The Role of Education and the Military in Sparta

Essay by brownydom March 2009

download word file, 14 pages 0.0

Downloaded 19 times

Education"All the education was designed to produce prompt obedience to authority, stout endurance of hardship and victory or death in battle" - PlutarchSeven to Twelve Years•Boy left home to live in barracks•They were enrolled in companies, or herds, according to Plutarch. This was to accustom them to learn, live and play as a group•Placed under the authority of the paidonomus, or "boy herder", a magistrate charged with supervising education•An older youth (around 20 years old) directed them. He combined common sense with a great fighting spirit.

•Xenophon suggests they had whips for floggings.

•"…kept their eyes on him, the (paidonomos) responded to his instruction, and endured their punishments from him, …this training served…in learning ready obedience" - Plutarch the paidonomos had the ability to physically punish the young Spartan boys in an attempt of gaining control over them and teaching them to be obedient.

•"…he (paidonomos) had authority to hold musters of the boys, and as their overseer, in case of any misbehaviour, to chastise severely" same as above•Boys were introduced slowly to the full rigours of discipline and competition.

The Spartan elders took great care to ensure that the boys in this age group were set a program which was not too rigourous and that allowed steady physical growth. - Aristophanes, Lysistrata the elders were aware of how the boys matured. If they worked them like a Spartiate at the age of 7 -12, they may die or severely injure themselves•"The objective of this first stage of education was very simple: to develop the physical strength of the children and teach them to live together and to show obedience". - Barrow the 7 - 12 age bracket was only to teach the boys teamwork and begin to develop their strength•"They learned how to look after themselves, how...