Legend relates that Sparta, or Σπάρτη, was founded by Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and the Pleiad Taygete. He named the city after his wife, Sparte, who was the daughter of Eurotas, king of Laconia, to whose throne he later succeeded.

Sparta was located in central Laconia, which formed the south-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. The city was situated in the valley of the River Eurotas and was alternatively called "Lacedaemon" after the legendary founder, hence the display of the Greek letter "lambda" [Λ] on the shields of the state's formidable soldiers.

Sparta eventually came to control all of Laconia but also unfortunately evolved to be one of the worst governed city-states in Greece, endangered by ambitious and bellicose neighbours. During the 7^th century BCE, Lycurgus, second son of King Eunomus, whose name meant "under good laws", became, after the death of his father and elder brother, guardian to his young nephew, Leobotas, who had rightful claim to the throne.

Lycurgus later visited the sacred oracle at Delphi to seek advice as to how to resolve Sparta's problems. The Pythia priestess instructed him to revise the laws and constitution of his city and this he did on his return. The effect was to reform civic life completely, with ethnically pure Lacedaemonians basically concentrating for reasons of national security and advancement on the breeding of mighty warriors.

Meanwhile, other Laconians, controlled and considered inferior by the Spartans and called "perioekoi", or "neighbours", were allowed to conduct the militaristic state's commerce, whilst peoples enslaved, and largely employed as publicly owned agricultural labourers, were termed "helots". Many of the latter were later recruited from the conquered westerly adjacent state of Messenia.

The first long and bloody Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens had been ended in the previous winter by a supposed 30-year peace treaty that favoured the Lacedaemonians when the naked newly born son of Archidamus and Eupolia was presented for examination to the Spartan Council of Elders. The inspection by the 28 men aged over 60 years, who comprised this "Gerousia", was literally a matter of life or death.

For any perceived imperfection of the baby boy"s body or mind, the child would be left to die of exposure in, or be thrown into, a deep chasm called the "Apothetae", or "Place of Rejection", on Mount Taygetos near to Sparta. This mountain had been named after the mother of the founder of the city, the Pleiad Taygete.

Fortunately for young Agesilaos, the baby's physical and mental attributes were judged by the 28 elderly members of the Gerousia to be most suitable for a Spartan boy.

(Residence of Archidamus , Sparta, Laconia, Greece, 7 years later, early autumn, 437 BCE)

"The women did not bathe the babies with water but with wine, making it a sort of test of their strength. For they say that the epileptic and sickly ones lose control and go into convulsions, but the healthy ones are rather toughened like steel and strengthened in their physique. The nurses displayed care and skill: they did not use swaddling-bands, making the babies free in their limbs and bodies. They also made them sensible and not fussy about their food, not afraid of the dark or frightened of being left alone, not inclined to unpleasant awkwardness or whining."
- Plutarch, about Spartan boys in "The Ancient Customs of the Spartans"

The Spartans had just celebrated their New Year, which began with arrival of the month of "Herasios" on the day of the first full moon after the autumnal equinox, and a father and his exceedingly pretty blue-eyed 7 year-old son were currently engaged in conversation. They were sitting next to each other on a marble bench in the sunny courtyard of their luxurious residence.

"Are you sure, Agesilaos?" Archidamus asked of his son, whose long silky fair hair curled cutely at the ends into attractive tendrils. "Yes, father," the boy, who was rather small for his age, answered with resolution.

"But your existence will be very harsh," Archidamus protested, as he and his son discussed the fact the boy was surprisingly declining to follow his much older half-brother"s earlier lead. To the 7 year-old"s loving parents, the child's refusal was both unexpected and distressing but could not be denied if he continued to plead his constitutional rights.

"You'll have little if anything to wear or eat," Archidamus added, "you'll sleep in very cramped and uncomfortable conditions, you'll only be able to wash in the river and you'll have to perform frequent exercises until you"re completely exhausted. You'll also eventually be given very dangerous challenges to fulfil. Given your special status and rather diminutive form, you'll additionally probably be bullied and you'll undoubtedly be regularly whipped, and some boys have been known to die as a result of the severity of their floggings and other punitive aspects of their new lives!"

