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{{short description|Ancient Spartan education and training regimen}}
{{Spartan Constitution|width=275}}
[[File:Young Spartans Exercising National Gallery NG3860.jpg|thumb|275px|[[Young Spartans Exercising|A 19th-century artistic representation]] of Spartan boys exercising while young girls taunt them.]]
The '''{{lang|grc-Latn|agoge}}''' ({{langx|grc|ἀγωγή|ágōgḗ}} in [[Attic Greek]], or {{lang|grc|ἀγωγά}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|ágōgá}} in [[Doric Greek]]) was the training program pre-requisite for [[Spartiate]] (citizen) status. Spartiate-class boys entered it age seven, and aged out at 30. It was considered violent by the standards of the day, and was sometimes fatal.
The {{Lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}} was divided into three age groups, paides, paidiskoi, and hēbōntes, roughly corresponding to young boys (7-12), adolescents (12-20), and young men (20-30). The {{Lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}} deliberately deprived boys of food, sleep, and shelter. It involved cultivating loyalty to Sparta through military training (e.g., pain tolerance), hunting, dancing, singing, and [[rhetoric]].<ref name="OCD2">{{Cite book|last=Hodkinson|first=Stephen|title=[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1996|editor-last=Hornblower|editor-first=Simon|contribution=Agoge}}</ref> There seems to have been [[Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia|ritual beating]]. It was intensely competitive, and the boys were encouraged to use violence against each other; by Plutarch's account, this included sexual violence by hēbōntes against paides,<ref>Plutarch says "νέοι" (probably over 20, but under 30) and that most boys have such relationships by the age of 12</ref> while Xenophon says the relationships were widely but wrongly considered to be sexual. Participants were required to live in the open or in barracks, and were restricted from contact with birth families or wives.
Participants were the sons of Spartiates and Spartiate-class mothers (that is, those eligible for citizen status, totalling perhaps 1/10 to 1/32 of the population). Spartiate-class girls (who could not become citizens) did not participate in the {{Lang|el|agōgē}}, although they may have received a similar state-sponsored education.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Cartledge|first=Paul|title=Spartan reflections|date=2001|publisher=Duckworth|isbn=0-7156-2933-6|location=London|pages=|oclc=45648270}}</ref><ref name=":02" /> [[Helots]] (slaves), [[mothax]] (free non-citizens, thought to be children of slave rape by Spartiates), and other freeborn boys who did not have two Spartiate-class parents, were also excluded. The firstborn sons of the ruling houses, [[Eurypontid]] and [[Agiad]], were exempted; a few [[trophimoi]] (very well-connected [[metic]]s or perioeci) took part by special permission, as did [[syntrophoi]] (children of helot mothers adopted by Spartiates).
The word {{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}} had various meanings in [[Ancient Greek]] and comes from the verb {{Lang|grc|ἄγω}} (to lead).<ref name="ls2">{{LSJ|a)gwgh/|ἀγωγή|ref}}.</ref> There is no evidence that it was used to refer to the Spartiate education system until the 3rd century BC, but it was often used before then to mean training, guidance, or discipline.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Ducat|first=Jean|title=Spartan education: youth and society in the classical period|date=2006|publisher=Classical Press of Wales|others=Emma Stafford, Pamela-Jane Shaw, Anton Powell|isbn=1-905125-07-0|location=Swansea|pages=|oclc=76892341}}</ref> Sources are unclear about the exact origins of the {{Lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}. According to [[Xenophon]], it was introduced by the semi-mythical Spartan law-giver [[Lycurgus (Sparta)|Lycurgus]], and modern scholars have dated its inception to the 7th or 6th century BC<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Scanlon|first=Thomas Francis|title=Eros & Greek athletics|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-534876-7|location=New York|pages=|oclc=316719681}}</ref><ref name="OCD2" /> Regardless, the structure and content of the {{Lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}} changed over time as the practice fell in and out of favour throughout the [[Hellenistic period]].<ref name=":2" /> In the Roman period, it became a tourist attraction for Romans.
