Who's the better warrior, Spartan or Berzerker?

Question

Spartans were known for their brutal yet disciplined tactics in warfare. Berzerkers were the Viking warrior elite, known for their vicious and bloody fighting skills. If a Spartan were to square off against a Berzerker, who would win?

Answer 1

Tough one. The Spartans trained for war from birth and were better-disciplined, with heavier armor. However the Vikings also trained for war from childhood (they'd go on their first raid aged 12).

Spartan swords would be useless against Viking armor, while a Dane Axe would cut through Spartan wood and bullhide shields. Viking shields were stronger and lighter, giving them more agility. However, in contrast to the Spartans in their heavy bronze breastplates few Vikings had chainmail, making them vulnerable to Spartan edged weapons. Bersekers fought naked.

If they fought Viking arrows would inflict light casualties on the Spartans (the pikes would deflect most arrows coming from above). Spartan spears would skewer many Vikings however the charge would smash into the phalanx. A berserker with an axe placed into the middle of a group of enemies would inflict massive damage. The Spartans would need all their discipline and resources to push back this human wave.

It would be a hard fight with heavy casualties on both sides and could go either way.

Answer 2

"the Spartans fought armoured and covered with a shield. A naked Berserker might be frightening when attacking barely trained peasants (like the Fyrd) but he would have stood no chance against a well trained and armoured soldier"



Berserkers seemed to do pretty well against armored English troops, and their heavy axes could punch through bronze armor pretty easily. I'd still give an edge to a Spartan simply because of this tactics, but it wouldn't be a "Spartan wins easily" scenario.

Answer 3

Spartan wins easily



reason: the Spartans fought armoured and covered with a shield. A naked Berserker might be frightening when attacking barely trained peasants (like the Fyrd) but he would have stood no chance against a well trained and armoured soldier