Sparta for the young mind
Sparta facts and details
The Spartan army
In Sparta, they thought a strong army was the way to make a city state. At age 7 boys went to traning camp where they were put in harsh condtions to toughen them up. When they were 20, they joined the regular army. The next time the saw their families was at age 30. They could retire and join the counil of the elders when they were 60. But they had to go to war if needed.
The roles of women and girls.
Like most countrys in Greece, men had more rights than women in Sparta. But Spartan women had more rights than any ancinet civilization, because men were away most of the time. There were no schools in Sparta, and girls tranied in sports to be good physically fit mothers. Women stayed home and took care of the household.
The Spartan goverment.
The Spartans goverment were worried that the helots or captured slaves would rebel aganst them. So thay focused in on making a strong army. The Spartan goverment was a oligarchy, two kings, a counil of Elders, and a assembly. There was 28 citzens over 60 in the council of Elders, and all men over 30 had to join the assembly.
Rules in Sparta
To make sure no one reblled aganst the goverment, they allowed no one to leave or any outsiders come into Sparta. Literature and the arts were not welcomed in Sparta. This left the Spartans very loyal to Sparta. In Sparta, you were expected to die, rather than surrender.
Roles of men and boys.
When 30 year old men came back home, they became ciizens and joined the assembly for running the government. They got married and lived at home, but they had to go to battle when there were battle. Since there were no school in Sparta, the only job young boys had was to do well in the army and make Sparta proud.
Sparta religion
In Sparta, like most people in Greece they believed in the Greek gods and myths. Some gods are: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades,Hera, and Ares. They thought that the Greek myths and gods explained things, like the tides, certain birds and flowers.
Sparta and its expansion
In Sparta, the army took over and captured many city states and people. The people that the Spartan army enslaved were called helots. Sparta became powerful because of all the land it took over. They also could make a army of helots to control them and that helped the Sparta empire. One of the reasons that the Spartans wanted a strong army was to control the helots.