== The Classical Agōgē ==
===Structure===
The {{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}} was divided into three age categories: the {{Lang|grc-latn|paides}} (about ages 7–14), {{Lang|grc-latn|paidiskoi}} (ages 15–19), and the {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōntes}} (ages 20–29).<ref name=":02" /> The boys were further subdivided into groups called {{Lang|grc-latn|agelai}} (singular {{Lang|grc-latn|agelē}}'','' meaning "pack"), with whom they would sleep, and were led by an older boy ({{Lang|grc-latn|eirēn}}'')'' who [[Plutarch]] claims was chosen by the boys themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἀγέλ-η|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=a)ge/lh|access-date=2021-03-22|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>Plutarch, ''Lives.'' Lyc. 17.2</ref> They answered to the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidonomos}} or "boy-herder," an upper-class official who was tasked with overseeing the entire Spartan education system.<ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, 2.2</ref><ref name=":13">Hodkinson, Stephen (2003). ''Social Order and the Conflict of Values in Classical Sparta.'' In ''Sparta'', ed. Michael Whitby. Taylor & Francis. pp.104-130. {{ISBN|978-0-415-93957-7}}</ref>
==== {{Lang|grc-latn|Paides}} ====
The {{Lang|grc-latn|paides}} were taught the basics of reading and writing, but even the early stages of education focused on the development of skills that would encourage military prowess.<ref name=":03">Richer, Nicolas (2017). ''Spartan Education in the Classical Period.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' eds. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 525-542</ref><ref>Plut. Lives. Lyc. 16.6</ref> Boys would compete in athletic events such as running and wrestling, as well as choral dance performances.<ref name=":43">Christesen, Paul (2017). ''Sparta and Athletics''. In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp.534-564 {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}</ref> Notably, {{Lang|grc-latn|paides}} were expected to steal food for themselves and their {{Lang|grc-latn|eirēn}}'','' and were probably underfed as a means of encouraging this.<ref name=":02" /> Stealing did not go unpunished, however, as Xenophon reports that those who were caught would be beaten, a lesson which he claims taught the boys stealth and resourcefulness.<ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, 2.8</ref> There were other hardships too: the boys were made to participate in the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}} in bare feet, supposedly to toughen their feet and improve agility, and beginning at the age of 12, boys would be given only one item of clothing, a cloak, per year.<ref>Plut. Lives. Lyc. 16.6-7</ref><ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, 2.3-4</ref> Plutarch reports that the boys slept together with the other members of their {{Lang|grc-latn|agelē}}'','' constructing beds out of reeds pulled by hand from the [[Eurotas River]].<ref>Plut. Lives. Lyc. 16.7</ref>
Additionally, {{Lang|grc-latn|paides}} were educated in [[Laconic phrase|Laconism]], the art of speaking in brief, witty phrases. According to French historian Jean Ducat, [[Aristotle]] believed that it was important that a Spartan learn how to poke fun at his peers, and that he be able to accept the teasing himself.<ref name=":02" />
At around age 12, a boy would often enter into an institutionalized relationship with a young adult male Spartan, which continued as he became a {{Lang|grc-latn|paidiskos}}.<ref name=":03" /><ref>Plut. Lives. Lyc. 17.1</ref> [[Plutarch]] described this form of [[Spartan pederasty]] (erotic relationship) as one where older warriors (as the [[Erastes (Ancient Greece)|''erastes'']]) would engage promising youths (the ''[[eromenos]]'') in a long-lasting relationship with an instructive motive.<ref>Plut. ''Lives. Lycurgus,'' 17-18.</ref> Xenophon, on the other hand, claims that the laws of [[Lycurgus of Sparta|Lycurgus]] strictly prohibited sexual relationships with the boys, although he acknowledges that this is unusual compared to other Greek city-states.'''<ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, 2.13-14.</ref>'''
==== {{Lang|grc-latn|Paidiskoi}} ====
Ducat considers the stage of {{Lang|grc-latn|paidiskoi}} as a transitional phase between a child and an adult, where upper-class Spartan boys were encouraged to integrate themselves into adult society.<ref name=":02" /> At this point, loyalty shifted from the {{Lang|grc-latn|agelē}} to the ''[[Syssitia|syssition]],'' a common mess where adult Spartiates of all ages were expected to eat together and socialize. Scholars have suggested that one role of the {{Lang|grc-latn|erastes}} was to act as a "sponsor" through which the {{Lang|grc-latn|eromenos}} could gain entry to the same {{Lang|grc-latn|syssition}}.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":02" /> Physical training and athletic competitions continued with an increased intensity.'''<ref name=":43" />'''
==== {{Lang|grc-latn|Hēbōntes}} ====
At the age of 20, a young Spartan graduated from the ranks of the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidiskoi}} into the {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōntes}} and was known as an {{Lang|grc-latn|eirēn}}''.'' If he had demonstrated sufficient leadership qualities throughout his training, he might have been selected to lead an {{Lang|grc-latn|agelē}}''.''<ref name=":02" />
