THE ADULT SPARTAN
On reaching the age of twenty the youth was considered a warrior. He did not live at home, but passed his time in barracks, as a member of a military mess to which he contributed his proper share of food, wine, and money. At the age of thirty years the young Spartan became a full citizen and a member of the popular assembly. He was then compelled to marry in order to raise children for the state. But marriage did not free him from attendance at the public meals, the drill ground, and the gymnasium. A Spartan, in fact, enjoyed little home life until his sixtieth year, when he became an elder and retired from actual service.
EXCELLENCE OF THE SPARTAN SOLDIERY
This exclusive devotion to military pursuits accomplished its object. The Spartans became the finest soldiers of antiquity. "All the rest of the Greeks," says an ancient writer, "are amateurs; the Spartans are professionals in the conduct of war." [22] Though Sparta never produced great thinkers, poets or artists, her military strength made her the bulwark of Greece against foreign foes. The time was to come when Greece, to retain her liberties, would need this disciplined Spartan soldiery. [23]
28. THE GROWTH OF ATHENS (to 500 B.C.)
ATHENS AS A CITY-STATE
The district of Attica, though smaller than our smallest American commonwealth, was early filled with a number of independent city-states. It was a great step in advance when, long before the dawn of Greek history, these tiny communities were united with Athens. The inhabitants of the Attic towns and villages gave up their separate governments and became members of the one city-state of Athens. Henceforth a man was a Athenian citizen, no matter in what part of Attica he lived.
OPPRESSIVE RULE OF THE NOBLES
At an earlier period, perhaps, than elsewhere in Greece, monarchy at Athens disappeared before the rising power of the nobles. The rule of the nobility bore harshly on the common people. Popular discontent was especially excited at the administration of justice. There were at first no written laws, but only the long-established customs of the community. Since all the judges were nobles, they were tempted to decide legal cases in favor of their own class. The people, at length, began to clamor for a written code. They could then know just what the laws were.