What was the Spartans training like?

What was the Spartans training like?

Throughout their adolescent and teenage years, Spartan boys were required to become proficient in all manner of military activities. They were taught boxing, swimming, wrestling, javelin-throwing, and discus-throwing. They were trained to harden themselves to the elements.

What did the Spartans do for training?

It was the aim of Sparta that all children be born healthy, strong, and grow up to be warriors. The actual training of the Spartan youth was brutal, focusing on cultivating skills such as fighting, stealth, pain tolerance, as well as dancing, singing, and developing loyalty to the Spartan state.

How was Athens military training different than the Spartans?

Like Spartan boys, Athenian boys had to learn to run, jump, and fight. But this training was not as harsh or as long as the training in Sparta. Unlike Spartan men, Athenian men didn’t have to devote their whole lives to the army. All men in Athens joined the army, but for only two years.

How does a Spartan education differ from other education systems?

Education in Sparta was completely different. The purpose of education in Sparta was to produce and maintain a powerful army. Sparta boys entered military school when they were about six years old. They learned how to read and write, but those skills were not considered very important except for messages.

Why is Sparta education better than Athens?

Sparta is far superior to Athens because their army was fierce and protective, girls received some education and women had more freedom than in other poleis. Secondly, in Sparta girls were able to learn a lot more than in other places. Spartan girls were not taught just by their mothers like in Athens.

When did Spartans start training?

At the age of 7, Spartan boys were removed from their parents’ homes and began the “agoge,” a state-sponsored training regimen designed to mold them into skilled warriors and moral citizens.

Why did the Spartans go to military school?

The primary purpose of Spartan education, and indeed of Spartan society as a whole, differed greatly from that of the Athenians. The primary goal of Spartan education was to produce good soldiers. Training for the military began at age 7, as all Spartan boys left home to go to military school.

How old did the Spartans have to be to train?

With the exception of the first born sons of the ruling houses, the young boys of Sparta entered into this training curriculum, known as Agoge, starting at the age of seven.

What was the education system of the Spartans?

The famous education and training system of the Spartans, the agoge, was a subject of controversy even back in the ancient world. Mystifying and rigorous, this system strove hard to produce citizens who were worthy of Spartan citizenship. Did You Know? The word ‘ agoge ‘ actually means ‘rearing’ in Greek.

How did the agoge train the Spartan Warriors?

The specifics of the Agoge training are not clear. Xenophon does describe in some detail that young boys were not only allowed to fight, but were regularly encouraged to challenge each other to regular bouts. To develop a tolerance for pain, the Spartan youth were deprived of certain luxuries.