Yes, you, as a Spartan boy, would have to steal to survive. Living with your barracks mates, you would have to organize and divide the tasks between you. Some would fetch firewood, others, weaker or younger, would have to take care of vegetables and food. Food that, many times, would not be enough, making you prepare to steal what you needed.
Stealing was part of the training. Making the Spartan boy become a skilled soldier, able to survive anywhere he went, was the purpose of all this preparation. But, it is not because of this that the boys who were caught in the act of theft would not be punished, quite the contrary:if caught in the act, they would be whipped, being punished not only by the person robbed, but also by their superior in the army.
So, you would have to dedicate part of your time to the elaboration of plans, strategies for the distribution of spies around the place that would be stolen, in order to avoid the pain and shame of being punished. In addition to the whipping, we must not forget that he would have to go without eating for a while, he would suffer from hunger and lack of food.
We ask ourselves, then:weren't such punishments cruel? According to Spartan culture, no. If the boys couldn't succeed in their tasks, it would be because they didn't follow the rules well and what they were taught, therefore, whoever failed, it was because they didn't learn their lessons well and should, therefore, be punished. .
But what about people who lived in cities and were victims of thefts? How did they react? Being Spartan citizens, they wanted the best for their children and a good education would be the basis of everything. Furthermore, the period during which the boys lived in the cities was short, as they were taken to the countryside, forests and other distant places, having to survive there, according to their abilities. Thus, the citizens of Sparta lived with the theft for a short period and had the right to punish the boys if caught in the act.
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