Conditioned from the age of seven for a life on campaign, and dedicated to full-time military training, the Spartans were exceptionally well drilled, masters of their weaponry and equipment, and a highly-disciplined and co-ordinated force that was largely superior to any other on the battlefield. In Sparta, baby boys were examined by its elders at birth. Those considered too weak were cast from Mount Taygetos, but the worthy faced a childhood designed to condition them for the physical demands of war. The 'agoge' training program was the most demanding in the ancient world and bred a hugely efficient and universally feared fighting force. If a boy survived to the age of thirteen he was subjected to a further seven years of formal military training until finally, aged twenty, he would be considered to have reached manhood, ready to become a true warrior of Sparta.
