We went to Sparta today. Oh, yeah...SPARTA! It was a lot of fun today despite the fact that I am STILL SICK and breathing up in the mountains while hiking is near impossible. While in Sparta, most of us thought we would see ruins of an ancient city, but its actually pretty modern now. I was thinking about what life in Sparta was like back when it was the height of the military world, with no one but the Persians as sizable competition. I don't really think I would have wanted to be a Spartan citizen.
Any children born in Sparta do not belong to its parents, but to the city-state. If you have seen the movie '300' you know that children are inspected upon birth for strength and those that do not past the test are either sold to become slaves or tossed aside. This is pretty brutal. Children that pass are allowed to grow up with their mothers until the age of 7 when they are taken by Spartan soldiers to live in a boys' barracks to be taught how to fight and by the age of 20, they were required to pass a rigorous test to become citizens. Those who passed became part of the aristocracy and those who didn't became part of the middle class. So here, class was based on merit and not birth.
Young girls were also taken by the age of 7 to learn different fighting skills and were not married off until they were 18-20. The idea was that strong women would produce strong boys, and if a woman married later in her years, she would be more mature, and so would her children. Married men and women did not typically live together but would meet occasionally to produce children. Even showing affection or signs of love toward one another was considered a demonstration of weakness.
I don't think many of us here would fit this ideal role of a Spartan Man or Spartan Woman. I have only known most of these people for less than 2 weeks really and we already hug, have fun handshakes, take cheesy tourist photos together and plan our friendships after we get back to PLU and home. We are becoming a family in our own way and are always showing some subtle signs of affection towards each other. I would hate to live in a society that judged affection and strong familial ties to be a sign of weakness. I suppose this is why Sparta is simply known for their military and not their family life.
I would like to be remembered for my family and the great things I did in life, and the people I meet along the way.
And....I will totally Sparta Kick this sickness in the ...
Any children born in Sparta do not belong to its parents, but to the city-state. If you have seen the movie '300' you know that children are inspected upon birth for strength and those that do not past the test are either sold to become slaves or tossed aside. This is pretty brutal. Children that pass are allowed to grow up with their mothers until the age of 7 when they are taken by Spartan soldiers to live in a boys' barracks to be taught how to fight and by the age of 20, they were required to pass a rigorous test to become citizens. Those who passed became part of the aristocracy and those who didn't became part of the middle class. So here, class was based on merit and not birth.
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| Spartan Soldier |
Young girls were also taken by the age of 7 to learn different fighting skills and were not married off until they were 18-20. The idea was that strong women would produce strong boys, and if a woman married later in her years, she would be more mature, and so would her children. Married men and women did not typically live together but would meet occasionally to produce children. Even showing affection or signs of love toward one another was considered a demonstration of weakness.
I don't think many of us here would fit this ideal role of a Spartan Man or Spartan Woman. I have only known most of these people for less than 2 weeks really and we already hug, have fun handshakes, take cheesy tourist photos together and plan our friendships after we get back to PLU and home. We are becoming a family in our own way and are always showing some subtle signs of affection towards each other. I would hate to live in a society that judged affection and strong familial ties to be a sign of weakness. I suppose this is why Sparta is simply known for their military and not their family life.
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| My Family |
I would like to be remembered for my family and the great things I did in life, and the people I meet along the way.
And....I will totally Sparta Kick this sickness in the ...
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