sparta

• at what age did spartan girls marry?

  early 20s-mid 30s
• who would they marry?

  someone familiar to them, perhaps a family friend
• what happened on the wedding night?

  • bride would cut her hair and wear her husband's clothes
  • she would then lie on the bedroom floor and wait for hubby
  • he would then carry her to bed
  • the marriage was *consumated*
• how long did the sneaking about last? why?

  until the husband had finished serving his country in the barracks (age 30)

  it was thought to provide an element of excitement to newly weds encouraging them to be *together*