"Like your older half-brother, Agis," Archidamus continued, "you can be excused such a terrible life. So why don't you follow his example?"

"Because, father," the clever, courageous and patriotic Agesilaos replied, "I want to be like any normal Spartan boy!"

(Ephebe barracks, near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, a few days later)

Having allowed Agesilaos to say his farewells to his mother, Eupolia, during which process both boy and woman, as befitted Spartans, managed to prevent shedding any tears, Archidamus escorted his very pretty but rather diminutive second son in warm autumnal sunshine to the city's harsh military barracks. The rest of the blue-eyed 7 year-old's childhood was to be based here as a cadet, or "ephebe", whilst he underwent his fierce militaristic training, or "agoge", in preparation for warrior manhood, from which he had bravely declined to be excused.

Enlistment for the agoge at the age of 7 was compulsory for ordinary Spartan males. The training was subsequently deliberately harsh in order to produce excellent warriors, who could survive great hardship and suffering, whilst displaying tremendous courage and resourcefulness. The severity of the process was also designed to weed out the weak, with fatalities considered acceptable if boys proved physically or mentally frail or incompetent.

Archidamus experienced a mixture of emotions as he escorted Agesilaos to his harsh new existence, which was beginning slightly later than for the rest of the annual intake of 7 year-olds because of the efforts made to dissuade him from his intent. The father feared for his son because he was worried that the boy, whom he considered rather delicate, might not survive the severity of the 13-year agoge or would emerge from the lengthy training badly damaged, either physically or mentally. However, the man was also extremely proud of a clearly patriotically brave and selfless child, who was shedding a life of privileged luxury and safety for one of immense discomfort and danger.

After Archidamus and Agesilaos arrived at the ephebe element of Sparta's large military barracks complex, which was just outside the city on the banks of the River Eurotas, the senior army officer in charge of the training institution personally greeted them. One last attempt was then made to dissuade the boy from his intent.

In response to an earlier secret message from Archidamus, the head of the barracks, attired in the impressive uniform of a Spartan hoplite warrior, albeit currently without the large ornate helmet, looked straight at the prospective new ephebe. The man then repeated the question the boy's father had asked a few days previously.

"Are you sure, Agesilaos?" the head of the barracks enquired. The man, whose bronze cuirass was gleaming brightly in the sunlight, then added ominously "As, despite your status, you'll receive no special favours or treatment here, rather the opposite in fact. It'll be anticipated that you'll live up to your exceptional lineage and so you'll be expected to surpass the other ephebes and, to encourage you to succeed, you'll be treated very severely for any failings. There'll also be no going back. Once you"ve joined, you'll be here until you either graduate or die!"

The man was not lying, as Agesilaos' enlistment as an ephebe would be irreversible. If a boy of such pedigree did join the barracks, he would also be expected to out-perform most of the others in his age group and be severely penalised for any deficiencies. He would additionally undoubtedly become a prime target for bullies, who would enjoy humiliating and hurting someone of his exceptional status.

Agesilaos, who was mentally mature beyond his tender years, was aware that his future existence in the barracks would be hard. However, having lived a rather closeted life so far, during which friendships had been difficult to acquire because of his remoteness from other children of his age and their apparent wariness of his status, he yearned to be a normal Spartan boy.

In answer to the repeated question as to whether he was sure, Agesilaos therefore fatefully replied without hesitation "I am, Sir!"

(Ephebe barracks, near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, shortly afterwards)

Archidamus eventually left Agesilaos at the barracks, sorrowfully knowing that he would only see his second son rarely over the next 23 years. The austere institution would even remain the boy's home for another decade after he graduated at the age of 20, if he survived that long.

