Life in Sparta
Life in Sparta was very hard and full of work and war. Sparta was one of the only city-states that took the education for women very seriously. The education they emphasized was not an academic, but a physical education.
The boys were trained, starting at the age of seven, to be warriors in the Spartan military. When seven years old, they boys would be taken away from their mothers and sent to barracks where they would be exposed to fierce training. In the barracks they were taught survival skills, discipline, weapon usage, hunting and how to endure pain. When a boy reached twenty, they became full-time soldiers until sixty. The men were allowed to marry, but could not live with their wives. In war, it would be an honor to die fighting for Sparta.
The girls, like the boys, were judged and killed if they were found weak and were trained along the same guidelines. The girls that lived were exposed to harsh physical training which included: Gymnastics, running, wrestling, strength and more. The Spartans believed that strong women and strong men make strong children. Unlike the other Spartan city-states like Athens, women had much freedom. In Sparta, the women were allowed to vote. They were also allowed to go out in public and hunt. They were usually the ones who hunted for the family, for it was the woman's job.
Here is a video that shows the difference of life in Sparta with the life in Athens:
The boys were trained, starting at the age of seven, to be warriors in the Spartan military. When seven years old, they boys would be taken away from their mothers and sent to barracks where they would be exposed to fierce training. In the barracks they were taught survival skills, discipline, weapon usage, hunting and how to endure pain. When a boy reached twenty, they became full-time soldiers until sixty. The men were allowed to marry, but could not live with their wives. In war, it would be an honor to die fighting for Sparta.
The girls, like the boys, were judged and killed if they were found weak and were trained along the same guidelines. The girls that lived were exposed to harsh physical training which included: Gymnastics, running, wrestling, strength and more. The Spartans believed that strong women and strong men make strong children. Unlike the other Spartan city-states like Athens, women had much freedom. In Sparta, the women were allowed to vote. They were also allowed to go out in public and hunt. They were usually the ones who hunted for the family, for it was the woman's job.
Here is a video that shows the difference of life in Sparta with the life in Athens:
Everyone in Sparta was healthy and strong. They love Sparta so much they gave up their individual freedom for the safety and power of Sparta. All of the hard training by the Spartan state led to a powerful government and an unbeatable army.