Spartan Education
Author: Dimitrios Asmanis (Student of History and Archaeology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, creator of the online account Historia Grecia)
During the Archaic period (ca. 750/700 – 480 BC), significant developments are observed in the ancient Greek city-states. The focal point of these developments is Athens and Sparta. Both cities stand out for their forms of government, their social classes, their educational systems, and their religious festivals. In Sparta in particular, the great reformer was the lawgiver Lycurgus (800 – 730 BC). He was the one who shaped the well-known education of Spartan boys, the so-called agōgē.
The Spartan agōgē differed from the corresponding education of the Athenians. In Athens, parents paid the paidagōgos for the teaching of their children, and thus it was a private matter. In contrast, in Sparta education was a public matter. Parents did provide financially for the agōgē, but the state determined its objectives. Another difference between the Spartan agōgē and Athenian education lies in the fact that in Sparta girls also took part in the agōgē. Boys were educated regardless of their parents’ financial situation. This happened because a wealthy family had the means to pay for the agōgē of a poorer boy, who would later support the family’s child as a trophimos or mothax. In this way, the mothakes could become homoioi and attain offices, as Brasidas and Lysander succeeded in doing.
The purpose of this training was to create capable warrior-hoplites who would man the Spartan army. Upon the successful completion of the agoge, the trainees acquired political rights and became citizens, Equals. An Equal was anyone whose parents were both Spartans, who obeyed the state laws, who participated in the common messes, and, as mentioned above, succeeded in all stages of the agoge.
At birth, Spartan infants were examined for their physical integrity by the phyletes, the elders. If the phyletes judged that the infant was sound and robust, they returned it to its mother until the age of seven. Up to that age, the mother toughened the child in order to prepare it for the hardships and difficulties of the agoge. In contrast, if the phyletes decided that the infant was deformed or frail, they either sent it to the Apothetes, a place near Mount Taygetus, or the infant grew up normally within Spartan society but without the right to land allotment and without the prospect of becoming one of the Homoioi (Equals). It is worth noting that the myth about infants being thrown into the Kaiadas has now been debunked. Modern research has found in the cave the bones of prisoners of war or wanted men, at least between twenty and forty years old.
When boys reached the age of seven, the city took over their agoge (education and training). The boys were divided into groups, the boues, under the leadership of the bouagos, who was elected by the state according to his bravery, prudence and combativeness, and who was quite strict with the children of his boua. The leader was in fact supervised by older men, so that he would not abuse his authority.
The agoge was completed in three stages: theft, pederasty and krypteia. In the stage of theft, the children were required to steal an object without being noticed and caught. If they were detected, they were whipped because of their clumsiness and carelessness. The purpose of theft was the development of the youths’ abilities, their sense of comradeship, organization, powers of observation, sharpness of mind and methodical thinking, qualities that were of the utmost importance in war. This stage lasted from the age of twelve until the age of eighteen.
The second stage of education was paiderastia, which did not have the modern meaning. Paiderastia was a relationship similar to that of “student–teacher.” It was formed between a mature, adult man, the erastes, and a young man, the eromenos. The erastes chose his eromenos with the latter’s consent. Paiderastia was obligatory for young men, but also for women who took part in the educational system. The “teacher” accompanied the youth to the marketplace and educated him as a mentor. Carnal relations were forbidden and punished with complete loss of civic honor, even with death, so it is clear that men were not led to effeminacy. This particular stage began at the age of twelve and could last up to thirty years of age.
The third and final stage was the krypteia. The youth left for nature, into isolation, without weapons, with the goal of surviving. He had to kill wild animals and later, in the 4th century, helots. The killing of helots was carried out in order to maintain Spartan control over them when Sparta lost its dominance in Messenia. The purpose of the krypteia was to strengthen the survival instinct of the young men and to prepare them for the most difficult missions. There was probably also a connection between the krypteia and recruitment into the corps of the three hundred hippeis, which consisted of elite hoplites, a kind of royal guard. The krypteia lasted from the age of eighteen until the age of twenty.
In addition, Spartan education was renowned for the brevity and conciseness of its replies, the so‑called laconizing. Spartan irony was also famous. The basic food of those undergoing training during the agoge was the renowned black broth. Besides their military achievements, the Spartans also excelled in dance, music, and choral performance.
As mentioned above, women also took part in the agoge. However, the education of women differed from that of men. Women trained in running, javelin throwing, wrestling, discus, as well as in team events. Spartan women were expected to be physically fit so that they could give birth to strong sons who would later become worthy warriors.
In conclusion, the agoge was a fundamental element of Spartan society. It was what distinguished Sparta from the other city‑states. War, discipline, endurance, ability, honor, bravery, cooperation are some of the words that stand out and underpin the Spartan way of being. Thanks to this harsh educational system, the Spartans went down in history for their military achievements in battles such as the Battle of Thermopylae, the Battle of Plataea, the Battle of Amphipolis, and many others.
Βιβλιογραφία:
François Lefèvre (2016), Ιστορία του Αρχαίου Ελληνικού κόσμου, Αθήνα, Εκδόσεις Καρδάμιτσα
J.B. Bury & Russell Meiggs (2011), Ιστορία της Αρχαίας Ελλάδας, Αθήνα, Εκδόσεις ΚΑΡΔΑΜΙΤΣΑ
Δευτερεύουσες πηγές:
Οπτικό Υλικό:
https://odosell.blogspot.com/2017/05/lykourgos-sparti.html
https://elisme.gr/thesmoi-agogi-stin-archaia-sparti/
https://chilonas.com/2012/11/15/httpwp-mep1op6y-zn/
https://anthomeli.com/2022/01/mnimeio-leonida-kentro-istorikis-enimerosis-thermopylon-me-paidia.html