Article Title
Abstract
Within ancient Sparta, a group of young men scoured the countryside, killing serfs known as helots. The nature of this ancient Spartan institution – the krypteia – has long been debated by scholars. Some have seen it as a bloody culmination of the Spartan educational system, others as a form of suppression against the helot population. This essay, however, challenges the traditional notions surrounding the krypteia by finding a connection between its unconventional mode of fighting to a model of modern guerrilla warfare techniques. By examining this historic institution, the historian can gain insight into the evolution of warfare.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Ross, Brandon D.
(2012)
"Krypteia: A Form of Ancient Guerrilla Warfare,"
Grand Valley Journal of History: Vol. 1:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvjh/vol1/iss2/4