The term {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōntes}} means: "those who have reached physical adulthood".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tazelaar|first=C.M.|date=1967|title=ΠAIΔEΣ KAI EΦHBOI|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mnem/20/2/article-p127_3.xml|journal=Mnemosyne|volume=20|issue=2|pages=127–153|doi=10.1163/156852567X01473|issn=0026-7074}}</ref> It was at this age when Spartan men became eligible for military service and could vote in the assembly, although they were not yet considered full adult citizens and were still under the authority of the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidonomos}}.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":03" /><ref name=":02" /> Those {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōntes}} who had impressed their elders the most during their training could be selected for the ''[[Crypteia]]'', a type of 'Secret Police' tasked with maintaining control over the [[Helots|Helot]] population through violence. While scholars such as Pierre Vidal-Naquet have suggested that the Crypteia functioned as an initiatory ritual in the transition into adulthood, others, such as David Dodd, believe it was used primarily as a tool of terror. Plutarch and Plato also differ in their accounts of the Crypteia, with Plutarch mentioning brutal killings done by the Crypteia in [[Parallel Lives|Life of Lycurgus]] and Plato not mentioning the killings at all in [[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dodd|first=David|chapter=Adolescent Initiation in Myth and Tragedy: Rethinking the Black Hunter |editor=David Dodd |editor2=Christopher A. Faraone |title=Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-135-14365-7|pages=71–84}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Vidal-Naquet|first=Pierre|title=Le chasseur noir: formes de penseé et formes de société dans le monde grec|date=1981|publisher=F. Maspero|isbn=2-7071-1195-3|location=Paris|oclc=7658419}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":03" />
Additionally, 300 {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōntes}} were chosen to join the {{Lang|grc-latn|hippeis}}, a highly-esteemed infantry cohort (despite the name implying cavalry).<ref name=":03" /> Xenophon describes the selection process as a public event where each of the three {{Lang|grc-latn|hippagretai}} (commanders) chooses 100 men, supposedly to instil a rivalry between each group, seeing as each man would be loyal to the {{Lang|grc-latn|hippagrete}} who chose him and resentful of the other two. He claims that this encouraged the groups to report instances of their rivals' wrongdoing, effectively keeping the entire cohort in check.<ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians. 4.1-4</ref>
A Spartan man could graduate from the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' at age 30, at which time he was expected to have been accepted into a {{Lang|grc-latn|syssition}} and was permitted to have a family.<ref name=":02" /> He would also receive a {{Lang|grc-latn|kleros}}, an allotment of land farmed by [[helots]].<ref>Figueira, Thomas (2017). ''Helotage and the Spartan Economy''. In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 565-595. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}</ref> Those not accepted into a {{Lang|grc-latn|syssition}} did not become Spartiates (citizens). They may have become [[hypomeion]]es.
=== Purpose ===
According to Plutarch, the main purpose of the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' was for Spartan boys to undergo intense physical trials to prepare their bodies for the harshness of war.<ref>Plut. Lives. Lyc. 16</ref> The competitive nature of athletic events encouraged hard work and merit.<ref name=":13" /> However, the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' likely had a second purpose: to instil in young children a collective Spartan identity. The ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' kept Spartan boys away from their families for much of their childhood, which Stephen Hodkinson believes taught them to favour the needs of the entire populace over that of an individual. Since a Spartan man's formative years were spent entirely in a perpetual competition of merit (both physical and social) they were encouraged to conform to the Spartan laws and social norms.<ref name=":13" /> Completion of the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' also served to define what it meant to be a Spartan citizen: one who had proven his mastery of both physical strength and social conventions.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":02" /><ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians. 10.7</ref>
There may have been an initiatory component to the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'', especially in its early history. Training overlapped with ritual activity at the Sanctuary of [[Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia|Artemis Orthia]], where {{Lang|grc-latn|paidiskoi}} were made to steal from the altar under threat of being beaten if they were caught, possibly as part of an initiation rite in the transition to a {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōnte}}.<ref name=":43" /><ref name=":2" /> As well, the ''[[Gymnopaedia]]'' festival featured choral and athletic competitions between groups of naked youths, and boys may have been expected to participate as part of the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}''.<ref name=":43" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":02" />
