Spartan army

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Banner of Sparta

The Spartan army was the center of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, where citizens were trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society. Spartan citizens were subjected to military training from a young age and they became one of the most feared military forces in the Greek world.

Notable members of the army include Leonidas I of Sparta, Dienekes, Nikolaos, Stentor, Brasidas, and Thaletas.

History

In 480 BCE, at the Battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas I led an army of 300 Spartans to defend a narrow passage way Malis against the Achaemenid Empire.

During the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans were deployed across Greece and served as one of the primary armies of the Peloponnesian League. In this capacity, they fought against the army deployed by Athens and the Delian League.

The Spartan and Athenian armies fighting in Megaris

In 431 BCE, the Spartan general Nikolaos led an invasion of Megaris alongside his adopted son Stentor. With the assistance of the misthios Kassandra, they defeated the Athenians and claimed the region for Sparta.

In 429 BCE, a detachment of the Spartan army stationed in Makedonia allied with the Persian Order of the Ancients, who recruited them to hunt down Kassandra, whom the Order perceived as a threat due to her nature as a "Tainted One". However, their efforts were opposed by Darius, his son Natakas, and a group of mercenaries seeking to join Kassandra's crew, who eliminated most of the Order members and their Spartan allies.

This would not be the last time the Spartan army worked alongside the Ancients, as it later helped the Order of Dominion led by Amorges maintain control of Messenia. However, their rule was opposed by Kassandra, Darius, and the local Athenian forces, who worked together to depose them.

In 427 BCE, the Spartan army, led by Nikolaos' adopted son Stentor due to the former's disappearance, tried to conquer the region of Boeotia from Athens. With the help of Kassandra, who had been sent by King Archimedes of Sparta, they were ultimately successful, bringing Sparta one step closer to winning the war. Two years later, the Spartan and Athenian armies clashed near Pylos. Despite the Spartans being again aided by Kassandra, they ultimately lost due to the interference of Deimos, Kassandra's brother and a Sage of the Cult of Kosmos who fought for Athens.

Kassandra with Brasidas and his men ahead of the Battle of Amphipolis

In 422 BCE, Brasidas led the Spartan forces during the decesive Battle of Amphipolis. Despite Brasidas' death at Deimos' hands during the battle, the Spartans ultimately emerged victorious thanks to Kassandra assassinating the Athenian leader Kleon, a Sage of the Cult of Kosmos. Sparta's victory in the battle heralded the end of the first half of the Peloponnesian War, though the conflict would resume nine years later, after the weakened Athens managed to rebuild its strength.

Wars and battles

Greco-Persian Wars

• Battle of Thermopylae
• Battle of Salamis
• Battle of Plataia
• Battle of Marathon

Peloponnesian War

• Battle of Potidaea
• Battle of Megara
• Battle for the Silver Islands
• Battle of Pylos
• Battle of Sphakteria
• Battle of Amphipolis

Military units

• 
  Symbol of Sparta and the military
• 
  A shield used by the Spartans
• 
  A Spartan phalangite
• 
  A Spartan hypaspist
• 
  A Spartan hoplite
• 
  A Spartan strategos
• 
  A Spartan ekdromos

Behind the scenes

In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, specific units of the Spartan army carried specific default weapons: brutes bore Stone Axes, the heavy soldiers had kopides, while both the light soldiers and hoplites used javelins. The strategoi, anachronistically, carried around polearms akin to a voulge.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (first appearance)
  • Legacy of the First Blade
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
  • Spears for Hire (mentioned only)
  • For Democracy!
  • The Hunter's Hounds
  • Echoes Through the Animus
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR