Old Greek religion was a worship of the beautiful--the ideal in nature and human life, and the gods were ideal expressions of human thought, portraying the divine in man. Religion influenced the old Greek in every way and on every side he was reminded of the gods by temples, altars, statues, sacred trees, etc. But with all his religion, strange to say, the Greek did not connect it closely with his moral life, for his religion was expressed in his attitude toward the gods, while his morality was determined by the laws of the land and the customs of society. This is well shown in his prayers, for these were not offered for inward betterment, but for some definite outward help. =Education.= In the early times of Greece there were no real schools, the young receiving their training from the life of the family and the community. As this came through contact with living persons and not through dead precepts in sacred books, which demanded strict obedience and following, there was opportunity for growth so that progress might be made by the individual away from fixed and stereotyped ways of doing things. The purpose of the training of those times was to help the boy to become a man who would be wise and eloquent in council and strong and courageous in battle. Sparta represented a phase of education in Greece. Surrounded as it was by people who were hostile to its ways and customs, it was necessary that the young should be trained to be patriotic to the state and skilled in war. To this end education began before birth, for means were used for having strong children born and those not strong at birth were cast aside from the state. If the child at birth was decided by the council to be fit to grow up to be a Spartan, then he was given to his mother and remained with her till his seventh year, when he was taken from her and put under the care and training of state officials. When at seven years of age the boy was taken over by the state, he was placed in the care of an officer called the paedonomus. This officer had supreme power over all the boys and youth and superintended their moral training and gymnastic exercises and their punishments, having men to assist in the work. All the education was at public cost and all the young were placed in public buildings, eating and sleeping in common, all being placed together in common, even the younger members of the royal family, the heir-apparent to the throne being alone exempt. Here they were divided into three companies according to age--from the seventh to the twelfth year, from the twelfth to the fifteenth, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth. The elder and stronger boys were placed over them as, captains and had them in charge.