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GOVERNMENT || GROWING UP || MARRIAGE || WOMEN |
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GOVERNMENT || GROWING UP || MARRIAGE || WOMEN |
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Sparta, unlike Athens, had kings who came from two great aristocratic houses. The two kings (dual monarchy) of Sparta however held little power over Sparta, rather it was the counsel below the kings, composed of 28 nobles and the two kings which made many of the political decisions for Sparta.
Just below the Counsel was the assembly of the Spartiate (composed of Spartan males). The assembly was run democratically and could veto or approve the rulings of the counsel above it. However, beyond the counsel, and beyond the assembly, was the Ephorate, a group of five men who practically guided all aspects of Spartan life. Along with ruling over the military, it held the power to veto any ruling made by the Counsel or the assembly.
So really, just a few very powerful men, and the army, ran Sparta. Sparta was famous for their military strength, and were a hugely powerful country.
Sparta was in many ways the opposite to Athens. They required military service for nearly a person's entire life. At the age of seven, a male child was taken from his mother, and until the age of 30 and possibly beyond was required to undergo training and military service to the state.
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When a male child was born in Sparta, he was expected to grow up tough and strong. Nurses rather than mothers brought up the child with little coddling, and only simple food. When the child reached the age of seven, they were ready for their education and were organized into age groups. Once introduced into the age groups, they were introduced to communal living with their age group and with others. From then on they underwent brutal training. Always under the control of someone older than themselves, they underwent many competitive events and staged battles. A child's education did include choral dance, reading, and writing, but athleticism and strength was stressed. No small wonder that the Spartans themselves won many of the Olympic events in Athens. After this, some Spartans underwent extra training. Armed with a small knife, no shelter, clothing, or food, the youths hid during the day, and in the evening as a sort of 'secret police' patrolled the helot land plots in search of potential revolts, and roamed the mountainside. |
After this, the men were expected to marry. Marriage was very important in order to have healthy children. However, the marriage ceremony for a Spartan man and woman was unusual. The woman was kidnapped in the night, her head would be shaved, and she was made to wear men's clothing and lie on a straw pallet in the dark.
The groom afterward would return to the barrack of young men where he lived, and would have little or no contact with the bride from then on, except for visits. A Spartan male could have many wives, but lived mostly amongst his mess and barrack mates with little time spent with them. Until the age of thirty or onward, a Spartan man's life was entirely dedicated to his state and to the army.
Unlike the women of Athens, Spartan women were taught reading, and writing, but were also expected to be able to protect themselves. A girl's education was equally as brutal as the men's, and included many athletic events such as javelin, discus, foot races, and staged battles. In many such events, Spartan women would run naked in the presence of their male counterparts, and were respected for their athletic feats.
Spartan women were expected to produce strong and healthy children, and to be loyal to their state. In comparison to Athens, Spartan girls were better fed their their Athenian counterparts, and were taught writing.
Any Spartan man could abduct a wife. When a child was born, the woman had little to do with its upbringing, rather nurses handled the child's care (in addition, a female Spartan child was subject to the same tests of strength as a male child.).
Spartan women had many rights that other Greek women did not have. They could own and control their own property, and could take another husband if their first had been away at war for too long. A woman was expected in times of war to overtake her husband's property, and to guard it against invaders until her husband returned. Hence many Spartan women are pictured as warriors.
