The men were sent to the army at the age of seven, where they received education and learned the arts of war and sport. At age twelve, they were abandoned on cliffs alone, naked and without food. At age 18, they returned to Sparta. At age 20, the Spartan citizen began his membership in one of the syssitia (dining messes or clubs), composed of about fifteen members each. Membership was mandatory to all citizens. Each group would learn how to bond and rely on one another. Up to the age of 30 were considered second-class citizens, with no voting rights, for example. They could be attacked by any spartan over 30 years old.
The young men could attack servants at any time to fight and prepare for war, but if they were slain by him, the servant would receive two days off (for killing someone who was not good enough for the Spartan army). There was a season of hunt hunting, to train young men for war.
The man who could live to the age of thirty became an officer, returning to the barracks with all the rights of a Spartan citizen, as well as the right to vote, the right to have sex with women and the right to marry. The men impregnated their wives, marrying them, and returned to the barracks after leaving them pregnant in their homes. At the age of sixty, they could go to their wives' homes to live with them.
