Youth of Sparta and of Mars: Uses and abuses of Classics at the Royal Prussian Cadet-Corps (1717-1920)

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• Helen Roche
• Tuesday 05 June 2012, 20:30-21:00
• Senior Parlour, Gonville & Caius College.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Roeland Verhallen.

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.

This talk is part of the Caius MCR/SCR research talks series.

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• Senior Parlour, Gonville & Caius College

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