All male Spartan citizens became soldiers at age 20. Men retired from soldiering at age 60 and could then become elders.
At age 20, Spartan males became full-time soldiers, and remained on active duty until age 60.
At the age of 20, a young Spartan graduated from the ranks of the paidiskoi into the hēbōntes and was known as an eirēn. If he had demonstrated sufficient leadership qualities throughout his training, he might be selected to lead an agelē.
' Between the age of 18 and 20, Spartan males had to pass a fitness test that consisted of fitness, military ability, and leadership skills. If he didn't pass, he becams a person who had no political rights and was not even considered a citizen called a perioidos.
Spartan men spent their days either fighting in wars or training for battle. All fit males spent the majority of their lives in the army. Newborn sons were examined to determine their strength.
At the age of 7, Spartan boys were removed from their parents' homes and began the “agoge,” a state-sponsored training regimen designed to mold them into skilled warriors and moral citizens.
The site hosted Sparta's brutal initiation ritual in which young boys were beaten to prepare them for military service, but there was more to it than warfare.
As Cartledge writes in Spartan Reflections, it wasn't until age 60 that Spartans finally were allowed to retire from the army—provided that they lived that long.
From the age of seven, Spartan boys were ingrained with nationalistic values and extreme physical training until the age of 30, when their education was complete.
At age 30, they became full citizens of Sparta, provided they had served honorably. They were required to continue serving the military, however, until age 60.
All aspects of daily life in Sparta were strictly regimented with no luxuries. Spartan men were raised to be warriors their entire lives and to practice absolute obedience and service to the state. They lived in military barracks until the age of 30.
The female Spartan was honored as the equal of the male in her own sphere of power and authority and, even in the accounts of detractors, performed admirably. It could be argued, in fact, that the strength of the Spartan women allowed for the formidable reputation of the same in the Spartan men.
HUNTING: Hunting was one of the most popular leisure activities for Spartans à the foothills of Mt Taygetos was an area known as 'Therai' meaning hunting grounds. ATHLETICS: the Spartans were renowned for their athletic abilities both men and women.
Training in the Agoge
Spartan youths were required to train barefoot. This would not only toughen them up but also develop superior athleticism and agility.
The actual training of the Spartan youth was brutal, focusing on cultivating skills such as fighting, stealth, pain tolerance, as well as dancing, singing, and developing loyalty to the Spartan state.
A man could not live at home with his wife and family until he was 30 years old. At the age of 60, Spartan men could retire from the army.
Spartan warriors known for their professionalism were the best and most feared soldiers of Greece in the fifth century B.C. Their formidable military strength and commitment to guard their land helped Sparta dominate Greece in the fifth century.
Sparta's entire culture centered on war. A lifelong dedication to military discipline, service, and precision gave this kingdom a strong advantage over other Greek civilizations, allowing Sparta to dominate Greece in the fifth century B.C.
Spartan girls were not allowed to join but were educated at home by their mothers or trainers. Boys entered the agoge at the age of 7 and graduated around the age of 30 at which time they were allowed to marry and start a family.
While Athenian women might have expected to marry for the first time around the age of fourteen to men much older than them, Spartan women normally married between the ages of eighteen and twenty to men close to them in age.
Young boys were taken from their homes at the age of 7 to live in the state barracks. Once there, they were given a minimum amount of clothes and food. The cold and hunger often compelled the boys to steal. Stealing was actually encourage as it taught stealth.
Those who passed the agoge by the age of 30 achieved full Spartan citizenship. The term "Spartan" became in modern times synonymous with simplicity by design.
In Athens and Sparta, homosexuality was practiced to various degrees, and its status was somewhat “complicated,” according to Plato's Pausanias. In Thebes, on the other hand, it was actively encouraged, and even legally incentivized.
What was important was to be a brave soldier. Spartan boys were taught to suffer any amount of physical pain without complaining. They marched without shoes. They were not fed well, and they were encouraged to steal food as long as they didn't get caught.
Ancient Sparta has been held up for the last two and a half millennia as the unmatched warrior city-state, where every male was raised from infancy to fight to the death.