levo

The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC

The agoge and the upbringing of Spartan boys and men

  • 3 things to know
  • Component Group 1

Overview

Recall questions on the age a boy left home, the deliberate hunger and the flogging for theft, the contest at Artemis Orthia, laconic speech, the mothakes, and the common messes.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Who were the mothakes?

Key term

At what age was a Spartiate's son taken from his home, and what did he enter?

Key term

Which official had overall charge of the boys' upbringing?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    At what age was a Spartiate's son taken from his home, and what did he enter?

    Model answer

    At seven he left his family and was enrolled in the state upbringing known as the agoge, in which he lived and was trained with boys of his own age.

  2. 2

    How were the boys grouped once they entered the agoge?

    Model answer

    They were organised into age-classes and into packs or herds, each pack led by the boy judged the best of it, who gave the orders and was obeyed.

  3. 3

    Which official had overall charge of the boys' upbringing?

    Model answer

    The paidonomos, a Spartiate magistrate appointed by the state, supervised the whole system and had young men with whips to carry out his punishments.

  4. 4

    What was an eiren?

    Model answer

    An eiren was a youth of about twenty placed in charge of a group of younger boys, who drilled them, questioned them and punished them.

  5. 5

    Describe the clothing and bedding allowed to boys once their training became severe.

    Model answer

    From about the age of twelve a boy was given one cloak to last the whole year and slept on a bed of reeds that he had to gather from the Eurotas with his bare hands.

  6. 6

    Why were the boys deliberately underfed?

    Model answer

    Hunger was meant to harden them for campaign and to drive them to forage and steal, which developed cunning, stealth and self-reliance.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC
The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Athens allied with Argos, and Elis.
MantineaCorinthThebes

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe tradition speaks of about seventy.
BOnly around twenty can be identified with any confidence.
CThe number is a measure of his reputation rather than a count.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Themistocles was ostracised in the 470s BC and Cimon in 461 BC.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.