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But according to the sources, Spartan girls were not confined to the home. Unusual, for a Greek city-state, young females received some education. In Greece, there was a great emphasis on physical exercise and which was viewed as vital for the development of the children. <ref>Powell, 156</ref> Spartan girls received some physical training and even trained in athletics with boys and also competed in races and other competitions.
As a result of their rigorous physical exercise, it was often held that the Spartan women were the most beautiful in all of Greece. There is also some evidence that suggests that they were taught to sing, dance and even possible to read and write, but this is a subject of controversy .<ref> Pomeroy, p 117</ref>. It also appears that these girls had the right to go about in public without a male or female guardian.
However, in reality, female Spartans were not as free as presented in the sources and they were still primarily controlled by their families. The city-state ’s elite was obsessed with the physical prowess of their population. They were determined to ensure that Sparta had a capable army, and this meant men were required to have physical prowess. Men were expected to be trained so that they could be great warriors.