Samurai Vs Spartan Research Paper

Who would win a samurai or a spartan?

Samurai and Spartans were the elite soldiers of their age. Both were trained from a young age to fight for their cause. Which of these elite soldiers is the strongest. By comparing the training, weapons, armor and formations of these two groups we will see who would end up on top if these two elite fighting forces ever went head to head.

Samurai are the highly trained swordsmen and nobility of Japan. Each Samurai began their martial arts training at the age of five and learned his weapons skills from members of his family that were already Samurai. These skills include mastering a sword and bow and learning how to act as a representative for their Daimyo. Samurai armor was made out of small metal plates

bound together into larger plates that were worn as webbing between the Breastplate, Greaves, and the arm guards. Samurai helmets were known as Kabuto and were made out of riveted metal plates worn over a leather cap. All Samurai wielded a Katana and a Wakizashi. The Katana was a longsword and was the main fighting weapon of the Samurai. Each Katana was a metalworking masterpiece with a soft and flexible iron core surrounded by steel that was heated and folded so many times that blades have millions of layers of steen on the cutting edge of the blade. A wakizashi was a samurai's second, shorter blade and it was used as backup for the main katana. Several Samurai also used a Naginata which was a long pole with a short blade on the end. (All Samurai information came from http://people.howstuffworks.com/samurai.htm)

Spartans were the warriors that came from Sparta. The rigorous Spartan training, called Agoge, began at the age of seven. There were three stage to the Agoge, the Paídes (about ages 7–17), the Paidískoi (ages 17–19), and the Hēbōntes (ages 20–29). The Paídes stage consisted of preparing the children for battle by exposing them to the heavy physical training, the hunger, and the harsh conditions of the battle field as well as forming camaraderie so that they could work well together under stress. The Paidískoi stage acted like an apprenticeship, a young Spartan was trained in combat by a more experienced one. The Hēbōntes stage had the warriors refine their skills against one another, and at the end of this stage the Spartan Elder Council voted 20 new members into the Spartan military. Spartans carried a 7-9 foot spear called a Dory as their main weapon alongside a short sword and a large shield called a Aspis which generally weighed around 30 pounds and was also used as a blunt weapon. Spartan armor consisted of a Cuirass breastplate and Greaves to protect the shins. Spartans fought in phalanxes which had shield and spears overlapping to form a block of spears. (All Spartan information came from http://www.ancientmilitary.com/spartan-weapons.htm)

In single combat a samurai would win. A samurai overall has better equipment and swordsmanship than a spartan. Samurai are used to fighting one on one and the experience would overwhelm the Spartan. Spartan armor would also not protect the arms and legs leaving the Spartan even more vulnerable to the Samurai in Single combat. However in mass combat the Spartans would win. In mass combat the Spartans would form a Phalanx to push through the spread out Samurai and defeat the Samurai with momentum and teamwork. In a war scenario the two sides would line up on opposite sides of a battlefield.