17. Spartan Education: Forging Soldiers, Not Scholars

Date: 6 April 2024
Time: 14:34:31 CEST
Topic: 17. Spartan Education: Forging Soldiers, Not Scholars
Tags: abandonment, Athenians, boy-trainers, Council of Elders, laconic, literature, mental development, philosophy, reading, rhetoric, silence, soldiers, Spartan child-rearing, war poetry, writing

The state took center stage in Spartan child-rearing. Every newborn underwent an examination by the Council of Elders. Those deemed unlikely to become strong and valuable citizens were abandoned.

At the age of seven, a rigorous training regime began under the supervision of state-appointed boy-trainers. This system's sole purpose was to mold boys into soldiers who would fear neither hardship nor death, prioritizing it over battlefield dishonor.

Mental development was only valued if it supported this military focus. Reading, writing, and rhetoric were considered unnecessary. Boys memorized and recited poetry that glorified war. Spartans deeply disdained the Athenians' emphasis on philosophy and literature.

Spartan communication was famously brief, leading to the term "laconic" (derived from Laconia, their region). Boys were trained to answer with the fewest words possible. Public meals became lessons in silence, with students expected to sit "silent as statues" until spoken to.