Facts About Sparta That Sound Made Up - But Aren't

Spartan culture was in every way centered around being soldiers, in both life and beyond. While burying the deceased was common around the world at that time, Spartan citizens only received a tombstone for two special cases.

In the first case, Spartans that were slain on the battlefield were often buried on that battlefield. Their simple tombstone was inscribed with only their name and the phrase "in war" beneath it.

In the second case, women who perished in childbirth were also recognized with tombstones. Because they bore the future warriors of Sparta, Spartan women were respected members of society. However, it remains unknown what was inscribed on their headstones.

That beautiful moment when a newly married couple walks through the threshold of their new home together... didn't really exist for many Spartan newlyweds. 

Since Spartan men were actively part of the military from ages 7 to 30, they were required to live in military barracks until the age of 30. While Spartan culture preferred men to marry at this age (and women at 20), many married several years earlier. For these unlucky couples, they weren't able to sleep under one roof together for years. 

Marriage, in general, was actually very important to the Spartan way of life - so much so that Spartan bachelors were often looked down upon and ridiculed for not adding to the flock of Sparta.

Sparta famously didn’t build walls to protect the city, as Lycurgus once noted, a city is better protected with "brave men and not by bricks". But what happens when those same brave men are off on campaign? 

Sparta was a long way past its prime by 272 BCE, no longer the dominant land power in Greece. With the army campaigning in Crete and only a few Spartan youths and the women left, the city looked ripe for plunder. Pyrrhus of Epirus, still smarting from a costly expedition in Italy, decided to take advantage of the situation and led his army to the seemingly undefended city.

The Spartan women refused to evacuate and abandon the city and instead took to aiding what little garrison there was left to defend their home. They helped dig a trench and supported the heavily outnumbered defenders. Over two days the inexperienced Spartan warriors and a handful of allies from neighboring states held off the forces of Pyrrhus and forced him to turn back when fresh forces from Macedon arrived. The great ancient general met his end soon afterward.

Perhaps the most famous Spartan was King Leonidas (portrayed by Gerard Butler in 300). King Leonidas did, by all accounts, lead a small army of Spartan soldiers against a much larger Persian army. According to Plutarch (a famous Greek philosopher), Leonidas actually said, "Come and take them!" when the the Persian ruler, Xerxes I, demanded that the Spartans surrender their weapons. 

Another great quote from history is also from this battle. When a soldier noted, "Because of the arrows of the barbarians it is impossible to see the sun." Leonidas (or his soldier, Dienekes) replied, "Won't it be nice, then, if we shall have shade in which to fight them?"

Forget trying to figure out the perfect updo - Spartan women cut their hair short or shaved off their locks completely before their wedding ceremonies. Why? Some historians think it was to signal the transition from virgin to woman.Virgins wore their hair long, but upon becoming a wife, a woman was not allowed to wear her hair long again. 

But the head shaving was just the beginning of the makeover. Next, the brides put on men's clothes and sandals. They then waited for their grooms to steal them away in the night (as they couldn't live together until he was 30). 

Physical fitness was renowned in Spartan society, and this idea extended to men and women.

To maintain strong physiques, people frequently exercised outside unclothed. In Spartan culture, the naked body was not seen as lust-inducing, and instead taught women "a care for good health." Women would often compete in sports, including footraces and even wrestling.

In the Spartans' eyes, strong women bred strong babies, so a level of independence was afforded to Spartan women that was not common in many other places in the world at the time.