The Agoge was a rigorous education and training regime undergone by every Spartan male except for the heirs to the kingships. Supposedly introduced by the semi-mythical Spartan law-giver Lycurgus it trained boys from the age of 7 to 18. It involved education, military training, hunting, dance and social preparation. Boys were taken from the family home and from then on lived in groups and encouraged to owe their loyalty to their communal mess hall rather than their families.

A form of institutionalised pederasty was practised whereby older warriors would be paired with a teenage student. This bond was considered important in passing on knowledge and in maintaining loyalty on the battlefield. The agoge focused exclusively on producing new generations of soldiers.

Girls also apparently had a form of state education involving dance and sport amongst other subjects.