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Leisure activities of Sparta - Coggle Diagram
Leisure activities of Sparta
Animals
horse racing
Spartans had a fondness for horses and training them
Women were also able to get involved in the feeding and training of these horses
chariot racing
Often competed in races including four horse chariot races
Whilst women could not compete, they could enter horses into races. One woman was Kyniska, the daughter f a Jung who was said to have been the only women to have won a race with her horse
hunting
Hunting in Mt Taygetus was another popular leisure activity. It wa seen as way to test a man's courage and skill, with Boars being the biggest and most valuable targets to hunt
Those who did not have equipment could still borrow from their peers and engage in the activity.
Cockfighting
Aggressive cocks fought to the death
Symbol of hoplite soldiers with their crested helmets
Athletics
Athletics was the most popular leisure activity inn Sparta, keeping the men and boys fit whilst in peacetime.
Mne competed in all areas of athletics, Javelin, Discus, running wrestling and jumping. Many of the best olympic runners were Spartan
Women competed in running and Jumping, and often held races.
Music and dance
both men and women partook in music and dance. Most often these represented battles, military drills or simulated hunts
Songs and dances were, as written by Plutarch used to rouse encouragement and spirit.
feasting and drinking
Spartans had a very heavy biased against heavy drinking and drunkeness, but still encouraged drinking and feasting in the sysstia as a way to promote camraderie and brotherhood
General Info
Helots farmed, perioikoi traded and crafted, domestic slaves took care of the home, so Spartiates had more leisure time than other Greeks
However, it is said that Lycurgus didn't want Spartans to waste time in idleness, so he set leisure time to certain activities - "choral dances, festivals, banquets, hunting trips, physical exercise, and conversation."