On leaving Agesilaos in the barracks, Archidamus had only expressed a formal verbal farewell to his son, as any expression of emotion in such a setting would be considered unseemly, particularly by a man and boy who were expected to be epitomes of excellent behaviour. The pair had anyway previously hugged each other and confirmed their undying mutual love in private, just prior to entering the military complex.

The head of the barracks subsequently assigned Agesilaos to an adult supervisor, or "paidonomos", who was in charge of the several packs of new 7 year-old ephebe recruits comprising that year's annual intake. Each of these roughly 15-strong troops was led by a prefect, who was chosen for the position because he had somehow displayed leadership capabilities. However, with the younger boys, such identified attributes were often confined to the physical or mental strength exhibited by bullies.

The paidonomos had been watching a fierce ball-game being contested, in a large square parade ground that was surrounded by a number of ramshackle wooden huts, by two of the packs for which he was responsible. All of the thirty 7 year-old contestants were naked and had short haircuts.

The first act that the paidonomos, who was attended by a young boy wearing a cheap and rather skimpy red woollen short-sleeved tunic, perpetrated on the late arrival was to order Agesilaos to strip naked too. The newcomer was unaccustomed to nudity in front of others, as he had never exercised in Sparta's public gymnasia because his father's palatial residence instead possessed a private facility for such exertions.

Nevertheless, Agesilaos did not hesitate to obey the paidonomos' command, as he appreciated that instant competent adherence to orders from a superior would hereon be the most important aspect of his new life. The boy's expensive tunic, made of the finest material, was therefore soon lying on the compressed soil, which comprised the hard surface of the parade ground, along with his loincloth undergarments and new leather sandals.

The paidonomos subsequently appraised Agesilaos" diminutive but lovely nude body for a few moments, with a licking of his manly lips being an indication that he was pleased with what he saw. The sudden hardening of his hidden cock was another sign of his satisfaction.

The paidonomos then interrupted his appreciation of truly delectable juvenile beauty by ordering the attendant boy, dressed in the red tunic, to take Agesilaos' discarded attire away. The clothing, which was obviously not required by the late arrival's family, would later be resold, as the previous wearer would no longer need such garments.

The boy attending the paidonomos subsequently returned with a red tunic, similar to the one he was wearing, and handed the attire to Agesilaos. "Put it on," the adult supervisor then ordered, "and look after it. The garment's the only item of clothing you"re allowed and it won't be replaced for a year. If you lose it, you'll find yourself permanently naked, even in winter!"

Agesilaos slipped the tunic over his head. Despite the boy's diminutive stature, the garment, which must have been the smallest available size, proved to be tight fitting and short. The cut tucked the attire neatly in at the 7 year-old's slim waist, whilst the bottom hem only extended to just below his groin.

Realising the brevity of his new tunic, the astute Agesilaos immediately began to contemplate whether his expected physical growth over the next year before his attire was renewed would cause the hem to rise upwards and embarrassingly permanently expose his lower genitals. The boy would no longer have the benefit of undergarments to hide his private parts, although he would soon discover that he would actually spend a lot of time completely naked in the future, as many activities as an ephebe would be performed whilst nude.

Agesilaos would also no longer be permitted sandals, as he would hereafter go barefoot. The boy therefore additionally wondered how long the currently soft soles of his feet would take to harden and become accustomed to lack of protection by hard leather.

The paidonomos then interrupted Agesilaos' contemplation of the possible future problems relating to his new skimpy uniform when he produced a sharp knife. The boy's long silky fair hair, which currently curled at the ends into cute tendrils, was to be neatly shorn.

(Ephebe barracks, near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, shortly afterwards)

Agesilaos was later introduced to the prefect of his own pack, or "angele", of 7 year-old ephebes, which formed part of their age division, or "ile". The boy was a tall and strong bully named "Lysanoridas", who subsequently introduced the late arrival to the large but rather dishevelled hut where the troop lived on the fringes of the parade ground. The newcomer was then shown the patch of stone floor on which he was to sleep.

