‘The agoge was an effective education method in Classical Sparta’ Discuss.
In Classical Sparta, the agoge, was a successful education method as it bred discipline and fear into the future homoioi. Fear benefited the Spartan polis due to the fact that it created unquestionable obedience to authority. Plutarch expressed how that, ‘Where there is fear, there is also a sense of respect’ (Plutarch, Cleomenes). At the age of seven, the young Spartans started their agoge training, a paidonomos was placed in consistent supervision of the boy and was able to punish them when they felt necessary (Webb, 2012). Furthermore, the paidonomos was assisted by a young man, aged around 18-20, called an eirenes. The eirenes carried a whip around with them, able to chastise students for any misbehaviour (Amos and Lang, 1979), this was effective as it further created more fear, which lead to a higher respect for those older than them.
During their teen years, the agoge effectively, systematically underfed the boys, as they believed smaller diets produced taller and healthier people (Webb, 2012). They were also underfed to encourage stealing; this would build up their stealth skills and benefit their military
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One of the greatest responsibilities a woman had in Classical Sparta was giving birth to the Spartan males. Through physical training when a young teen with the Spartan boys, the women needed to be healthy and strong to produce healthy children capable of going through the agoge training. “…By athleticism they made sure that their children would be up to the standard of physical fitness demanded by the Spartan system.” (H.Michell, Sparta). The Spartan mother would prepare the young Spartans prior to the agoge; she would have minimal interaction and supply minimal clothing and
The women in Sparta were strong. They birthed warriors. They were warriors themselves. “They also underwent an intensive physical training program, which included discus and javelin throwing, and wrestling. The purpose of this training program was to ensure that they became fit breeders of Spartan babies.” (Garland, Robert. "The People." Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.
As with most historical re-enactments, 300 places significant exaggeration on each civilizations central city-state ideologies and this is reflected in each scene by the actions of the individuals throughout Zack Snyder’s film. The representation of the Spartan warrior mentality through scenes depicting young Spartan children throughout their childhood participating in multiple life threatening challenges; are seemingly accurate as the primary purpose of Spartan schooling was to produce perfect soldiers, through strictly disciplined military training that began for all boys at the age of 7 as they left home to join the agoge. The agoge was set up in order to weaken family ties and create personal identity. These children were usually allotted no shoes, little clothing and educated through a vigorous training schedule of boxing, wrestling, javelin and discus throwing. They suffered through harsh conditions and were taught to take satisfaction in enduring pain and hardship, as well as to value strengt...
Athenian girls were not officially schooled, they were usually taught in the own homes. The purpose of an Athenian education was to train people to be thinkers, people who are well-trained in the arts and sciences (Columbia). The education of the youth establishes a precedent for the differences between the way Spartans and Athenians lead their lives. At age seven, training for the military began for all Spartan boys, they’re forced to leave their homes and go to military schools, where they endure all types of harsh training and discipline. The main lesson was learning to take pride in enduring pain and hardship.
Spartan culture is a great example of how a society’s infrastructure will directly affect both, its social structure and superstructure. It also serves as a warning that any society that becomes too rigid in its structure and too static in its values will not last long when confronted with more agile and adaptable cultures. This paper will explore why Sparta became the Hellenic army par excellence, how this worked to create a very specific social structure founded on martial values, and, finally, how that social structure would ultimately be the undoing of the culture.
Spartan spouses lived apart and often only met on rare occasions with the intent to procreate (Blundell). This tactic was used, because they wanted men to always be focused and training to be great soldiers, and not having to worry about family life would lessen the stress for the men (Blundell). Spartan women were given the role of taking care of the household, children, and the families finances (Blundell). However women in Spartan culture, were not brought up to do chores around the house, such as cooking or cleaning (Powell). The reasons behind that was they wanted the girls to focus their education on being physically strong and mentally strong (Powell). The women knew that when they started a household they would be given a helot or slave to take care of the small tasks around the home (Powell). Spartan women’s role in the household, gave them greater independence to be able to perform the activities they wanted to, and gave them the opportunity to be away from the
James Thompson’s research on women in Sparta is not clear where he got the information. However, he seems to be the only one who does not compare Sparta directly to Athens until the very end, were he provides a chart on why women were more dominant than their Athenian sisters. His main focus of work was explaining what women could and could not do. In the beginning he briefly talks about Spartan boys before beginning to talk about the women. Throughout the article he talks about how having the responsibility of the house, properties and children must have been enormous without the husband there. He mentions some of the responsibilities and explained why marriages were the way they were. He talks about the women having a strong voice in their societies and benign influential in the decision making of the country despise the fact that they could not vote. He often makes reference of other people’s opinions such as saying “some have suggested…”. He talks about women owned a third of the land and could inherited land like the boys too. His work is intended for a general audience and one can argue that it could be aimed towards children.
