male descendants of Spartaâs founders, but only healthy ones. Selection began at birth: male babies were examined by a council of elders, and imperfect and weak infants were abandoned to die of exposure on a mountaintop. Healthy boys lived at home until the age of seven, when they left to start trainingâthe agoge . For the next ten years they lived in communal messes where they studied reading, writing, music, and dancing, but primarily military subjects.
Conditions in the agoge were deliberately harsh in order to toughen the young warriors. Each boy was given only one piece of clothing a year, a cloak. To make them resourceful, the boys were underfed. They had to steal food to survive, though if they were caught, they were punished. The physical training was demanding. They were trained to fight in phalanx formation: closely linked, shield over chest, sword in hand. They marched so closely that each soldierâs shield partly protected the man to his left. This was part of what created such a powerful bond of loyalty and trust between them; also, each young soldier had a close relationship with an older mentor, who acted as his adviser and guide.
Every aspect of their lives was affected. The trainees were expected to speak like soldiers, to be terse and witty: the word âlaconicâ comes from laconia , a Greek word for the region of Sparta.
At eighteen Spartans graduated from the agoge . At twenty they became members of one of the syssitia , military messes or dining clubs, and it was here that they formed their closest personal bonds. They remained full-time soldiers until the age of thirty, and until the age of sixty they were active reservists. At thirty they were required to marry, and they left the messes to live with their wives and children. The system, with its intense focus on military training, produced legendary warriors who were fiercely loyal to their fellow soldiers and their country.
The business of Sparta was war, and all else was subjugated to that. Since its citizens were full-time soldiers, all other business was transacted by noncitizens. Manual labor was performed by Helots â state-owned slaves who were often captured soldiers and their families, brought back from foreign wars. Spartaâs economy was primarily agricultural, and the Helots did the farming, living in small outlying villages. Relations between the two groups were hostile: Spartans were suspicious of the slaves, and in order to prevent mutinous stirrings, Helots were routinely mocked and beaten, to crush their spirits.
Sparta was governed by two hereditary king-priests, as well as magistrates, or ephors. The ephors took office each year, and at that time the state declared a ritual war against its Helots. The act of murder was a serious offense, carrying the burden of blood guilt, but killing a Helot was not considered murder. Helots could be killed with impunity.
The ritual war took place in the autumn. At that time, certain graduates of the agoge were chosen for a secret rite called the krypteia. These soldiers were sent out at night, armed only with knives, into the Helot villages. Their mission was to stalk and kill any Helots they thought troublesome.
The political purpose of the krypteia was to suppress the possibility of revolt: the young warriors on their nocturnal raids struck terror into the Helot community, like members of a secret police squad. But for the soldiers it had another, darker function: the krypteia legitimized the kill. It gave the soldiers moral permission from the state, the church, and their comrades to step outside the bounds of humanity. It broke down the psychological restraints against murder.
Humans have a powerful and innate resistance to killing other humans. Something in the heart curdles at the prospect. The sound of screams, the sight of blood, the evidence of pain: all arouse an urgent need to quit. The human recognizes itself in the other. Within the military, this deep
Conditions in the agoge were deliberately harsh in order to toughen the young warriors. Each boy was given only one piece of clothing a year, a cloak. To make them resourceful, the boys were underfed. They had to steal food to survive, though if they were caught, they were punished. The physical training was demanding. They were trained to fight in phalanx formation: closely linked, shield over chest, sword in hand. They marched so closely that each soldierâs shield partly protected the man to his left. This was part of what created such a powerful bond of loyalty and trust between them; also, each young soldier had a close relationship with an older mentor, who acted as his adviser and guide.
Every aspect of their lives was affected. The trainees were expected to speak like soldiers, to be terse and witty: the word âlaconicâ comes from laconia , a Greek word for the region of Sparta.
At eighteen Spartans graduated from the agoge . At twenty they became members of one of the syssitia , military messes or dining clubs, and it was here that they formed their closest personal bonds. They remained full-time soldiers until the age of thirty, and until the age of sixty they were active reservists. At thirty they were required to marry, and they left the messes to live with their wives and children. The system, with its intense focus on military training, produced legendary warriors who were fiercely loyal to their fellow soldiers and their country.
The business of Sparta was war, and all else was subjugated to that. Since its citizens were full-time soldiers, all other business was transacted by noncitizens. Manual labor was performed by Helots â state-owned slaves who were often captured soldiers and their families, brought back from foreign wars. Spartaâs economy was primarily agricultural, and the Helots did the farming, living in small outlying villages. Relations between the two groups were hostile: Spartans were suspicious of the slaves, and in order to prevent mutinous stirrings, Helots were routinely mocked and beaten, to crush their spirits.
Sparta was governed by two hereditary king-priests, as well as magistrates, or ephors. The ephors took office each year, and at that time the state declared a ritual war against its Helots. The act of murder was a serious offense, carrying the burden of blood guilt, but killing a Helot was not considered murder. Helots could be killed with impunity.
The ritual war took place in the autumn. At that time, certain graduates of the agoge were chosen for a secret rite called the krypteia. These soldiers were sent out at night, armed only with knives, into the Helot villages. Their mission was to stalk and kill any Helots they thought troublesome.
The political purpose of the krypteia was to suppress the possibility of revolt: the young warriors on their nocturnal raids struck terror into the Helot community, like members of a secret police squad. But for the soldiers it had another, darker function: the krypteia legitimized the kill. It gave the soldiers moral permission from the state, the church, and their comrades to step outside the bounds of humanity. It broke down the psychological restraints against murder.
Humans have a powerful and innate resistance to killing other humans. Something in the heart curdles at the prospect. The sound of screams, the sight of blood, the evidence of pain: all arouse an urgent need to quit. The human recognizes itself in the other. Within the military, this deep
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