LESSON 4.6 What was life like in Sparta?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • describe the military practices in Sparta • describe how Spartan men and women lived.
Tune in The word ‘Spartan’ often means ‘tough and disciplined’. This idea comes from stories about Spartan boys who trained as warriors from age seven. They were starved and had to steal food to survive. If they were caught, they were punished. A famous story by Plutarch tells of a boy who died rather than be caught, though Plutarch wrote this centuries later.
SOURCE1 From Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus
[One of the Spartan boys] who was carrying concealed under his cloak, a young fox, suffered the animal to tear out his bowels with its teeth and claws, and died rather than have his theft detected.
1. Clarify what you think this story is saying. What happened? 2. What kind of message do you think it was sending?
4.6.1 A strong city-state After stopping a slave revolt around 650 BCE, Sparta became a military state. Spartan men were warriors, and women raised strong children.
SOURCE2 As the Greek writer Plutarch notes, the main aim of boys’ education was to teach them to be ýerce, disciplined soldiers.
The boys learned to read and write no more than was necessary. Otherwise their whole education was aimed at developing smart obedience, perseverance under stress and victory in battle. So as they grew older they intensiýed their physical training, and got into the habit of cropping their hair, going barefoot and exercising naked. From the age of twelve they never wore a tunic, and were given only one cloak a year. Their bodies were rough, and knew nothing of baths or oiling.
Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece with a fortiýed centre and farmlands. It had its own laws and government. Sparta was powerful because it had a permanent army. A tough life Sparta ruled the Peloponnese peninsula , but life there was tough. Ancient writers said weak baby boys were left on hills to die, though new evidence questions this. Boys left home at seven to start military training. Their personal needs did not matter; everything was about protecting Sparta.
SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Describe how Spartan males lived, according to SOURCE3 . 2. What was the primary focus of life for Spartan males? 3. Where did Spartan males
spend much of their time? Discuss reasons for this.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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