== After the Classical period ==
The popularity of the {{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}} was diminished by the first half of the 3rd century BC, possibly as a result of the declining Spartan population, but was successfully reinvigorated by [[Cleomenes III]] in 226 BC.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Kennell|first=Nigel M.|title=The gymnasium of virtue: education & culture in ancient Sparta|date=1995|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=0-585-03877-5|location=Chapel Hill|oclc=42854632}}</ref> It was abolished less than forty years later by [[Philopoemen]] when Sparta was forced into the [[Achaean League]] in 188/9 BC but was restored after Sparta came into Roman possession in 146 BC.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":6">Kennell, Nigel (2017). ''Spartan Cultural Memory in the Roman Period.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp.643-662</ref>
Roman Sparta was characterized by a desire to emulate the traditional institutions of the archaic past, and this was mainly expressed through the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}''. Ironically, the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' in this period was almost certainly different from that of the Classical period.<ref name=":6" /> For example, there may have been a change in the way boys were divided by age; Plutarch (writing in the 2nd century AD) mentions only two groups: the younger {{Lang|grc-latn|paides}} and the older {{Lang|grc-latn|neoi}}.<ref name=":03" /> As well, the term {{Lang|grc-latn|boua}} appears to replace the Classical {{Lang|grc-latn|agelē}} as the name for the groups of boys.<ref name=":02" />
However, the cult of Artemis Orthia continued to play a role. [[Cicero]] describes an initiation ritual where naked boys were brutally whipped at the altar of that goddess, and numerous {{Lang|grc-latn|stelai}} mention contests of choral singing and dancing which may celebrate Artemis and the hunt.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>Cicero. Tusc. 2.34, 2.46, 5.77</ref> It is likely around this time that a game called {{Lang|grc-latn|Platanistas}} was developed (although it may have existed in the Classical period), which took place on a small island, and featured a violent, physical contest to force the opposing side into the water.<ref name=":43" /> This contest was likely ritual in nature, as two sacrifices were performed before the event could begin.<ref name=":02" /> The characterization of the Roman-era ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' as especially brutal reinforced the opinion of the Roman public that Spartans were traditionally a harsh, warlike people.<ref name=":6" />
== ''Paidonomos'' ==
The {{Lang|grc-latn|paidonomos}} was the magistrate in charge of overseeing the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}} as a whole. According to Xenophon, the position is as old as the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}} itself, having been created by Lycurgus at the same time.<ref name=":8">Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians. 2.2</ref> As the ultimate position of authority within the Spartan education system, the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidonomos}} was responsible for doling out punishment, but was probably not directly responsible for inflicting it; this would have been delegated to the {{Lang|grc-latn|mastigophoroi}}, a squadron of {{Lang|grc-latn|hēbōntes}} armed with whips.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":03" /> Plutarch notes that the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidonomos}} would observe an {{Lang|grc-latn|eirēn}}'s punishment of younger boys in his {{Lang|grc-latn|agelē}}'','' to assess whether or not it was acceptable.<ref>Plutarch. ''Lives. Lycurgus''. 18.2-3</ref>
Xenophon stresses the difference between the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidonomos}}, a free, high-ranking magistrate, and the {{Lang|grc-latn|paidagōgoi}} (tutors) found in other poleis, who were slaves.<ref>Xen. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians. 2.1</ref>
== Reception ==
=== In Antiquity ===
The exact nature of an education in the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' was not hidden from the rest of the Greek world. This is evidenced by the number of non-Spartan sources who wrote about the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'': [[Thucydides]] indicates that the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' was well-known throughout Greece in the Classical period, and both [[Plato]] and Aristotle praised it as part of an ideal city-state.<ref>Powell, Anton (2017). ''Sparta: Reconstructing History from Secrecy, Lies and Myth.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' ed. Anton Powell. pp. 1-28. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}</ref><ref>Aristot. Pol. 8.1337a</ref>
Further evidence for this comes from the word {{Lang|grc-latn|trophimoi}}'','' which is used to describe foreigners who were educated in the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}.''<ref name=":02" /> The historian Xenophon is a notable example of this, as his sons reportedly took part in the ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}'' despite being Athenian. Such {{Lang|grc-latn|trophimoi}} were likely sponsored and hosted by a Spartan family; Xenophon himself was a friend of King [[Agesilaus II]].<ref name=":02" /> This practice likely continued into the Hellenistic Period. Supposedly, [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] hid his intention to overthrow Sparta by claiming that part of his reason for marching on the Peloponnese was to have his sons trained in the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}}''.''<ref>Plut. ''Lives.'' ''Pyrrhus.'' 26.9-11</ref><ref>Stewart, Daniel (2017). ''From Leuktra to Nabis, 371-192.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp.374-402</ref>
