The State furnished barracks poorly provided with the comforts of life, in which the boys slept in severe weather; at other times they slept in the open air. They were wholly separated from their homes, and completely under control of the State. The purpose was to secure strong, beautiful, and supple bodies, inured to hardship, as a preparation for the life of the soldier. The only intellectual education was music, which consisted in playing the lyre as an accompaniment to the dance. Reading and writing were despised as being fit only for slaves. At the age of twelve the boy exchanged the long coat for the mantle, thereby entering upon manhood. From this time until the age of thirty, much the same form of training was continued, though it became more definitely military. At thirty the Spartan youth became a citizen and was expected to marry. Girls also received gymnastic training, in many cases with the boys. The purpose of this was to develop strong and beautiful wives and mothers. The effect of this coeducation of the sexes was in the highest degree salutary, impurity among women being unknown in Sparta. We have already noted the patriotism of the Spartan mother. Woman was highly esteemed in the home. Her praises and her reproofs were alike respected, and all her opinions bore much weight. =Criticism of Spartan Education.=--1. It produced men and women of beautiful physique. 2. It inculcated obedience, politeness, modesty, sobriety, respect for the aged, courage, and patriotism. 3. It checked luxury and extravagance. 4. On the other hand, it gave little attention to intellectual training, hence it produced few men of lasting fame. 5. Its aim was martial supremacy, and this attained, the State fell into a hasty decline because of the instability of such a foundation. 6. It excluded a large part of the inhabitants from its benefits, only the nobles being included. 7. It was selfish because it trained for Sparta and not for Greece, or for humanity. 8. It taught the duty of man to the State, and not the duty of man to man. 9. It took boys at an early age away from the influences of home, thus robbing the parents of the sacred prerogative of directing the education of their offspring. 10. It produced men cruel in battle and revengeful in victory, men incapable of cultivating the arts of peace. LYCURGUS There is so much that is mythical and uncertain concerning Lycurgus that many have doubted whether he ever lived. Curtius, however, says, "There really lived in the ninth century B.C. a legislator of the name of Lycurgus." Lycurgus formed the constitution which gave Sparta its peculiar institutions, and which established its place in history. His laws were intended to check luxury and to inculcate the simplest habits. Some of his important laws led to the introduction of the following customs:-- 1. All the men ate at common tables, fifteen at a table.