Figure 1.--This painting by French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917) depicts a very peculiar aspect of education in Sparta which scandalized the other Greek city states. Strenuous physcal activity was a major part of boys' education. Girls also practiced physical activity, primarily alone, but sometimes challenging the boys. Usually, the girls were not completely naked, but their clothing was so skimpy that most of their bodies were exposed. This further scandalized the other Greeks. Competitive sports with boys was practical for younger children. With puberty that was no longer reasonable as the boys as they gre older became so much bigger and stronger than the girls. Puberty nowoccurs at an earlier date than was the case in ancient times.

Sources on the eduaction of Spartan boys are limited, butb ascforvgirls are much more lkimitedm basically fragmentary for the classical ptriod. The education of girls in Sparta is an even more difficult subject of study than that of boys. But asmest we can piece together, Sparta also seems to have had had a very distinctive training program for their girls. In fact, sharp contrast to other city states, Sparta provided training for girls and not just training in domestic skills at home. The girls at age 6-7 also began school. As for the boys, it was not an academic program. They received strenuous physical training, including running, jumping, throwing the javelin and discus, and wrestling as well as gymnastics. Much less is known about how the girls were trained. Apparently they lived, slept and trained in their sisterhood's barracks. No one knows for sure if the girls were subjected to as harsh a program as the boys, but this was unlikely even for Sparta. Whether or not this is the case, it is known that the girls' program was very demanding to help develop healthy vigorous girls. The Spartans were convinced that healthy women in good condition could produce the the fittest babies--very important to the Spartans. Girls also faced a test at age 18. Girls who passed the skills and fitness test, she would be assigned a husband and allowed to return home. In most of the other Greek city-states, women were required to stay inside their homes most of their lives. In contrast, Spartan citizen women could move around, and enjoyed a great deal of freedom, in part because their husbands did not live at home. Girls who failed lost their rights as citizens and became perioikos--members of the middle class.