Plutarch, writing after Xenophon and during the Roman era when the Agoge was restored, was critical of this education. He wrote that reading and writing were studied only for practical reasons and that every other form of education was banned in the city-state.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plutarch • Customs of the Spartans|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Instituta_Laconica*.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>  Plutarch also emphasized the brutality and indoctrination of the Spartan education system.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plutarch • Customs of the Spartans|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Instituta_Laconica*.html|access-date=2021-06-07|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>
=== 19th – 21st centuries ===
In the early 20th century, comparisons were drawn between the Spartan education system and the [[Cadet Corps#Germanic countries|Royal Prussian Cadets]] in [[Germany]], praising the harsh education as the driving force behind the cadets' military prowess.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Roche|first=Helen|title=Sparta's German children the ideal of ancient Sparta in the Royal Prussian Cadet-Corps, 1818-1920, and in the Nationalist-Socialist elite schools (the Napolas), 1933-1945|date=2013|publisher=Classical Press of Wales|isbn=978-1-910589-17-5|location=Swansea|pages=32–35|oclc=1019630468}}</ref>  In 1900, Paul von Szczepanski published his novel {{Lang|de|Spartanerjünglinge}} (''Spartan Youths'') about his education at one such cadet school during the late 19th century. Aside from the name, the book features other references to Spartan training, which Helen Roche believes are indicators that boys at these schools were taught to associate themselves with young Spartans.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Szczepanski|first=Paul Von|title=Spartanerjünglinge: Eine Kadettengeschichte in Briefen|publisher=Forgotten Books|year=2018|isbn=978-0-332-04519-1}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
In [[Weimar Germany]], after the loss of the [[World War I|First World War]], many scholars drew connections with the sacrifice of the Spartan king [[Leonidas I|Leonidas]] at [[Thermopylae]] to justify the deaths of those who died in the war. The mental strength of Leonidas and the 300 was attributed in part to their upbringing in the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}}''.''<ref name=":7">Rebenich, Stefan (2017). ''Reception of Sparta in Germany and German-Speaking Europe''. In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. pp. 685-703 {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}</ref> In the 1930s, the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]]-aligned professor Helmut Berve praised the Spartan style of education in particular for its ability to weed out those considered "unfit" for society and to create a community of unified warriors. He argued that Nazi leaders should use Sparta as an example of their ideal society, ideas which [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] himself supposedly agreed with.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Demandt|first=Alexander|date=2002|title=Klassik als Klischee: Hitler und die Antike|journal=Historische Zeitschrift|volume=274|issue=2|pages=281–313|doi=10.1524/hzhz.2002.274.jg.281|jstor=27634462|s2cid=164535845|issn=0018-2613}}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Berve|first=Helmut|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102565830|title=Sparta.|date=1937|publisher=Bibliographisches Institut AG.|series=Meyers Kleine Handbücher,7|location=Leipzig}}</ref>  At the ''Adolf Hitler Schule'' in Weimar, Germany, schoolchildren were taught that Sparta maintained its power by producing tough, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|agōgē}}-''educated warriors.<ref name=":7" />
In the 21st century, the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}} is known primarily in the context of intense physical trials. [[Spartan Race]] Inc., an American company, hosts a variety of endurance competitions across the world, the most challenging of which is called "{{Not a typo|Agoge}}". It stands as a physical trial rather than a state-sponsored education.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Spartan Race Inc. Obstacle Course Races|url=https://www.spartan.com/en/race/agoge|access-date=2021-06-07|website=Spartan Race|language=en-us}}</ref> In science fiction, ''[[Red Rising]]'' contains a training program based on Greek institutions like the agōgē in the form of a state-sponsored military education system which utilizes Greek names and symbols; the program emphasizes Spartan discipline against Athenian Democracy.<ref>{{cite book |first=Pierce |last=Brown|title=Red rising |isbn=978-1-4712-7396-4|oclc=1232110559}}</ref>
In the American action film ''[[300 (film)|300]]'' (2007), Leonidas is depicted attending the Agoge as a child and fulfilling various physical and mental trials from fighting other children to being whipped as a form of discipline.
