When a hoplite (classic Greek infantryman) died or was severely wounded in battle, his comrades would carry him back atop his shield; when soldiers flee from battle in panic, they typically drop their equipment so as to run faster. Returning with, or upon, his shield meant that that Spartan had not fled the battle out of cowardice or (even worse) surrendered.

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One may find it incomprehensible that a mother would demand that her son accept death rather than dishonor; however, in Spartan culture, martial honor was the highest virtue, and weakness the ultimate sin. Furthermore, in Sparta, individuals were regarded almost purely as tools of the state. Recall JFK’s line from his inaugural address, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” – the Spartans lived and died according to that principle. Spartan boys were drafted in the army at a very early age (as far as I know, as soon as they were old enough to walk & run) and sent to a training program far harsher than any boot camp on our planet today. All Spartan men (except those who had dishonored themselves) were soldiers, and all Spartan women were soldier factories. For those mothers, sending their sons to conquer or die was as natural as it was for American mothers to buy war bonds to support their sons in uniform during the Second World War.

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