Agesilaos did not have to ask of the sniggering Lysanoridas what he was supposed to use for bedding. The sight of mounds of dried reeds from the adjacent River Eurotas, forming fourteen pallet mattresses elsewhere in the hut, clearly indicated what he had to secure to allow him some comfort at night.

Agesilaos, who had to remove his new tunic in order to fulfil this initial and rather damp task of his embryonic ephebe career, eventually retrieved the necessary quantity of reeds for the purposes of his bedding. However, as the rushes would take a few days to dry completely, the boy anticipated that he would be sleeping uncomfortably on the hard ground over the next few nights at least.

Agesilaos was already suffering some discomfort. The boy had not been allowed a knife or other help to collect the hardy reeds, whose edges could be razor sharp, and consequently his hands were red-raw, having experienced, as a rather diminutive 7 year-old, great difficulty in freeing the tough rushes from their riverside habitat. However, he fully realised that his present suffering would be nothing compared to what he would be expected to endure over the years to come.

After all, Agesilaos was now a normal Spartan boy.

(Ephebe barracks, near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, dusk of the same day)

"Right brat," the tall and strong Lysanoridas commanded of the diminutive Agesilaos, 'strip so that we can all judge whether you can ever become a Spartan warrior!" The bullying prefect had decided to give the newcomer a particularly embarrassing introduction to ephebe life because he was secretly jealous of the boy's special lineage.

All of the other boys of the pack had now assembled to sleep in their hut, after a hard day spent receiving tuition and indulging in rigorous physical exercises and pastimes. Younger ephebes were instructed in basic literacy, the works of Homer and war poems and songs. They were also taught to dance and play musical instruments, whilst many of the strenuous exertions designed to toughen their bodies had military contexts.

Gymnastics, running, javelin-throwing and wrestling, as well as ball-games, were indulged, usually to complete exhaustion. Older pupils would also be introduced to real combat fighting and the use of deadly weapons. Meanwhile, many boys bore the marks of failing to satisfy their instructors, who all carried crops or whips and frequently used them for harsh chastisement.

Agesilaos knew better than to hesitate over Lysanoridas' instruction, as he appreciated that ephebes were expected to obey orders instantly and without question, including any reasonable commands from prefects, who could punish them for disobedience or misbehaviour. Unreasonable demands from boys holding such powers could be challenged and the matter raised with the relevant paidonomos. However, the adult supervisors usually then let the squabbling pair of youngsters decide the issue by fighting each other, with no holds barred except for the banning of eye-gouging.

If the prefect was subsequently defeated in a fight in such circumstances, he was invariably dismissed from his position of authority and replaced by the victor. However, Agesilaos currently did not want to challenge the taller and stronger Lysanoridas. He therefore quickly stood up from the patch of ground allocated to him and removed his skimpy woollen tunic to allow the boys, to whom he was now being introduced by the nasty pack-leader in a deliberately humiliating manner, to feast their eyes on his young naked form.

The body that the fourteen sets of greedy eyes now inspected, and which their paidonomos had greatly admired earlier, was small for the boy's age but very pleasantly proportioned and exceedingly pretty. Agesilaos' face was exceptionally attractive and his torso and limbs beautifully slender and lithe. His impressive physical assets also included nicely fulsomely shaped smooth genitalia and lustrously curvaceous buttocks.

Nevertheless, despite such lovely attributes, Lysanoridas continued to humiliate Agesilaos by commenting, amidst copious giggling from most of the other members of his pack, "What a shamefully skinny and weak physique. I can't see you, brat, surviving here for long. Just a few blows from a paidonomos' whip would surely kill you!"

The jealous Lysanoridas secretly planned to ensure that Agesilaos' early life as an ephebe was truly hellish, although he did not propose to make his intent too obvious and therefore potentially subject to challenge by someone friendly to the weaker boy and who could match him physically. He did not fear the smaller newcomer but, like many bullies, he was essentially a coward at heart and was therefore very wary of falling foul of anyone who might defeat him in a fight and possibly displace him as a prefect.

