What happened to a Spartan weak child?

What happened to a Spartan weak child?

If a baby was weak, the Spartans exposed it on the hillside or took it away to become a slave (helot). Nurses had the primary care of the baby and did not coddle it. Soldiers took the boys from their mothers at age 7, housed them in a dormitory with other boys and trained them as soldiers.

What was it like to be a child in Sparta?

Life in Sparta was one of simplicity and self-denial. Children were children of the state more than of their parents. They were raised to be soldiers, loyal to the state, strong and self-disciplined. When a Spartan baby was born, soldiers came to the house and examined it carefully to determine its strength.

How much would a Spartan bench?

Meaning each Spartan was applying a bench-press equivalent of 20.7 tonnes.

How did the Spartans look for weaknesses in children?

In Sparta, weak children weren’t given a chance. If they were born weak, ill, or deformed, they were left to die—and that happened a lot. When a baby was born, the father would carry the newborn to the town’s elders. The elders would examine the child, looking for weaknesses and deformities.

How many babies were left to die in Sparta?

10 Half Of All Spartan Babies Were Left To Die. In Sparta, weak children weren’t given a chance. If they were born weak, ill, or deformed, they were left to die—and that happened a lot. When a baby was born, the father would carry the newborn to the town’s elders.

What happens to the baby of a Spartan soldier?

If a Spartan baby was judged to be unfit for its future duty as a soldier, it was most likely abandoned on a nearby hillside. Left alone, the child would either die of exposure or be rescued and adopted by strangers.

Why did the Spartans bathe their children after birth?

Immediately after birth, a Spartan child was dipped into a bath of wine to test its strength and fortitude. The Spartans believed that a weak child bathed in wine would convulse and die (Fant and Lefkowitz, 2005). If the child passed this particular test they were then taken by the father before a group of elders.