When we need to change, we need to have a strategy, that will give us that change. Internationally I have recommended a “Spartan” strategy. That is a strategy that was followed by the Spartan kings during the wars they had with Athens in around 500 BC.
What was really striking about these fighting men, were not their professional fighting skills, no, it was their way of leading the men they led.
They were so good at leading, that they often persuaded the enemies to fight with them.
I have done quite a lot of research on this question, because to me, they are the best leaders mankind has ever seen.
So why did they have success?
This question is difficult to answer, because the organization and the heritage of the Spartans are quite complex.
But let us start with the heritage. Who were the Spartans really?
Well, there are different tribes in the Hellene world. Ionian, Semitic and Dorian.
Mostly Ionian and Doric.
Sparta was a Doric city, Athens was an Ionian city. The fight between Athens and Sparta called the Peloponnesian war, was a fight not only between two systems; conservative and liberal, it was also between two tribes Ionian and Doric.
But the questions is then; who were these two people?
Well, in the Homeric fables, a time of heroes and damsels were depicted, great heroes as Odyssey and the Achilles fought; a mythical time.
This mythical time were the time of the Mycenean. In the spring of Hellene civilization this amazing tribe were roaming the beautiful islands, living in palaces and inspiring art and warfare. What happened then to the Homeric world?
A great war was fought against searadiers who came from somewhere and laid the beautiful land barren. In Egypt these people are called “sea people”. Because they came on seafaring vessels, and were absolutely menacing. They laid waste to the entire Hellene system of the preclassical world, that is the world of the Hittites, Babylon and Egypt.
The seafaring people were, in my theory, the Doric.
The Doric came from nowhere, and laid waste to the civilized world, at that time. What does that remind you of? The vikings. My theory is, that the Doric people really were the forefathers of vikings. I have discussed this grand theory for a long time with myself. Here are the historical arguments.
In the Norse mythology there are several direct connections between Hellene and Semitic mythology and Norse. Most noticeable is the rise and setting of the sun. In Norse mythology, the sun is carried by a chariot “solvognen”, the same in Hellene (and Egyptian) mythology. There is the story about Skjold and Dan, where Skjold is Messianic figure.
So, there must have been a direct link between the pre classical Hellenes and the semitic people living in the Middle East.
Knowing that Scandinavians have always been raiders, why wouldn’t they have raided not only a thousand years ago, but also three thousand years ago?
Add to this the strange position of women in Spartan society. Spartan women were almost equal to the men, as they have always been in Scandinavia. Plus the fact that Spartans held greek slaves (Ionians), an act that was generally considered wrong in classical Greece.
They were the descendants of the sea people, and that is the original conquerors.
Add to this a very uncultured outlook of Spartans, and you have the picture; Spartans were vikings. Or rather, very, very early descendants of the original Vikings.
Now, what is really interesting, is the kinship Sparta had. There was a connection between Sparta and Jerusalem. Perhaps it was just an alliance. But most probably a part of Jewish settlers must have partnered with Dorians at an earlier time. The sea people came after Abraham, so they are not a part of the original Abrahamic tribe. But they must have partnered up at some time after. It must have happened between Abraham and Moses, and they must have been a part of the Hyksos (Jacob) invasion in Egypt.
It confers with the lost tribe of “Dan”. Perhaps this was a way of defining the tribe that had partnered up with the other Jewish tribes in the chaos after the Mycenaean world had vanished and while. the entire Homeric world was in chaos.
Doric, Dan, Denmark, Danube, Gdańsk. In the ancient times a lot of things have happened, and we are not exactly sure how and where they did.
Anyway, there is a complex history behind the Spartans, who, with all probability is connected to Denmark and the rest of the Scandinavian countries.
Politics
Then how can we the use the ideas of the Spartans today? Really the Spartans were extreme conservative, for good and worse. But the interesting thing is, that the balance we have today between liberal and conservative are different from in the classical times.
Today we have a mix of conservatism and liberalism that is in fact, absolutely illogical.
Let me explain. Karl Marx war a great fan of Sparta. A lot of the ideas he founded communism on were taken directly from Spartan ideas. The idea of the mass (communal living together). The abolishment of ownership. The abolishment of family. The secret service.
But contrary to the Spartans, he believed in internationalism. Spartans were very xenophobic. They really did not like strangers in their city. In fact strangers were used as slaves.
So Marx took some ideas out of Lycurgan Sparta, and left out others. This is why it does not work. He took a very stable system, and made it unstable.
Athens on the other hand were much into freedom and were the cosmopolitan of the day.
Today the socialists (the heirs to communism), are still the cosmopolitan, and the conservatives are the inspired by Athens, yet being persons who argue for closedness.
The theory does not add up.
En passant, this is one of the reasons why I have recommended a focus on family to the conservatives, because it adds up to the conservative basis.
Anyway, concerning the leadership skills of Spartans.
It was all down to the closed nature of their world, and the consequent ability to make an outstanding educational facility. They had perfected education over a long time.
The education was called Agoge (the inspiration behind the boarding school). Here the Spartans received a first class education, that really made them professional. Hard, serious and competitive education, that brought the best forth in many people.
Secondly it was down to the harshness of the character in relation to law. Ideally law is above men. But in the real world, usually it is the other way around, law is controlled by the peoples in power. Not with the Spartans, they really respected law.
All in all, it comes down to the fact. That leadership is about justice, the manly ability to stand fast on what is right, being ready to sacrifice your life for what is right.
This was what the Spartans did, and this is truly the legacy of the Spartans. Most beautifully exemplified by Leonidas, who gave his fighting heart for the freedom of the Hellenes.
G-d bless the will to believe in justice and freedom.
sea raiders
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-vikings-sea-raiders-land-raiders.cfm
A great war was fought against sea raiders who came from somewhere and laid barren the beautiful land. Much better, I think.
Dear peter 🙂 I am living in Denmark, where there are vikings in the very foundation of the consciousness, I am myself a sailor, my father in law is a hobby Viking, and my daughter is called Rakel (Jewish) Freja (Norse) so I really believe I am in a good connection to my Norse roots 🙂 this however does not imply, that I cannot be critical about them. We did some wonderful things, and we did some terrible things. But I am proud of it 🙂