As Lysanoridas issued his insults, the shamed Agesilaos noticed that one ephebe did not appear to be enjoying the prefect's successful attempt to humiliate the naked newcomer. He was later to discover that the name of this also very pretty 7 year-old sympathiser was "Eudamidas".

(Ephebe barracks, near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, next morning)

Agesilaos did not, after all, have to sleep overnight on the hard ground, whilst he waited for his reed bedding to dry. The boy had instead been kindly invited to share Eudamidas' pallet mattress of rushes.

The two rested 7 year-olds subsequently awoke at dawn, of what would turn out to be another sunny and warm autumnal day, and went in the cool and dewy morning air to the nearby River Eurotas to wash themselves in the chilly mountain water before breakfasting and going to lessons. As they did so, they did not, of course, know that their overnight slumber together was an event that was to inaugurate an historically important lifelong friendship.

(Ephebe barracks, near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, later same day)

Watched by the other thirteen members of their ephebe pack, the naked Agesilaos had just lost the first three of his best-of-seven bouts wrestling match against the similarly aged and nude but bigger, stronger, fitter and more experienced Lysanoridas. The more diminutive newcomer had been thrown harshly onto the hard parade ground on each occasion, causing his body to begin to display some redness and darker bruising on the parts on which he had landed. The previously sublime curves of the boy's delectable bottom had become particularly sore.

The supervising paidonomos, aware that the diminutive newcomer of special family pedigree was expected ultimately to out-perform most of the others in his age group, had decided to test the boy seriously from the very beginning of his career as an ephebe. Consequently, he had matched Agesilaos against the biggest and strongest member of the pack, who also happened to be the best wrestler.

Lysanoridas, who had previously decided to bide his time carefully in inflicting more humiliations on Agesilaos, could not believe his luck. Without any provocation on his part, the prefect had been kindly afforded by the paidonomos another early opportunity to shame the newcomer.

The paidonomos now added to Agesilaos' woes and Lysanoridas' delight by warning the new boy that he would be flogged if he experienced a fourth successive defeat to the prefect, thereby losing the best-of-seven bouts contest without securing a single victory. The expression subsequently displayed on the ephebe pack-leader's face, after he had heard this threat, immediately suggested that the bully would be extremely pleased to inflict such a disaster on his more diminutive and less experienced opponent.

Lysanoridas' happy expression then increased in intensity when the paidonomos provided him with the pleasant extra incentive of being allowed personally to thrash Agesilaos if he secured a fourth successive victory. However, his smaller opponent, also stimulated by the threat, later proved to be a quick learner and fought with greater expertise and tenacity in the fourth bout.

Agesilaos held Lysanoridas at bay for a long time, as they grappled with each other's naked forms in order to throw or trip the opponent to the ground. The spirited smaller boy even caused his adversary to totter on the brink of falling on a few occasions. However, the newcomer's efforts ultimately sadly proved to be to no avail.

Using all of his currently superior size, strength, stamina and skill, Lysanoridas eventually managed to throw the wearied Agesilaos again to the hard ground, where the boy landed on his already sore bottom, which was now to become even more distressed. The supervising paidonomos then handed a sturdy leather crop to the young victor to enable him to celebrate his win in the promised manner.

Agesilaos subsequently obediently complied with the paidonomos' next worrying instructions. The abashed defeated boy stood, spread his legs and bent over, placing his hands firmly on his bare shins to try to establish a posture from which he would hopefully not be easily displaced despite the undoubtedly fierce blows to be received by his curvaceous bottom. The buttocks of the latter very pleasant physical feature were also now nicely exposed for imminent chastisement, which was to be watched by the other thirteen ephebes from his pack, most whom were keen to see how the newcomer would react to his first punishment.

"Lysanoridas, you can flog your losing opponent's bottom ten times," the paidonomos advised the delighted victorious prefect, to the consternation of Agesilaos, who had hoped in vain for a more merciful initial beating. The newcomer's dismay was then increased when he heard the adult supervisor's follow-up orders.

