ere. All male Spartan citizens between the age of 20 and 60 served in the army. Although Spartan men were allowed to marry, they lived in the barracks, they had to belong to a men's dining club and eat and sleet in the barracks. They were forbidden to possess gold and silver, and their money consisted of iron bars. War songs were the only music allowed and their knowledge of literature was almost nonexistent. Even in their speech, luxury was not allowed, they spoke short and to the point.When the Spartan did decide to marry, the marriage ritual was somewhat unusual. The man carried his wife off as if he were taking her by force, although the women were held in a much higher status than that of other societies. Marriage was supposed to be by capture. The groom would take his bride to her new home and the bridesmaids would cut her hair short and dress her in a man's cloak and sandals. The idea of this ritual was to avoid the evil spirits by fooling them of the outward appearance of the bride. Trial marriages were also a practice of the Spartan society. If the bride became pregnant then the marriage was permanent, if not then the relationship was severed. There were several other strange marriage practices including all the young men and women were shut in a dark room. Whichever girl the man commandeered he brought home and married, as dowries were illegal, that was not an issue. Another common practice was wife sharing, and this was found only in the Spartan society. It became honorable for men to give the use of their wives to those whom they should find fit, so that they may also have children for themselves. Childbearing was of great importance to the Spartan society. A woman who could produce large families was looked upon highly. Many times the only time a man came home from the barracks was for the sole purpose of increasing the population.The adult life of the man's life became most critical upon reaching twenty. ...
