XENOPHON on the SPARTANS



The Spartan leader Lycurgus, a bas-relief in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol


Lycurgus ...

" ... thought that female slaves were competent to furnish clothes; and, considering that the PRODUCTION OF CHILDREN WAS THE NOBLEST DUTY OF THE FREE, he enacted ...that the female should practice bodily exercise no less than the male sex..." ".....He ordained that a man should think it shame to be seen going in to his wife, or coming out from her. When married people meet in this way, they must feel stronger desire for the company of one another...and produce more robust offspring....





The ‘portrait’ of Lycurgus is part of the decoration of the Chamber of the House of Representatives in the United States Capitol building, Washington, D.C.

January 26, 2010 1:47 PM

John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu

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