The practice took all seven-year-old boys from the care of their fathers and placed them in a rigorous military regiment. Lycurgus started the agoge by educating the boys personally. From there he divided them into troops, granting the rank of captain to the boys with the best judgment and capability in battle. The other boys would be instructed, as well as punished, by their captains to teach them about obedience and to toughen them physically and mentally. Along with this strict obedience, boys were taught to keep a level head and how to win battles. Elders would watch over the boys, encouraging them to fight with one another in order to judge their combat potential. The boys were each given one cloak to last through the year. They were not allowed to bathe and they had to make their own beds out of reeds from nearby rivers. Warfare Lycurgus bans continuous warfare against the same opponents to prevent them from adapting to Spartan military tactics and gaining an advantage over them. Lycurgus is known for his work after the Helot's revolt around the 7th century. During the Helots revolution, much of Sparta was destroyed and needed new change for prevention of another uprising. It is believed that Lycurgus thought of the idea for two sections of power in ancient Sparta, these being the two ruling Kings along with a council of elders (Gerousia), and the second being an assembly (the Apella). Women's participation The idea that Spartan women had to participate in physical exercise to produce strong Spartans came from King Lycurgus. Lycurgus thought the labour of slave women sufficient to supply clothing. He believed motherhood to be the most important function of freeborn woman. Therefore, in the first place, he insisted on physical training for the female no less than for the male sex: moreover, he instituted races and trials of strength for women competitors as for men, believing that if both parents are strong they produce more vigorous offspring. Women in ancient Sparta would participate in activities such as running and wrestling; later texts also mention throwing the javelin and discus, boxing, and pankration. He had women partake in physical activity so that infants could be born from strong bodies and that they could endure childbirth comfortably. From a young age, women were made to attend festivals nude along with young men. Sometimes they would give the boys