L’età della riservatezza. I paidiskoi e la capigliatura della gioventù spartana

Abstract

In the third chapter of his Lakedaimonion Politeia, Xenophon describes the practices that Lycurgus established for the age-grade of the paidiskoi, who were expected to contain their natural exuberance and to display, conversely, a strong sense of modesty and discretion. According to a recent orthodoxy, this age-grade included Spartan adolescents from the age of 14 to reaching adulthood at 20 years old. While the ancient sources mentioning the paidiskoi do not allow for certainty, this paper identifies them as the youth aged between 18 and 20. A suggestion in this direction is given by the hair practices of the Spartans, that required boys to have their heads shaved and adults to wear their hair long. This implies that there should be a group in-between consisting of those who were letting their hair grow: it is argued here that this age-grade lasted two years and consisted of the paidiskoi.