Spartan men aged between 20 and 60 would then be called up, starting with the most experienced. Each year the ephors, or magistrates, chose the 300 best hoplites in Sparta to become the hippeis ...

a kind of ancient Greek foot soldier who wore heavy armor to shield themselves. "No part of the hoplite panoply is more ...

In battle, hoplites fought as a team ... but it was the phalanx that won many famous battles. Spartan soldiers wore red cloaks, so bloodstains wouldn't show up. They also grew their hair long ...