Agoge
The ACOUP blog (which comes up on HN sometimes) has a great series on Sparta where Agoge is discussed in detail<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;acoup.blog&#x2F;2019&#x2F;08&#x2F;16&#x2F;collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;acoup.blog&#x2F;2019&#x2F;08&#x2F;16&#x2F;collections-this-isnt-sparta-p...</a><p>It was a very eye-opening read, definitely at odds with the popular image of Sparta.<p>In short about Agoge, he says it was much less about training and more about child indoctrination through extreme trauma. He compares it to child soldier programs like the one by Lords Resistance Army in Africa. Rather than producing skilled soldiers, he argues, it produced broken dysfunctional people.