The spartan ruling system
Spartan society consisted of four main groups. The highest of these were the two kings. Sparta had two kings as one controllled the army whilst the other controlled the city state itself.
Below them were the high level. This consisted of men who hhad past their tests and become full citizens.
Below that where the middle class. These were soldiers who hadn't past their test or farmers.
The loweset level contained the Helots (slaves). Because of the amount of helots it was feared their might be an uprising. So a secret group was formed to to kill helots thought to be opposing spartan rule.
Below them were the high level. This consisted of men who hhad past their tests and become full citizens.
Below that where the middle class. These were soldiers who hadn't past their test or farmers.
The loweset level contained the Helots (slaves). Because of the amount of helots it was feared their might be an uprising. So a secret group was formed to to kill helots thought to be opposing spartan rule.
Spartan family.
The spartan families were very different compared to those of other greek city states. Below you will find a description of the stages a spartan citizen, male or female, would go through in their lives.
Life a spartan baby
This is what a spartan baby would have slept in.
When a baby was born soldiers would come to test if it was strong. Then it was washed in wine. If the baby was weak it was placed on a hillside.Therefore the government decided what happened to the baby not the parents. Another difference is that if an athenian family wasn't happy with their child it was often killed. In sparta the child belonged to the government and if it was not satisfactory it was sold to slavery. Spartan babys slept in wicker baskets.
The life of a spartan boy
As said earlier spartan boys were taken from their mother at the age of seven. Then they learnt discipline through physical training. They were taught to both fight and endure pain. They also were told stories of bravery and courage. One of the favourites was about a boy who caught a fox. Soldiers approached the boy, so he hid the fox under his shirt. (He did this becuase although they were encouraged to steal, the boys got a beating if caught.) The fox is then said to have started to chew through his chest, but he did not show the pain in his face!
Life as a spartan girl.
Like the boys, spartan girls were also taken from their parents at the age of seven they were also taught physical education/ fight training and gymnastics. The spartans wanted girls to be strong to produce strong children.
Life as a spartan man
At the age of twenty male spartans had to pass a test to become full citizens. If they failed they stayed in the middle level. If they passed they still ate and lived at the army barracks and quite often remained in the army.
Life as a spartan woman.
Spartan women, unlike athenian women, were able to be seen publicly. At the age of eighteen they had a test, if they past they became full citizens and were then intitled to own land, defend themselves in court. They were also assigned a husband to produce new spartans, but they were never really seen together as the men lived and ate the barracks. If a woman failed she stayed in the middle class. This was very different to athens. Athenian women couldn't own land and only the rich could defend themselves in court. The women also had to sleep in the least public part of the house.