practicing great self-denial; "Be systematically ascetic...do...something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it"- William James; "a desert nomad''s austere life"; "a spartan diet"; "a spartan existence";
unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgment; "a parent severe to the pitch of hostility"- H.G.Wells; "a hefty six-footer with a rather severe mien"; "a strict disciplinarian"; "a Spartan upbringing";
resolute in the face of pain or danger or adversity; "spartan courage";
of or relating to or characteristic of Sparta or its people;