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The Laconians had a particularly strict and defined notion of citizenship. Only adult males who could prove their descent from original Doran conquerors, who had completed their training at the above, (the Spartan state education system which turned boys into warriors) and who had been accepted to the public messes were considered to be part of the homolog; Spartiate's or equals. With such a rigid structure in defining the men of the citizen class, at her peak Sparta's military which was comprised of her citizen body, and during times of war, pereoikoi (inhabitants of outer villages of Laconia) and helots (conquered peoples who were reduced to slavery) would have numbered no more than ten thousand. Upon election to one of the public messes, the Spartan citizen was obliged to make a monthly contribution of grain, fruit and wine to his sys sition (mess), and was, for the next thirty years, liable to be called for military service.
He also had to dine at the messes every night, and only sickness, hunting expeditions or public sacrifices excused him from attending. Despite the expectation of total devotion to the state, Spartiate's were entitled to a number of privileges strictly denied to non-Spartans. Once elected to a mess, a man was given an allotment of public land and serfs. He could participate in the Assembly, and, if married, finally able to live with his wife. The level of commitment required of a citizen to his state in Sparta was unheard of anywhere else in Greece. However, the education and training all citizens would have had to undergo was designed to instil a sense of courage, confidence and unwavering devotion to the polis, and this is why the citizens had no hesitation in making personal sacrifices if it was for the good of the state.
The first active step in becoming a Spartan citizen was at the age of seven, when boys of the citizen class (and in rare cases, pereoikoi, Laconian outsiders and local royalty) were given up by their parents and put in the state education system; the above. The women had no trouble in letting go of their young sons because, although they were fully aware of the extreme discipline that pervaded all aspects of their sons training, it was considered to be for the good of the state that fit, healthy males be given the right to develop into defenders of the city (and it was also enforced by law). The boys were supervised at all times by a paidonomos, a Spartiates of great repute who was responsible for the education of his boys. However, any citizen had the right to discipline them if the guardian was absent. From a very young age, this reinforced the principle of prompt and unwavering obedience to authority. The above trained the boys for living the specific life of a warrior soldier, and therefore they were taught to read and write no more than was necessary.
They were issued one cloak to last them all year, ran barefoot at all times, and were fed minimal amounts of food. The logic behind these overly harsh living conditions was that if as ever on campaign as Spartan warriors, they would be able to better endure exposure to the elements, not be inhibited by fighting on harsh terrain, and be more cunning and inventive when finding food. (Indeed, when training, the boys were encouraged to steal food but were severely punished if caught not because of the act of theft, but because of the fact that they were caught). At age thirty, the fully trained males of the above were to face their final test before being accepted as a Spartan citizen being elected to a public mess. Each member voted by putting a small chunk of bread into a basin called as caddichus. Depending upon whether the bread was round or flattened decided the fate of the candidate. The decision had to be unanimous, so the appearance of one flattened piece of bread representing a no vote meant that the young man was disqualified.
If accepted however, the responsibilities and expectations did not end with the successful election to a mess. Now granted full rights of citizenship, the Spartiates would be obliged to make monthly contributions of food and wine to his barrack, and was expected to dine with them every night. Despite the seemingly endless expectations placed upon the men, the Spartan education system was known and respected throughout Greece, with one Athenian writer, Xenophon, admiring the institution of the above so much that he sent his two sons there. The above was supposed to enforce obedience to authority, to teach the boys to endure pain and hardship that may be experienced whilst on military duty, and to enforce the mentality that the Spartan system was the right system; everything in life was subordinate to the needs of the state.
Even though all Spartan citizens had to endure the rigorous training of the above, the rights and privileges certainly inflated the ego of the man. Whilst still training at the age of twenty, the young men were granted permission to get married. However, it was not until the age of thirty the age of being a full Spartan citizen that they were allowed to live with their wife. The household was important, but not in the same way as was understood by those outside Sparta. A well-ordered oikos was of benefit to the state, but, in stark contrast to Athens, the affairs of the wife and the paternity of the children she bore had no impact on the good name of the household. The main aim of the family was to encourage the production of healthy male children, ripe for training and development into the next generation of Spartan warrior.
In becoming a Spartan citizen, a man was also given a plot of public land to cultivate (or have the serfs that came with the land do it for him). The allocation of a kero encouraged the Spartiate's feeling of being needed by the state, and it is from this land that his contribution of edible commodities to his mess came from. The political power that came with being a Spartiates was also strictly prohibited from those non-Spartans, and so defined the citizens and emphasised their apparent worth. Spartan citizens were allowed to vote in the assembly or apollo, be one of twenty-eight men on the council with the workings, called the gero usia, or be one of five ephor's who were elected annually to oversee the workings of public policy. By participating in public politics, Spartiate's were exercising the democratic part of the citizenship, and although their say in the running of the state was limited (they could only approve or disapprove of bills passed before them) it was in essence a vital part of their mixed constitution. Although a free and easy childhood was given over for the rigours of the above, and a family life subordinate to the needs of the military, Spartan citizens were entitled to great power and were accounted for in the highest positions of class in society.
Spartiate's had been trained for military service and for a way of life that was centred around ones comrades-in-arms. The men had freedom, but by having total respect for their master the law meant that the Spartans were (in theory) proud, well-trained, fearless warriors.
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