Constitution of the Lacedaimonians (11.2-11.3)

The Ephors issue a proclamation stating the age-limit fixed for the levy, first for the cavalry and infantry, and then for the handicraftsmen. Thus the Lacedaemonians are well supplied in the field with all things that are found useful in civil life. All the implements that an army may require in common are ordered to be assembled, some in carts, some on baggage animals; thus anything missing is not at all likely to be overlooked.

In the equipment that he devised for the troops in battle he included a red cloak, because he believed this garment to have least resemblance to women’s clothing and to be most suitable for war, and a brass shield, because it is very soon polished and tarnishes very slowly.[*] He also permitted men who were past their first youth to wear long hair, believing that it would make them look taller, more dignified and more terrifying.