"As for you, Agesilaos," the paidonomos commanded, "you will loudly count every blow applied to your bottom and thank Lysanoridas each time for taking the trouble to punish your ineptitude at wrestling. Any failure to do so will mean that the hit does not count and, if at anytime you don't manage to stay on your feet, the whole procedure will begin again!"

Agesilaos was appalled to hear these words but knew better than to advise the paidonomos of his attitude. The bent-over boy instead just meekly peered through his splayed legs, beyond his dangling genitalia and towards the clearly excited and happy Lysanoridas, who had taken up position just behind him in readiness to inflict the imminent flagellation of the newcomer's creamy buttocks.

From their upside-down perspective, Agesilaos' sensuous blue eyes rather naturally gravitated to the cruel crop in Lysanoridas' possession. When this sadistic implement subsequently disappeared from view, having been raised in the air in preparation for the first strike against the newcomer's bottom, the proposed receiver of the blow realised that the hit was imminent.

Having previously been a well-behaved boy of esteemed pedigree, Agesilaos had never been beaten in this manner before and so the extreme excruciation induced by Lysanoridas' well-aimed and very hard initial strike came as quite a surprise. The agony and shock also caused the 7 year-old to scream aloud, lose balance and fall forward onto his knees, much to the noisy amusement of the prefect and most of the other watching ephebes.

Agesilaos, who was now shamefully displaying some dampness in his eyes, eventually subsequently recovered sufficiently from his noisy pained surprise to be able to hear and then obey the paidonomos' next instruction. 'stand up, you useless cowardly brat," the adult supervisor rather brutally commanded of the hurting and shocked boy, "and accept your well-deserved punishment like a Spartan ephebe should!"

Fortunately, Agesilaos somehow managed to stay on his feet when he subsequently returned to his demeaning bent-over standing position and his eager and apparently proficient young flagellator delivered the second harsh blow. However, the recipient of the anguishing hit forgot to count and declare his thanks for being grievously hurt until the giggling of most of the other ephebes made him realise his mistake, which unfortunately proved too late by then to correct.

Before the agonised Agesilaos could subsequently declare "One" and thank Lysanoridas, the paidonomos was already announcing that the second accurately aimed hit across the boy's bottom would not count because of the victim's lack of courtesy. Consequently, the dampness in the blue eyes of the deeply distressed newcomer increased, despite his best efforts not to shed tears or exhibit any other symptoms of his anguish.

The dampness in Agesilaos's eyes subsequently intensified further when a third hard blow was inflicted on his now very sore posterior, causing another vivid scarlet stripe to form on the delectable curves. However, the boy also now did somehow successfully manage to stay on his feet and humiliatingly stutter "One" and "Thank you, Lysanoridas!"

Despite the fact that Lysanoridas was happily performing his sadistic task with eager enthusiasm balanced by careful deliberation, accuracy and skill, Agesilaos then continued to manage such feats, as the prefect later proceeded slowly to flog the pert bottom of his fellow 7 year-old another nine times. However, the excruciating agony, induced by each stinging blow rained on the boy's vulnerable rear, ensured that his brave efforts to restrain simultaneous cries and tears proved unsuccessful.

By the time that the majority of Agesilaos' previously creamy buttocks had been thoroughly reddened, the boy was reacting to each strike by emitting a muted but clearly audible moan and teardrops were falling onto the hard impacted soil below him. Consequently, for displaying such weakness, the paidonomos allowed Lysanoridas to culminate his chastisement of the newcomer by aiming from underneath a blow of the crop onto his fellow 7 year-old's small but nicely rotund scrotum.

As a result, Agesilaos concluded his penance by temporarily collapsing to and writhing on the ground, whilst he clutched his agonised genitals to the accompaniment of chortling from thirteen members of his pack. He was later as an adult to be slandered by enemies, who accused him of being lame and a cripple because one of his legs was shorter than the other. His detractors suggested that he would therefore have been killed at birth if he had not possessed a special family lineage. However, such comments were falsehoods because the boy suffered no such disfigurement.

