticed? The answer in feudal japan was the ninja. Next entry, we shall be discussing several more ancient spec ops groups as I got carried away in this entry. Stay tuned if you want to hear more awesomeness.