Spartan boys offering themselves to be whipped at festival times before the Altar of Artemis. By Donn Philip Crane (1878-1944). The cult of Orthia gave rise to διαμαστίγωσις (diamastigosis), where young men were flogged, as described by Plutarch, Xenophon, Pausanias, and Plato. This was done as a way to prepare boys at a young age for the life they would face as soldiers. It was deemed as a rite of passage. The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, an archaic site devoted in Classical times to Artemis, was one of the most important religious sites in the Greek city-state of Sparta.

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Size: 5906px × 3583px
Photo credit: © The History Emporium / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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