- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Posted by: jhbrewer
I believe it stands for something, I was about to look it up, but I've loaned all three Halo books to one of my friends. The technical name for it is the MJOLNIR Mark V, and of course SPARTAN means something, but in Ancient Rome, a few kids would be selected at about age 6 (John was taken at 6 and given the designation 117) and were trained rigourously in the mountains to build endurance (thinner air, that's what they did with John as well). They were punished severely (Menendez [I think] also punished severely) for such things as the following. If they were hungry, they could try to steal some from a grain house that a farmer owned, however, if they were caught, they were extremely punished not for trying to steal, but for being caught (John always looked at things differently, and this brings him success, admiration, and punishment). In Halo 2, you'll be able to have an emblem on your armor. I believe that this is no coincidence considering that Roman Spartans often had an emblem on their shield, so they could tell friend from foe. It's a nice feature, but alludes to the Ancient Roman Spartans again.
And, of course, the Spartans were the best of the best, today's equivolent would be Army SpecOps or Navy SEALs.
</intelligent babble>
Evidently, you have no clue what you are talking about. First off, the Spartans were not Roman, but Ancient Greek warriors from the lands of Sparta. Second, they were not taken at six years of age, but seven as it was cumpalsery to serve in the military if you were a citizen of Sparta and of male gender. The Spartans were a society which strongly believed in a strong and sturdy military, and to uphold this belief, they (I suppose) were the founders of military conscription. They weren't taken to train in the mountains, that is a total lie on your part. But rather were taken and brought up in the barracks, and trained from the ripe age to be a fierce soldier. The insignias in Halo 2 on the Spartan's shoulders have absolutely nothing to do with the Ancient Hellenic (or Greek) Spartan shields and/or helmets or armor. Everything you said was either made up from your head, and totally entirely wrong.
[Edited on 5/22/2004 5:03:57 PM]