What was the ritual whereby young Spartans were forced to lived outside the community and kill and steal from the helots in order to survive?

DerekT

Ostracism Apr 23 07, 10:07 AM

tragic_flawed

no- ostracism is related to complete banishment from Roman society.... Apr 23 07, 10:44 AM

lanfranco

Ostracism was a Greek procedure, not Roman. You are probably referring to the "Agoge": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoge Apr 23 07, 10:59 AM

tragic_flawed

Ostraca- originally referred to the Greek practice- it was also adopted by the Romans- just like a lot of Roman culture... Apr 23 07, 1:17 PM

lanfranco

From the site posted below: "The ostracized person was compelled to leave Athens for ten years, but he was not regarded as a traitor or criminal. When he returned, he resumed possession of hsi property and his civic status was unimpaired. The adverse vote simply implied that his power was so great as to be injurious to the state. Ostracism must therefore be carefully distinguished from exile in the Roman sense, which involved loss of property and status, and was for an indefinite period (i.e., generally for life." More recently, the "Oxford Classical Dictionary" (third edition, 1996, article by Douglas MacDowell, p. 1083) does not mention any Roman practice in connection with ostracism. In the article on exile by Simon Hornblower and Barry Nicholas, p. 580, both Greek and Roman exile for criminal acts and treason are distinguished from Greek ostracism. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Ostracism Apr 23 07, 1:48 PM

queproblema

The ritual was called Krypteia, or Crypteia. I had thought all young Spartan males participated in it, but this site says only the cream of the crop did. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypteia Apr 23 07, 6:17 PM

tragic_flawed

I realized the difference between Greek and Roman ostracism- this does not have an edit function, so please do not be a boring pedant and follow me everywhere I go just to correct small questions I think off the top of me head.... Apr 23 07, 7:11 PM