At age 20, Spartan males became full-time soldiers, and remained on active duty until age 60.
At the age of 20, a young Spartan graduated from the ranks of the paidiskoi into the hēbōntes and was known as an eirēn. If he had demonstrated sufficient leadership qualities throughout his training, he might be selected to lead an agelē.
Spartan soldiers spent most of their lives with their fellow soldiers. At 20, they joined the state militia--a standing reserve force available for duty in time of emergency--in which they served until they were 60 years old. Any Spartan male who did not pass these examinations became a perioikos.
At age 30, they became full citizens of Sparta, provided they had served honorably. They were required to continue serving the military, however, until age 60.
At about the age of 20, Spartan men were given a difficult test of fitness, military ability, and leadership skills. If they passed, they became Spartan soldiers and full citizens. Even then, they continued to live in soldiers' barracks, where they ate, slept, and trained with their classmates.
In Athens and Sparta, homosexuality was practiced to various degrees, and its status was somewhat “complicated,” according to Plato's Pausanias. In Thebes, on the other hand, it was actively encouraged, and even legally incentivized.
Spartan society didn't discourage romantic love, but marriage and childrearing were both subject to some peculiar cultural and governmental constraints. The state counseled that men should marry at age 30 and women at 20.
As Cartledge writes in Spartan Reflections, it wasn't until age 60 that Spartans finally were allowed to retire from the army—provided that they lived that long.
The strongest and bravest became captains. Girls also learned Spartan values, but their upbringing was less strict. All male Spartan citizens became soldiers at age 20. Men retired from soldiering at age 60 and could then become elders.
That's right, a Spartan citizen was expected by law to be fit enough for hand to hand combat, in full bronze armor, under the blazing heat of the Mediterranean sun up to the same age people in the modern world are typically adjusting their knee braces before shuffling through the doors of a buffet.
Abstract: The male children of the ancient Spartans of Greece and the Sambia of New Guinea are exposed to programmed mental maltreatment and physically abusive practices.
As can be expected, growing up as a Spartan was not always easy. Supposedly, according to some sources, the Spartans were so focused on being a strong and formidable nation that they would throw babies off the Kaiadas cliff if they were found to be deformed in any way.
Sparta stands out as an important city-state in Ancient Greece because of the way it treated its women; Spartan women enjoyed more freedoms and held greater control over their own lives. However, this came at the price of harsher marital and familial duties, which both society and the state expected of them.
Spartan boys would enter this stage at age 7 and remain until they were 14. Training within the Paides mostly focused on cultivating basic skills, such as reading, writing, and music, as well as constructing their own beds. Trainees would also take part in exercises that would promote military prowess.
Spartan girls were not allowed to join but were educated at home by their mothers or trainers. Boys entered the agoge at the age of 7 and graduated around the age of 30 at which time they were allowed to marry and start a family.
Boys would compete in athletic events such as running and wrestling, as well as choral dance performances. Notably, paides were expected to steal food for themselves and for their eirēn, and were probably underfed as a means of encouraging this.
Othryades (Ancient Greek: Ὀθρυάδης) and Othryadas (Ancient Greek: Ὀθρυάδας) was the last surviving Spartan of the 300 Spartans selected to fight against 300 Argives in the Battle of the 300 Champions. Ashamed by surviving his comrades, he committed suicide on the field following the battle.
Yes and No. They did not have six-packs. They were endurance-builders, not body-builders. As a result, they were quite muscular, but they also had a good chunk of fat too.
Spartan warriors known for their professionalism were the best and most feared soldiers of Greece in the fifth century B.C. Their formidable military strength and commitment to guard their land helped Sparta dominate Greece in the fifth century.
At age 20, Spartan males became full-time soldiers, and remained on active duty until age 60.
Strong, healthy boys were raised by their mothers until age seven. Discipline was strict. Boys were definitely not allowed to be “boys.” They could not complain about food, throw tantrums, or be afraid of the dark. Spartan boys needed to be physically and mentally brave.
The Spartans, noted among ancient writers for their austerity, prepared a black broth of blood and boiled pig's leg, seasoned with vinegar, which they combined with servings of barley, fruit, raw greens, wine and, at larger dinners, sausages or roasted meat.
Xenophon also reveals that if an older man had a young, fertile wife, he could 'introduce' her to a young man whose physical and moral qualities he admired for the purpose of begetting children. Polybius (c. 200‒118 bce) even claims that it was 'common custom' for three or four Spartiates to share one wife.
Spartan men under the age of thirty were not permitted to live with their wives, instead they were expected to live communally with other members of their syssitia. Due to the husband's absence, women were expected to run the household largely alone.
In Ancient Sparta
The only goal of Spartan marriage was reproduction, and there were many cases of agreements being made for children to be conceived outside of just the husband and wife. If a husband was very old he may choose a young man to impregnate his wife on his behalf.