Lead Like a Spartan
The Spartans
There are 23 statutes of individuals honored in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives, one of them being Lycurgus, the legendary lawgiver and philosopher of Sparta, which was one of the most iconic societies in European history, and a model for militaries and leadership until this day. Lycurgus was known for maintaining a very calm demeanor even under stressful situations, which we might call “being stoic’ today. He traveled from country to country to determine the best examples for his city-state to follow. After his return, he instituted several major changes in Sparta.[1] These included creating a governing body between the people and the Kings called the Gerousia, which was one of the earliest democratic institutions. He created the ‘common mess’ in which all men ate in the same location at the same time as a form of equality shunning any ostentatious displays of wealth or materialism. And in Sparta, unlike Athens and most other regions of the world, women had rights, they could own property and very much had a say in society. [2]
The Spartans started leadership training very young. At the age of seven, boys would start military training in the Agoge. No matter whether you were going to be an officer or an infantryman (hoplite) you all went to the same training and endured the same hardship. They learned to move at night without a torch, to eat off the land, and to endure hardships such as bad weather, lack of sleep, hunger, and of course they also learned how to fight better than any other fighting force at the time.
Key elements of this training and the warfighting process that came from it were carried forward into the militaries of subsequent civilizations, starting with Rome, continuing in the British Empire, all the way down to today’s United States military. You can see the similarity with the training in the U.S. Marine Corps, Army Rangers, and Navy SEALs, just to name a few. You learned your skill as a soldier in the Phalanx to win the battle and protect the man standing next to you. A fighting philosophy that exists in every significant military today.
Spartans were also famous for having a different kind of leadership. One that did not lead from the safety of the rear, but from the front, enduring the same hardships and dangers as the other soldiers. Their leaders wore the same clothes, slept on the same bed rolls, and ate the same food. Spartan officers, in fact, not only ate the same food as their men, but also ate after them. A concept that is at the very core of what it means to lead like a Spartan.
Former Marine and Vietnam War veteran Steven Pressfield’s book Gates of Fire, is required reading for many military units, and it should be for business, government, education, or other sectors of society. At the end of the book, there is a description of what a king (leader) should be, based on Leonidas, the leader of the Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae.
“A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him.” [3]
That paragraph says it all. It shows why the Spartan military ethos influenced western thought on the topic of leadership ever since, including that of the Stoic philosophers.
The Stoics
Socrates, the godfather of Stoicism, was a highly decorated (although he declined the awards) soldier for Athens. Arguably the most significant philosopher in history, he also exemplified many Spartan character traits, such as exceptional endurance and self-discipline, especially during his military service. [4] According to Plato, in his work Crito, Socrates publicly advocated for Athenians to be more like Spartans, something controversial at the time as Athens had recently been defeated by them following the long and brutal Peloponnesian War. This thinking was shared by one of the many schools of philosophy that followed Socrates, the Cynics, in whose doctrines the founder of Stoicism, Zeno, originally trained.
Sparta was a fascination to the early Stoics, who particularly admired Lycurgus and the political, educational and military system he developed. [5] The Greek historian Plutarch wrote that Zeno was heavily influenced by Spartan society. Zeno’s students wrote books on Sparta and Lycurgus. Cleathes, the second head of the Stoic school, wrote a book entitled the Agoge, presumably providing a model for training in Stoicism. [6] The connections between Sparta and Stoicism are deep, from the reduction in priority of material things, to their “Laconic” brevity of speech, and their common emphasis on the virtue of self-discipline.
Perhaps the Stoic that best exemplified the Spartan form of leadership was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. As a young man, he was taught the ways of Stoicism and shunned many of the trappings of power that would have been available to him as a member of the imperial family. Instead of living in luxury, he slept on a straw mat and wore common clothes. He was very physically active as a youth, learning to hunt, dance, box, wrestle, and fight with a sword. All things that one would have learned in the Spartan Agoge. As emperor, he epitomized the leadership that the Spartans exhibited at Thermopylae. He could have stayed in Rome and sent his generals to fight the Marcomannic Wars, along the Danube frontier, but he didn’t. He went to the front and commanded the legions from there.
So what does this mean for modern leadership? For modern militaries, it means everything, at least if you want to win the wars your country fights. Look at the current war in Ukraine and the two forms of leadership we are seeing there. One leader, Russian President Putin, rarely leaves the safety of the Kremlin, except to hunker down in his palace. The other leader, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, famously said when asked if he wanted the U.S. to get him out of Kyiv before the Russian invasion, “I don’t want a ride, I want ammunition,” a remark worthy of Leonidas himself.
Leadership, though, is about much more than just the military, playing a role in all aspects of human endeavor: from business to medicine, education, government, law, and many other areas. How do we apply these tenets to those areas? Do you do as you say? Do you ask those you lead to do things you will not do? When you tell your people to work on the holidays, do you? Do you continue to get bonuses at the same time you are laying people off? Do you lay them off in order to make sure you get your bonus? The movement of Stoicism in business and other circles is a great thing. But you must do more than attend seminars or webinars to be the leader your people need you to be. You need to lead like a Spartan.
About the Author
Michael “Mick” Patrick Mulroy is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, a retired CIA officer and U.S. Marine, an MEI Senior Fellow, an ABC News National Security Analyst, a Co-founder of Lobo Institute, and a member of Plato’s Academy Centre’s Board of Advisors.
Spartan is a painting by Imad Ud Din, September 6th, 2018.
[1] Or as residents of Sparta called it, Laconia, from the region. The reason they had the Λ on their shield.
[2] The Spartans, Bettany Hughes, BBC Channel 4, 2002.
[3] Gates of Fire: An Epic Battle of the Battle of Thermopylea, Steven Pressfield, Mass Marketing, 1999.
[4] Socrates as Sargeant Major, Robertson and Mulroy, Plato’s Academy Cente, September 2022.
[5] Studies in Stoicism, P.A. Brunt, Oxford Press University, 2013.
[6] Stoicism as a Spartan Philosophy of Life, Donald Robertson, Medium, 2019.