After being weaned, the child at Athens was fed by its mother or nurse with milk and a weak broth, which consisted mostly of honey. The older Athenian child no doubt had an abundance and a variety of food, but such was not the case in Sparta. Taken to the public tables at seven years of age, the Spartan child was given only very coarse food and not nearly a sufficient quantity of this. He was permitted, however, to steal more food, but if caught he was severely punished. =Child and Parent.= One of the worst things that could happen to a Greek in the old times was not to have children, and especially not to have a son. Although daughters were not disliked, yet it was through the son that the family name and the worship of family gods and ancestors could be continued after the death of the father. There was more, for the state considered childlessness and especially no sons in a family unfortunate, as it was thought such a condition lessened the ties between citizen and state. So when a boy was born into a family the outer door was decorated with an olive branch, while for a girl a fillet of wool was used. "The Grecian mothers were subjected to certain rules prior to the birth of their children. Their food and exercises were regulated either by the laws, or by the manners and customs. In most of the Grecian states they were required to lead a sedentary, inactive, and tranquil life. In Sparta, however, it was directly the reverse. There, women while in that condition were required to be abroad, engaged in their usual athletic recreations, eating and drinking as at any other period of time."[165] =Care of Children.= The newly born child was bathed in water and oil and then it was put into swaddling clothes, a narrow woolen band wrapped tightly round and round the child from the neck to the feet. In Sparta the newly born child was bathed in water tempered with wine, as it was considered strengthening to the child and also that such a bath could be endured only by strong and healthy infants. The baby was not placed in swaddling clothes in Sparta, so that it was allowed the freedom of its limbs and body.