Spartan boys traditionally entered the agoge at age seven.
The agoge was the educational and training system imposed on male children of Spartan citizen families. Boys left their household upbringing and joined age-based groups supervised by older youths and officials. Training emphasized endurance, obedience, teamwork, physical fitness, and familiarity with military discipline.
The system was not simply a school for weapons. Boys learned songs, dances, reading, and writing, although ancient accounts emphasize the hardships of the program. They were reportedly given limited food and encouraged to supplement it by stealing, with punishment traditionally attached to being caught. This practice was meant to develop stealth and resourcefulness rather than hunger itself.
The agoge is often described as universal for all residents of Sparta, but that is misleading. Its full civic role applied primarily to male citizens. Girls also received physical education, and Spartan women had an unusually prominent public and economic position compared with women in many other Greek communities. The agoge helped create the distinctive identity of the Spartan citizen elite.