Historian Bret Devereaux has compared the Spartan {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}} to the indoctrination of [[child soldiers]] in modern societies as part of his blog "A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Devereaux|first=Bret|date=2019-08-16|title=Collections: This. Isn't. Sparta. Part I: Spartan School|url=https://acoup.blog/2019/08/16/collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school/|access-date=2021-03-19|website=A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry|language=en}}</ref>
In the Sony [[Santa Monica Studio]] Playstation game ''[[God of War Ragnarok]]'', the protagonist Kratos talks about his upbringing alongside his brother in the {{Lang|grc-latn|agōgē}}, noting the cruel and violent methods used to train children and how he looked to avoid doing so with his second child, Atreus.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
==See also==
*[[Fagging]]
*[[History of Sparta]]
*[[Paideia]]
*[[Spartiate]]s
==References==
{{reflist}}
== Bibliography ==
=== Secondary sources ===
* Cartledge, Paul (2001). ''Spartan reflections''. London: Duckworth. {{ISBN|0-7156-2933-6}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 45648270
* Christesen, Paul (2017). ''Sparta and Athletics''. In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp.534-564 {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27634462 Demandt, Alexander (2002). "Klassik als Klischee: Hitler und die Antike".] ''Historische Zeitschrift''. '''274''' (2): 281–313. [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 0018-2613.
* Devereaux, Bret (2019-08-16)''. "[https://acoup.blog/2019/08/16/collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school/ Collections: This. Isn't. Sparta. Part I: Spartan School"].'' A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
* Ducat, Jean (2006). ''Spartan education : youth and society in the classical period''. Emma Stafford, Pamela-Jane Shaw, Anton Powell. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales. {{ISBN|1-905125-07-0}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 76892341
* Figueira, Thomas (2017). ''Helotage and the Spartan Economy''. In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 565-595. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* Hodkinson, Stephen (1996). "Agoge". In Hornblower, Simon (ed.). ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]''. [[Oxford University Press]].
* Hodkinson, Stephen (2003). ''Social Order and the Conflict of Values in Classical Sparta.'' In ''Sparta'', ed. Michael Whitby. Taylor & Francis. pp.104-130. {{ISBN|978-0-415-93957-7}}
* Kennell, Nigel (2017). ''Spartan Cultural Memory in the Roman Period.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp.643-662. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* Kennell, Nigel M. (1995). ''The gymnasium of virtue : education & culture in ancient Sparta''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. {{ISBN|0-585-03877-5}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 42854632.
* Powell, Anton (2017). ''Sparta: Reconstructing History from Secrecy, Lies and Myth.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' ed. Anton Powell. pp. 1-28. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* Rebenich, Stefan (2017). ''Reception of Sparta in Germany and German-Speaking Europe''. In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. pp. 685-703 {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* Richer, Nicolas (2017). ''Spartan Education in the Classical Period.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta,'' eds. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 525-542. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* Roche, Helen (2013). ''Sparta's German children the ideal of ancient Sparta in the Royal Prussian Cadet-Corps, 1818-1920, and in the Nationalist-Socialist elite schools (the Napolas), 1933-1945''. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales. pp. 32–35. {{ISBN|978-1-910589-17-5}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 1019630468.
* Scanlon, Thomas Francis (2002). ''Eros & Greek athletics''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-534876-7}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 316719681.
* Stewart, Daniel (2017). ''From Leuktra to Nabis, 371-192.'' In ''A Companion to Sparta'', ed. Anton Powell. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp.374-402. {{ISBN|978-1-119-07237-9}}
* [[doi:10.1163/156852567X01473|Tazelaar, C.M. (1967). "ΠAIΔEΣ KAI EΦHBOI".]] ''Mnemosyne''. '''20''' (2): 127–153. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]:10.1163/156852567X01473. [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 0026-7074.
* Vidal-Naquet, Pierre (1981). ''Le chasseur noir : formes de penseé et formes de société dans le monde grec''. Paris: F. Maspero. {{ISBN|2-7071-1195-3}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 7658419.
=== Primary sources ===
* Aristotle. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0058 Politics]
* Berve, Helmut (1937). ''Sparta''. Meyers Kleine Handbücher,7. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut AG.
* Cicero. [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14988 Tusculan Disputations]
* Plutarch. Lives. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0047 Life of Lycurgus]
* Plutarch. Lives. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0060 Life of Pyrrhus]
* Szczepanski, Paul Von (2018). ''Spartanerjünglinge: Eine Kadettengeschichte in Briefen''. Forgotten Books. {{ISBN|978-0-332-04519-1}}.
* Xenophon. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0210%3Atext%3DConst.+Lac. Constitution of the Lacedaimonians]
{{Italic title}}
[[Category:Education in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Spartan military training]]