The lies were instead based on nothing more than the fact that Agesilaos endured so much suffering during his early career as an ephebe that he gained a reputation for often being forced to walk awkwardly and in pain. The boy invariably bravely tried to minimise the visible effects of his injuries and hide his anguish but he was not always successful, and this moment, immediately after he had been beaten for the first time in his life, was just such an occasion.

Only Eudamidas from Agesilaos' pack appeared to consider the boy's anguish unfunny, although an older attired ephebe, who happened to be passing, also displayed some unhappiness at the newcomer's fate. The handsome 14 year-old concerned was of humble background. He was a "mothakes", which translates as "bastard", although his father, a full Spartan citizen, was actually married to his mother. However, the woman was a Messenian helot, which therefore did not convey full Lacedaemonian legitimacy on the son.

Nevertheless, despite his mixed parentage, the boy had qualified for admission to the brutal training system of the agoge and what he lacked in social standing he had made up for in bravery and intellect. He had soon stood out from the packs of fellow ephebes as someone liable to go far in his military career.

Agesilaos was now to gain substantial compensation for suffering his first flogging. Such recompense was in the form of two new close friends, namely the similarly aged Eudamidas and the 14 year-old boy, who had witnessed his current writhing. Both of these ephebes came to the agonised newcomer's aid, although the motives of the elder were not entirely altruistic.

The perceptive and ambitious 14 year-old recognised burgeoning beauty when he saw it. He therefore appreciated that Agesilaos, although a few years away from fully developing into the perfect peak of boyhood, was an exquisite bud merely waiting to blossom gloriously. He also realised that the very special lineage of the younger ephebe, of whose identity he was aware because he had seen him previously in the company of his very important father, might someday help him to lose the social stigma arising from being a mothakes.

The perceptive and ambitious 14 year-old later introduced himself to the mentally recovered Agesilaos by advising "My name is Lysander!"

(A farm near Sparta, Laconia, Greece, 8 days later)

Being an honest boy, who had spent his early years in comfort, Agesilaos was not accustomed to stealing, which was one reason why his first attempt to be a thief ended in disaster. His lack of experience, plus evasiveness hampered by suffering very sore soles, now that he had to go for the first time in his young life permanently barefoot, caused him to be an easy catch for a local farm manager. The latter was a member of the impure perioekoi class and was accustomed to having to suffer the attempts of Spartan ephebes to poach some of his produce.

Ephebes in Spartan military barracks received meagre rations, primarily consisting of unappetising and under-nourishing black broth, or "zamos". Such sparse provision was quite deliberate, as the boys were expected to practise using their guile and swiftness of foot to supplement their food through theft. Unfortunately, Agesilaos was not yet adept at the art and had also been deprived of relevant instruction and assistance, as he had been too proud to seek either advice or help.

Consequently, Agesilaos was easily trapped by the farm manager, who was aided by some of his adult helot slaves and trained hounds, whilst the boy was attempting to steal some apples from an orchard in the continued pleasant autumnal sunshine. He had been encouraged to make the effort after suffering nine days of sustenance insufficient for an energetic and growing child.

'Strip him," the farmer subsequently ordered of the two strong adult helots now holding Agesilaos, "and tie him to one of the apple trees, whilst I search for a stick to beat the Spartan brat with!" As the slaves subsequently obeyed the command of their manager, the boy did not struggle to avoid his fate.

Agesilaos was honour-bound to suffer the painful consequences of being shamefully captured, even at the hands of social inferiors. The boy also knew that he would experience even worse on his return to the ephebe barracks, where it would be his duty to report his capture and punishment on the farm.

Agesilaos would then receive another thrashing and be starved for days, as a result of his incompetence in allowing himself to be caught.

(To be continued in chapter 2 "Lessons")