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Spartan Civic Education System

Type Object Region Lacedaemon Time c. -700–-371

Sparta's compulsory public militarized education system (agoge) for male citizens' sons, from about age seven through youth stages, training physique…

Timeline

  1. c. -700–-650Sparta · LacedaemonTradition attributes the establishment of the agoge to the lawgiver Lycurgus; the polis fixed the collective education obligation of citizens by law, emphasizing simple living, strict discipline, and absolute loyalty to Lacedaemon as fatherland.
  2. c. -650–-500Sparta · LacedaemonBoys entered the agoge at age seven, grouped by age (agelai), dining in the common mess (syssitia), and receiving training in running, wrestling, weapons, and tactics; in the youth stage they took part in practical tests such as the krypteia secret police to consolidate control over the helots.
  3. c. -500–-479Thermopylae and Plataea · Central GreeceDuring the Persian Wars, agoge-trained Spartan hoplites displayed high tactical skill and a spirit of self-sacrifice at battles such as Thermopylae and Plataea, making this educational system a military exemplar throughout the Greek world.

Sources