Atreus’ bride had been captured by her bridesmaid and, in line with tradition, her head shaved bare to the scalp, a rite of passage signaling her entry into a new life. She was then dressed in menswear—a simple cloak of linen and a pair of oversized, open-toed sandals with a red tongue—before being laid down upon a bare mattress in a dark room.
“I wish you luck,” her bridesmaid whispered. “May the greatest of pleasures greet you this eve,” she said, giggling upon exit.
Atreus looked forward to visiting his new bride, whose belt he would unfasten with great pleasure. He would visit her with the same enthusiasm time and time again, for it was an escape from his austere and rigid mode of being—an escape from the Spartan way of life.
Atreus was reared from birth in the ways of self-discipline, like all men of Sparta. Once emerging from his mother’s womb, he was bathed in wine. He showed himself to be a strong child, not protesting like a weakling as two of his siblings had done; both were thrown into the chasm on Mount Taygetos with all other newborns of the feeble variety, as per the orders of the city’s elders. Atreus had been accepted into society where he would be meticulously cultivated into a Spartan citizen and soldier so that others across the Greek-speaking world might one day know his name; in this way, all men of Sparta were raised—as fighters and survivors.
At age seven, Atreus began his military training, leaving his home to live in a communal mess where youth underwent constant military drills—running, jumping, and weapons training of all kinds—and studied reading, writing, music, and dance. He was also taught to endure hunger and thirst, pain and hardship, fatigue and sleep deprivation.
Atreus was made to walk without shoes, bathe in the cold waters of the river Eurotas, and wore the same piece of cloth every day, receiving a new one from the state once a year, by which time every boy’s garment was ripped and worn thin. He slept on top of a mat of straw and reed cut from the riverbanks, without a blanket or headrest, and was often given broth in meager portions as his main meal. He was encouraged to steal food to help fill his belly, the state believing theft, and the stealth it required, to be a military exercise. Though if he were caught, Atreus would be punished, made to endure a harsh flogging, which he would be forced to suffer in silence lest he be beat again.
At age twenty, Atreus and his mess hall mates each entered a club, comprised of fifteen members, where emphasis was placed on cultivating a sense of brotherhood—reliance upon another. Thanks to his militaristic prowess, Atreus was accepted into the club Krypteia, which trained in the summer, winter, and spring months for combat in the months of autumn during which time his club declared war on the state’s helot population.
In the autumn, the state sent Atreus and his brothers out to the countryside where the helots—members of the slave population—lived, and were given a mere dagger to supplement their skills and cunning. They were instructed to kill any helot they encountered at night, advised to take food and any other useful furnishings, particularly clothing and potential weaponry, to help them survive the killing season. Atreus showed he was willing to kill, even at such a young age, proving to the Spartan leadership that he was worthy of joining their ranks.
Atreus had looked forward to his thirtieth birthday since childhood, for then he would be wed. When he first caught site of his bride, the light cascading down upon her when he open the door to her room, he was pleased. Almost every day of his wedded life, except at times of war, he would delight in an afternoon romp with his bride. Yet, as the sky dimmed each night, he would rush back to his barracks where, up until the ripe age of sixty, he was required to eat and sleep. Such was the Spartan way of life.
The Truth of the Matter: The fictional elements in this story are its characters.
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