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A Lesson of Manhood
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Once there were times of legend.
A time of great battles, great heroes and great deeds.
Once they fought in the name of honour and the glory of the empire.
They were the brave and great sons of eternal Greece, sons of Sparta, true heroes born
to fight, to protect the honour of their country.
We should remember them, for their deeds are meant to live for eternity.
This is the legend of the spartan warriors, the Greek Hoplites, raised and trained for war.
This is the legend of manhood.
The fascination of the western world, for the spartan military culture, brought even more fame
to these men, that we admire even today as symbols of manhood.
Spartan citizen boys left home for military boarding school at the age of seven and were required to serve in the army until age of thirty.
Then they passed into the active reserve, where they remained until the age of sixty.
Spartan education from the ages of seven to thirty emphasized physical toughness, steadfastness in military ranks, and absolute obedience to orders.
The ordinary Spartan was a citizen-warrior, or hoplite, trained to obey and endure.
These men were the absolute image of manhood at that time, admired and some even worshiped.
Men were encouraged to marry at the age of twenty but could not live with their families until they left their active military service at age thirty.
The Spartans perfected the craft of hoplite warfare.
They called themselves "homoioi" (equals), pointing to their common lifestyle and the discipline of the phalanx, which demanded that no soldier be superior to his comrades.
When the Spartans began military training at the age of seven, they would enter the agoge system for the education and training, everything from physical training such as hunting and dancing, to emotional, and spiritual training.
At that age they would have to go through what was known as the gauntlet.
They would have to run around a group of older children, who would flog them continually with whips, sometimes to death.
We might find this way of life and military system cruel today, of chorse how could we torture our children in such a way, how could we treat them and raise them as men in only early childhood.
Then again, we should ask ourselves sometimes, what does it take to be a man? Maybe it's just a matter of different opinions after all, some say a whining boy will never become a real man, some say those who not cry, and do not share any tears, are the images of manhood.
Is it really like that? Or perhaps time has changed and we should just get along with it, and adapt ourselves to a different era, to a different conception.
In those times most population of Greece and not only, considered that "real men" are those that show no weakness at all, leaving the simple emotions to be expressed by women.
They fought in great battles, and those whith great skills have lived to see many wars but also...many deaths.
Still, most of them did not dare to show the emotions of a loss, since it wasn't proper or it were not the traits of a man.
Even some women adapted themselves to these times, showing great emotional strenght and some.
Today however, many consider that there are no real man anymore, or perhaps they are mistaken about what it might considered 'real men'.
I think it's just a matter of opinion. We were not created to kill each other, to cause pain and sufferance. In fact what exactly means to be a man? A real man? Toughness? No emotions? Is a man who shows gentleness, kindness less of a man?
Gentleness is also called "The Fruit of the Spirit"(Galatians 5:22,23), and it's one of the most noblest traits anyone could possibly have.
What about romance? What about a man who cries at a romantic movie? What about a man who's courting a woman with sweet talk, flowers and a romantic evening? Is he not a man?
What does it take to be a man?
Or perhaps these trais are exactly what make us "real men".
The conception of what manhood really is after all, it's in the eyes of the beholder, and not what the general conception is during history filled ony with pain, sufferance, and a total misconception of manhood.
Yes, we should remember those men, those soldiers, those heroes, but we should remember them not for their bloody deeds, but for a lesson to us all.
For in this lesson, lays our humanity.
We are humans, we are channelers of great emotions, and noble traits. We are all heroes in the eyes of the loved ones, and every act we make is a great deed for them.
So don't be afraid to show emotions just because your parents think it's not proper for a man. It's quite the contrary.
Emotions, are what in the end separates us all from all the creatures that are not capable of those. And these emotions my friends, are what makes us "Real Men".
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