Syssistions Flashcards
How many members were in syssistions?
15 men.
Who provided the food for the syssistions?
The wives of the men at the syssistions. (but what if they weren’t married?)
When would a Spartiate man start going to syssistions?
At the age of 20.
How often did Spartans hold syssistions?
Daily.
What were syssistions comparable to?
Military messes.
Who was obliged to come?
Absolutely all Spartiate men- even the kings.
How did the Spartans decide who joined their syssistions?
“each man in the company took a little ball of soft bread, which they were to throw into a deep basin, which a waiter carried round upon his head; those that liked the person to be chosen dropped their ball into the basin without altering its figure, and those who disliked him pressed it between their fingers, and made it flat; and this signified as much as a negative voice. And if there were but one of these pieces in the basin, the suitor was rejected, so desirous were they that all the members of the company should be agreeable to each other. The basin was called caddichus, and the rejected candidate had a name thence derived. “ -Plutarch in ‘Life of Lycurgus’
It was also possible for the young man to be presented by his erastes, his father figure who was (disputably) the elder in a pederastic relationship.
