Girls would perform in dances together as this would encourage socialisation and loyalty. There is evidence of young men and women taking part in dances together. This festival was also an opportunity for youths to scout out potential marriage partners as they demonstrated their physicality and fitness to each other. It has been suggested that the dances were based on military movements with a strict structure, which in turn led to the Spartan women developing a greater physical prowess and agility. Another significant aspect of the gymnopaedia was the nudity. While nudity was not common in Sparta, it did occur in relation to specific cults and rituals. The main reason for this nudity was that the lack of identifying clothing that in turn led to the lack of rank. Therefore a sense of uniformity was created for all participants as well as a sense of loyalty to Spartan society. Plato praises gymnopaedia-like exercises and performances in "The Laws" as a medium of education: by dancing in the summer heat, Spartan youth were trained in both musical grace and warrior grit simultaneously. The boys in their dances performed rhythmic movements that resembled the exercises of the palaestra and the pancration, and also imitated the dance of tragedy. The Gymnopaedia was also held in memory of Sparta's defeat by Argos at Hysiai in 669 or 668 BC. By recognizing their defeat, the Spartans hoped to appease the gods and prevent future defeats. During the festive days, those Spartans who had fallen on that occasion were always praised in songs at this festival. The military style of dancing reinforces the emphasis on military success in Spartan society. The whole season of the gymnopaediae, during which Sparta was visited by great numbers of strangers, was one of great merriment and rejoicings. While for the earliest of these authors the meaning of "Gymnopaedia" appears predominantly as a festival (including dances, sports, and other activities), in later antiquity "gymnopaedia" refers to a specific dance. Eight centuries after the first gymnopaedia, the festival survived in Lacedaemonia into the Roman era. According to Lucian of Samosata's dialogue "Of Pantomime", it retained some connection to martial arts, as the youths would engage in gymnopaedia immediately after their daily military training. On the other hand, he describes the gymnopaedia as "yet another dance", neither involving nudity nor exclusivity for men.