Remember the Dorian people who ruled ancient Greece during the Grecian Dark Ages? Sparta began as a small village of Dorian people.  The Spartans, like their Dorian ancestors, were warriors. Spartans endured unbelievable pain and hardship to become a superior Spartan soldier and citizen! 

Sparta's government was an oligarchy. The people were ruled by a small group of warriors. The Spartans spoke Greek, wrote Greek, thought of themselves as Greeks, but they were very different from the other Greek city-states, and proud of it. 

In the Greek city-state of Athens, for example, the goal of education was to create a  strong citizen. But in Sparta, the goal of education was to create a strong warrior. 

Boys were taken away from their parents at age 7. They lived a harsh and often brutal life in the soldiers barracks. Younger children were beaten by older children who started fights to help make the younger boys strong. Children were often were whipped in front of groups of other Spartans, including their parents, but they were not allowed to cry out in pain. 

Children, during their training process, were given very little food. They were encouraged to steal food, instead. If caught stealing, they were beaten. To avoid severe pain, children learned to be cunning, to lie, to cheat, to steal, and how to get away with it! 

Some children grew up to warriors. Others became members of the Spartan secret police. Their job was to spy on people, especially slaves. If they found a slave who showed any signs of leadership, their job was to kill that slave immediately. 

As adults, men did not live with their families. They visited their families, but men lived in soldiers barracks. 

Women, unlike women in the rest of Greek world, had a great deal of freedom. Women were educated to be fighters. Some women became warriors. Many ran businesses. They were free to move about.

Life was very different in ancient Sparta than it was in the rest of ancient Greek city-states. The Spartans were proud, fierce, capable warriors. No great works of art came out of Sparta. But the Spartans, both men and women, were tough, and the Greeks admired strength.