circa 1880 HISTORICAL ANTIQUE PRINT

PORTRAIT OF MAINOTE AND SPARTAN PEOPLES OF GREECE

Close Up Below

Approximate Size of page: 10 1/2 x 7 ins - Approximate Size of Plate: 7 x 5 ins

CONDITION: Intext Page Print. Text on the Back. Excellent Condition. This Collectible Historical Engraving is over 125 years old.

MAINA (or Mani) and Mainotes, a district and people of the Peloponnesus, the modern Morea. Maina is the country occupied by the mountain range of Taygetus from Sparta to Cape Matapan, the ancient Taenarum.
Sparta was, above all, a militarist state, and emphasis on military fitness began virtually at birth. Shortly after birth, the mother of the child bathed it in wine to see whether the child was strong. If the child survived it was brought before the elders of the tribe by the child's father. The elders then decided whether it was to be reared or not. If found defective or weak, the baby was left on the wild slopes of Mount Taygetos - also known as Apothetae, or as the Place of Rejection - to die; but it was also common for these rejected children to be adopted by the helots. In this way the Spartans attempted the maintenance of high physical standards in their population. From the earliest days of the Spartan citizen, the claim on his life by the state was absolute and strictly enforced.

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