The Education of Spartan children

The education of Spartan children was a basic pillar for the creation of one of the most feared armies of antiquity. He who has gone down in history for his heroic participation in battles such as the Thermopylae under the command of their king, Leonidas I.

All Spartans were subjected to this warrior education. Their society was divided into four social classes: the homoi or equal, who were citizens with full rights; the motacious or foreigners; the periecos or freedmen and the helots or servants. But all of them could prosper in society by going through those teachings. If you want to know more about the education of Spartan children, we invite you to continue reading.

Agogé, the education of Spartan children

While the upbringing of the Spartans was always harsh, we can establish a time when it became what we know today. Was in the year 669 BC after the defeat suffered by his army in Hisias before the troops of Argos. This was a knock on the Spartan consciences, to the point that they devised a new formation for their children: the so-called Agoge, which is attributed to Lycurgus and it was the hardest of the Ancient Greece.

Basic principles of the Agogé

From that date, the education of Spartan children was based on three principles. The first of them was intensify their moral education and foster their discipline. The second, that learn new war techniques.

And, finally, the third consisted of increasing the number of Spartans trained to serve in the army as much as possible, that is, in open warrior teaching to more Spartans regardless of whether or not they were citizens. In this way, the army would be nourished by all people of fighting age.

What was the education of Spartan children like?

As you will understand, to build their powerful army, the Spartans had to start by training their citizens from a young age. Thus, children lived up to seven years with their families. But the law prohibited these all kinds of respects with the little ones. They had to accustom them to the dark, to being hot and cold, and they were even bathed in wine. The latter was due to the belief that it produced convulsions and that these, for the weakest, meant death.

The first stage of the Agogé

Until then, as you will see, the education of Spartan children was very cruel. However, the worst came later. From the age of seven they were handed over to the polis, which transferred them to camps where they lived with other boys their age. In these they were not allowed to bathe, they could only have a blanket or himation and they slept on a bed of reeds. They received virtually no food and their own bosses forced them to steal it. If they were caught stealing, they were punished. But (and this will attract your attention more) not for stealing, but for having been clumsy in doing so.

Until the age of twelve they learned to read and write, but above all fighting techniques and weapons handling. Already in this period his peedonomers or teacher subjected them to all kinds of privations. Yet crueler still were the ancestral rites in which they started. One of them will make your hair stand on end.

It consisted of a hand-to-hand combat between one of the children and several companions of the same age. It took place before the altar of the goddess Artemis Orthia and the minor who fought alone had to defeat the others and seize some cheeses deposited on the altar that we have mentioned.

If it seems like a harsh ritual, what we're going to tell you now is even worse. During the Pax Romana, when Sparta had lost its power, to try to make even more brutal warriors, the dimastigosis to replace the previous one. In the same place, children were placed in the sun and mercilessly whipped before the gaze of onlookers from all over Sparta. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, many of those unhappy boys died in the course of this ceremony.

Nothing more pleasant awaited those who survived. When they became teenagers, they were subjected to the tests of the gymnopedias. These were festivals where they had to overcome very hard exercises and stay for hours on their feet and in the sun.

This entire stage, as you may have imagined, was accompanied by inhuman punishments and of a discipline for which the qualifier of iron falls short. They were controlled by the martongorofoi, who also took care of the punishments.

While receiving this training, they were also instilled obedience and camaraderie. But above all, the delivery to the communityeven if it cost them their own life. For this, hierarchical groups were formed in which the boys were integrated like a pineapple always in favor of the public good.

The second stage of the Agogé: the eireinado

You should know that, with all the above, the education of some Spartan children did not end. Most of them, already prepared for war, returned to the community choosing the group to which they belonged.

But those who had excelled in their training, entered the eirinated, which was based on stimulating their survival instinct and which was intended to form elite warrior groups.

For this they were included in the Cryptia, a secret institution. So their training consisted of leaving them alone in the mountains, naked and without provisions. They had to survive in that situation for a year without being caught or seen. Those who survived this last part of their training became hippies or elite soldiers who could even take care of the king's security.

The education of Spartan girls

Unlike other Greek cities where the woman was destined to be a housewife, in Sparta girls also received an important education. It is true that she was aimed at conceiving new warriors. But to do this, they had to be fit and as strong as possible.

Thus, they received training in athletics, wrestling and gymnastics. There was even competitions between them. They were also taught to be austere in dress and general appearance. For the Spartans it was more important to have strong and vigorous women than attractive.

Despite all this, we will tell you that the women of Sparta enjoyed a much more liberal status than their fellow Greek polis. They could live together under footing with her male companions. It is even believed that they trained together.

When she finished her training, the Spartan woman got married. But since her husband spent most of his time with his comrades in arms, he hardly had a family life. However, for that very reason, it was the one in charge of maintaining the economy of the house.

In conclusion, the education of Spartan children was of excessive harshness and sometimes cruelty, as you can see. In contrast, the army of Sparta was feared throughout Greece and has gone down in history as example of discipline and courage. But at what cost?