The word agōgē (from agein “to lead”) meant “rearing” in Ancient Greek. It developed into leading, guidance, or training for disciplined warriors of the “good order” (eunomia) - “the way of life” (mode/manner). Agoge became renown due to the religious and fraternal society that was forged through self-sacrificing service to the Spartan Constitution known as the “Great Rhetra”. According to folklore, agoge was introduced by the semi-mythical Spartan law-giver Lycurgus during the 8th century B.C..
The Spartan Agoge instilled a rigorous education and training program mandated for all male citizens beginning at age 7 until they reached 19. Experienced commanders were the principals of the education system. Girls also had a form of state education involving dance, gymnastics and other sports; together with other subjects such as music and poetry, including writing and war education. Women were held in high esteem for their loyalty to the way (mode) of life and they believed their “way” built strong mothers who bore strong men. Spartan women were famous in ancient Greece for having more freedom than elsewhere in the Greek world - "Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule men?" "Because we are also the only ones who give birth to men"
Since the agoge was prestigious throughout the Greek world, many aristocratic families from other cities vied to send their sons to Sparta to have them trained in the agoge for varying periods of time. The Spartans were very selective in which young men they would permit to enroll.
The Roman Agoge instruction consisted of athletics, singing, dancing, military and some academic training by overseers (bideioi). The students were then examined by a patronomos ("guardian of law"). The Romans limited their agoge to males between the ages of 14 to 19, it was essentially ephebic (manhood initiation) in nature and organized by phyles (citizen tribes). Sponsorship was available to some poor students who could not afford the training.
The New Israel Agoge training consists of order, exercise, some singing and dancing, Biblical and Pre-Nicene history, life skills + disciplines education... with a Jesus is King constitution, placing His New Covenant commandments and the teachings of the Apostles as the way (mode) of life. There is a combination of being “lead” by the Spirit and being “lead” by overseers and experienced servants. Agoge is found once in the New Testament (2Tim.3:10-1st century A.C.).
Disloyalty to the Spartan “way of life” is feared more than death itself by men who have completed the agoge military and ethical training (pain tolerance, hunting, dancing, singing, and social communicating). The men would become the "walls of Sparta" because Sparta was the only Greek city with no defensive walls after they had been demolished at the order of Lycurgus.
At age seven, the male child was enrolled in the agoge under the authority of the paidonómos, a magistrate charged with supervising education. This began the first of the three stages of the agoge: the paídes (about ages 7–17), the paidískoi (ages 17–19), and the hēbōntes (ages 20–29).
Despite what some have written, pederasty among the Spartans was condemned. Xenophon, the only historian with firsthand experience of the agoge (his sons attended it!) writes that Lycurgus banned lust for boys as an abomination and that “in Sparta 'lovers' (beloved) refrain from molesting boys, just as much as parents avoid having intercourse with their children or brothers with their sisters." It is hard to find a more definitive statement than this, and from the most credible source. Xenophon adds: "It does not surprise me, however, that some people do not believe this, since in many cities the laws do not oppose lusting after boys."
The boys lived in groups (agélai, "herds") under an older commander. They were encouraged to give their loyalty to their communal mess hall known as the syssitia, they became a fraternal family. Beginning at the age of 12 boys would be given only one item of clothing per year — a red cloak known as a Phoinikis. It may seem strange to post-modernists of the 21st century to hear statements from the N.Testament like “If you have two coats, give one away”, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”, “None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions”, “He who loves his life will lose it”... In the Marines and other branches of the military the first thing that is established with the new recruits is their culture, their way of life. Do we foster a New Israel way of life and teach our young men to become truly productive and responsible men in our society and in their families? Agoge Village is a place where men are forged because “only true New Israel gives birth to men”!
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