http://agathe.gr/democracy/military_service.html
Military Service After the 18-year-old was registered in his deme as a citizen and was approved by the Council, he entered military service as a young conscript (ephebe) with other members of his tribe ... Just as the grief was public, so was the memorial of honor and glory won, like the shields taken from the Spartans in 425/4 B.C. at Pylos and hung as trophies on the Stoa Poikile (13). ... Bronze shield captured from the Spartans at Pylos in 425/4 B.C. Punched inscription on the shield: “The Athenians from the Lacedaimonians at Pylos.”