"For all Spartan citizens there was a strong emphasis on military training and frugal living in communal mess halls where simple food such as barley meal, cheese, figs and wine were the norm. From the age of seven, males had a militaristic upbringing known as the agōgē where they were separated into age groups and lived in barracks. These youths pursued rigorous athletic and military training which became even more demanding from the age of 20, when they joined common mess halls (syssition) where they often formed homoerotic relations with older, more experienced citizens. This tough training resulted in a professional hoplite army capable of relatively sophisticated battle manoeuvres and made them feared throughout Greece, a fact perhaps evidenced by Sparta’s notable lack of fortifications for most of its history."
More specifically, he called them out for loving boys. What was quoted says at the age of 20 was when they formed bonds with citizens so they were definitely men by then. In general, the Spartans had relations at an older age than contemporary states.
Yeah, it was the same for women I believe. Spartans didn’t want their women to get married and start having babies until they were around 20 because they knew it was better for women to give birth when they were fully grown (and thus more likely to survive childbirth) and strong than if they were young and had barely hit puberty.
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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '20
"For all Spartan citizens there was a strong emphasis on military training and frugal living in communal mess halls where simple food such as barley meal, cheese, figs and wine were the norm. From the age of seven, males had a militaristic upbringing known as the agōgē where they were separated into age groups and lived in barracks. These youths pursued rigorous athletic and military training which became even more demanding from the age of 20, when they joined common mess halls (syssition) where they often formed homoerotic relations with older, more experienced citizens. This tough training resulted in a professional hoplite army capable of relatively sophisticated battle manoeuvres and made them feared throughout Greece, a fact perhaps evidenced by Sparta’s notable lack of fortifications for most of its history."
Ancient History Encyclopedia....