Abstract

We explore the ways in which cadets at the Royal Prussian Cadet-Schools were inspired by the Classical past, and the way in which tales from ancient history and myth influenced the cadets’ choice of games and recreations – as well as the imaginative devices employed by senior boys to bully their juniors. One enduring trope among cadets of all ages was the idea that they were true ‘Spartanerjünglinge’ (Spartan youths). The boys identified their educational experiences with those of young Spartans, and even coined a verb ‘spartanern’ to describe their competitive strivings to endure extremes of self-inflicted suffering without flinching. However, the cadets’ ancient role models were drawn not just from Sparta, but from a wide range of episodes in Roman as well as Greek history, which I will illustrate with a number of examples.