Research Ramblings: The Spartan Citizenry, Part 9

As noted in my May 2, 2014 post, Spartan warriors were an interesting bunch, and I’m continuing my series on them with today’s fact:

Attendance was very important at the Spartan dining messes.

In fact, only two excuses were acceptable for absentees:

Hunting trip
Requirement to perform religious sacrifice

I wasn’t able to find out what happened to those who didn’t have a valid excuse, but knowing the Spartans, the punishment was probably severe.

Tune in next week for more about the Spartans!