Spartan Society and Values (pp. 76-82)

What is expected of Spartan citizens according to the Spartan Creed? What was the

purpose of education in Sparta? Specifically, how were boys trained to be soldiers? What

was the role of women according to the document? Besides military training, what else

did the Spartans value?

Sparta was a city-state extremely devoted to war. They believed that the main purpose of men was to become soldiers, and the main purpose of women was to support this. Therefore, all men were trained to join the army.

This was the purpose of education as well. Education in Sparta was particularly good, and both men and women received it. However, men's education was heavily directed towards fighting. It had a strong physical component designed to create strong soldiers.

On the other hand, women were expected to be strong as well, but not to participate in war. Women's role was directing and supervising the household, as well as raising children. It was assumed that these children were going to grow up to become soldiers, which made motherhood an important role.

Another thing that Spartans valued besides military training was resilience. Spartan people were resilient and frugal, and they admired those who practiced these values.

the committees of correspondence were the american colonies’ means for maintaining communication lines in the years before the revolutionary war. in 1764, boston formed the earliest committee of correspondence to encourage opposition to britain’s stiffening of customs enforcement and prohibition of american paper money. the following year, new york formed a similar committee to keep the other colonies notified of its actions in resisting the stamp act. in 1773, the virginia house of burgesses proposed that each colonial legislature appoint a committee for intercolonial correspondence. the exchanges that followed built solidarity during the turbulent times and bring about the formation of the first continental congress in 1774.