Women in Sparta were more dominant in society than their Athenian sisters. Spartan women were given a good education, they were taught how to read and write, and were good in arts and athletics. Spartan women were expected to be smart enough to control their property. Spartan women had different freedoms and advantages than other Greek women; they had to be physically, emotionally, and intellectually strong. Spartan women were notoriously known for their razor-sharp wit and outspoken natures. They were encouraged to develop their intellect, and owned more than third of the land almost two-fifths of the state. While husbands and sons were working in the military, women took charge of everything inside and outside of the household. Spartan women were in control of their sons until the totalitarian society took them over at the age of 7. Being under a totalitarian society, Sparta had a strong military and citizens did not have an easy lifestyle like the Athenians. A totalitarian society meant that the political system had full control of the state, and controlled all aspects of public and private life. Spartan men dedicated their lives to the forces, and other services to the state of Sparta. Leaving their wife to the family wealth, and owning all property. Athenian men were away discussing politics, and when they came home they expected obedience from their wives. Athenian men had to be in control at all times while in public, but no social control behind closed doors. Athenian women never inherited any property, and they were left available to male relatives. Material power led the women of Sparta and Athens to marry a relative for heritance money. Financial power for women in Athens, was unlawful no woman could be in charge of mon...
In their youth, Spartan women were allowed to train with Spartan warriors. This was done in the belief that their training would give them the power to bear warrior sons (Robert R. Edgar). In fact, women in Sparta formed a military background in their youth. They were also as strong
Unlike other Greek city states, women played an integral role in Spartan society as they were the backbone of the Spartan economic system of inheritance and marriage dowry and they were relied upon to fulfill their main responsibility of producing Spartan warrior sons. These principle economic systems affected wealth distribution among Spartan citizens especially among the Spartan elite class. Spartan women led a completely different life than women in most other ancient Greek city states, as they were depended upon to maintain Spartan social systems. In a society where the state is more involved in home life women had freedom of movement and they were permitted to communicate with men who were not their husbands. Women had domestic responsibilities including the maintenance of homes and farms when the men were on campaign, while the typical Greek female responsibilities such as weaving were delegated to slaves. Girls were raised much like Spartan boys as they were made to go through physical training insuring their success in fulfilling their most important role in society, child-bearing. The few primary sources on Sparta and Spartiate women, namely Aristotle, Plutarch, Herodotus and Xenophon were historians who lived after the prominence of ancient Sparta; therefore, the facts regarding the women’s influence in social, economic and political issues must be carefully interpreted and analysed with help from secondary sources.
Sparta was a strict military city-state. The people were Dorians who conquered Laconia. This region lies in the Peloponnesus, which lied in southern Greece. The invaders turned the conquered people into state owned slaves, called helots. Since the helots greatly outnumbered their rulers, Spartans established a strict and brutal system of control. The Spartan government had two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of all citizens approved all major decisions. From child-hood, a Spartan prepared to be part of the military. All newborn were examined and the healthy lived and the sickly were left to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers or mothers of soldiers to be healthy. At the age of seven, boys trained for a lifetime in the Spartan military. They moved to the barracks and endured brutal and extensive training.
Kennell, Nigel M. The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education & Culture in Ancient Sparta. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1995. Print.
...litary end even the women in Sparta would have been affected by the military ways of life almost as much as the young men. From childhood they were being primed to raise a family, they were taught in the ways of mid wifery, learning the correct manner in teaching the future young men of Sparta and keeping themselves fit to produce fit children.
A man's life in Sparta was lived in support of the State, every responsibility he had was directed to the benefit of Sparta. His purpose as a person was to defend and enlarge the nation as a warrior. His purpose as a husband and father was to strengthen the nation, "family life" was a tertiary concern at best, behind warrior status, warrior production and possibly even
Women in the ancient world had few rights, they differed from country to country or, in the case of the women of Athens and Sparta, from city-state to the city-state. The women of the city-states of Athens and Sparta had profound differences in their roles in the political and the daily lives of their families and their cities. When it came to the difference in levels of power and the rights of women, Sparta was a leader in its time. At the same time, their rights as citizens were almost the same. While they did not take an active part in politics, they had opinions and ideas like women all over the world. Their thoughts, deeds, and opinions rarely recorded or if they were, the male historians or philosophers of the time recorded them. What were roles did the women in ancient Athens and Sparta? Were they citizens, did they have personal freedoms? On the other hand, did they in a time when the beginnings of democracy were happening were they less than a second-class citizen? The misogyny and patriarchal societies continued throughout the ancient and classical periods only beginning to change in the Hellenistic era.
Sparta was a city-state based on strict military ruling, at the age of seven a young Spartan would start out training and be trained into killing machines. When a Spartan baby is born, high elite Spartan soldiers would observe the baby to see if it was healthy and strong, if not the baby was ill and weak so it would be taken up a mountain and left there to die. This is just one example that shows how Sparta only wants a strong army and doesn't care about anything else. Strict rules of the government made it so that every Spartan was trained to be physically and mentally fit for war.