Since all Spartan males served in the military, there was no higher honor than to be a part of the elite unit known as the Hippeis, which was the King of Sparta's personal bodyguard. This unit was comprised of the 300 best Spartiati warriors who were held in the highest esteem, which probably would be the equivalent today to the SAS of Australia, the Delta Force of the USA, etc.
According to Plutarch, when the Spartan hoplite Paedaretus wasn't chosen as a member of the Hippeis, he left cheerfully remarking that he was glad that Sparta had 300 warriors better than himself.
Monday, December 05, 2005
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