Discuss education in sparta?

Masterofbooksdirected

7 years ago

Ancient Greek City State of
Sparta
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Education System…
Written by GreekBoston.com in Ancient Greek
History
Most of us understand how unique the Spartan
culture was since it was entirely focused on the
success of their warriors. Every aspect of the
society, including the education system, was
focused on either raising warriors, or raising
those who would support the warriors. Here’s a
look at what the education system was like:
Spartan Education System for New Warriors Was
Called “Agoge”
The ultimate goal of the agoge , or the Spartan
education system, was to raise male soldiers
who would be effective in the Spartan army.
Training began at the age of seven and all male
citizens, except the firstborn male of the
household, was required to attend this training.
The students would live in these communities
until the age of twenty, when they could go on to
become professional soldiers. However, females
would also be shipped to community schools –
they would just learn a different set of skills.
How Students were Grouped While Getting
Educated
Students were organized into groups with each
group choosing their own leaders. These leaders
in consultation with his peers would then choose
the 20 year old that they wanted as their
instructor. These 20 year olds were in their last
year of education. and it was their responsibility
to train the younger students in what they had
learned before they spent the next 30 years
serving in the military.
What the Males Would Learn at School
As mentioned above, the ultimate goal was to
turn the boys into soldiers and the training was
comprehensive and also focused on physical
training. They learned how to box, swim, wrestle,
throw the javelin, track animals, hunt, fish, and
hrow the discus. Learning survival skills such as
tracking, hunting, and fishing were not only tools
that would help them in war, but also assist
them while traveling. They also had wilderness
training such as first aid, what to eat while on
the road, and how to build shelter.
Boys Had to Pass Tests In Order to Graduate
Before graduation each boy had to steal some
food without getting caught. The purpose of this
exercise was to prove that the boy could take
care of himself if he had to while living life as a
soldier. If he was caught, he was not punished
for stealing, but he was punished for getting
caught. It is believed that boys who were caught
were often beaten with a whip which was a
practice normally reserved for slaves.
How Spartan Women Were Educated
Women were educated as well as the boys. They
received training in wrestling, gymnastics and
calisthenics. The emphasis behind a girl
receiving a great education was that strong
women produced strong children who could grow
up to be strong warriors. The goal was to teach
them how to be strong because they were
responsible for running the household while the
boys were at war. This including protecting the
household from attacks, so the women needed
to be both physically strong and intelligent. Their
education reflected this.
Learning to Respect Elders
Additionally, children were taught to have great
respect for their elders. They were taught to
address all their elders as father. In return,
everyone had a responsibility for seeing that
children were taught manners. If an adult saw a
child doing something wrong, then they had the
responsibility to severely scold, but not whip, the
child.
Spartan education was built around the need for
a strong military. While boys were taught how to
survive as a soldier, girls were also educated so
that they could produce strong offspring. Above
all else, it was a respectful society where
everyone was taught respect for the individual.

Smashing

7 years ago

Spartan Society. All healthy male
Spartan citizens participated in the
compulsory state-sponsored education system, the Agoge, which emphasized obedience, endurance, courage and self-control. Spartan men devoted their lives to military service, and lived communally well into adulthood.

Clinton_wizz

7 years ago

Sparta was a warrior society in ancient
Greece that reached the height of its
power after defeating rival city-state
Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404
B.C.). Spartan culture was centered on
loyalty to the state and military service. At
age 7, Spartan boys entered a rigorous
state-sponsored education, military
training and socialization program. Known
as the Agoge, the system emphasized
duty, discipline and endurance. Although
Spartan women were not active in the
military, they were educated and enjoyed
more status and freedom than other
Greek women. Because Spartan men were
professional soldiers, all manual labor was
done by a slave class, the Helots. Despite
their military prowess, the Spartans’
dominance was short-lived: In 371 B.C.,
they were defeated by Thebes at the
Battle of Leuctra, and their empire went
into a long period of decline.