Sparta

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Sparta was an ancient Greek city and the most powerful state of the Peloponnese. The city lay on the northern end of the Laconian plain, on the right bank of the river Eurotas. The site is admirably fitted by nature to guard the only routes by which an army can penetrate Laconia from the land side. At the same time its distance from sea made it invulnerable to a maritime attack.

In Greek mythology, Sparta was founded by Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, who called the city after the name of his wife, the daughter of Eurotas -- hence the name "Lacedaemonians" for its inhabitants. It appears, however, that Sparta was actually founded by the Dorians who made it their capital. The city rose to power after the legislation of Lycurgus who effected the unification of the state and instituted compulsory military training which was to become its distinguishing feature. The whole education of a Spartan boy was designed to make him an efficient soldier: obedience, endurance, and military prowess.

The city-state expanded within the Peloponnese and became the dominant power with the defeat of Argos in 546 BC. At the time of the Persian invasion led by Xerxes I, no Greek state questioned Sparta's supremacy and her right to lead the Greek forces against the Persians. Sparta is particularly famous for the heroic defense of the Thermopylae pass by King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan soldiers and their allies.

Sparta was one of the main and most successful players in the Peloponnesian Wars, which was to lead to the eventual fall of Athens at the hands of Sparta, reinforcing once more the Spartan domination of Greece. Yet in 396 BC the Spartan fleet was defeated by the Persians, and Sparta ceased to be a maritime power. Within Greece, opposition against Sparta was growing, which led Sparta to sign the Peace of Antalcidas in 387 BC. According to the terms of this treaty, all Greek cities in Asia Minor and Cyprus were surrendered to Artaxerxes II of Persia.

In response to this humiliating peace treaty, the Greek city-states, led by Thebes, challenged Sparta's hegemony. After several intra-Greek conflicts, Sparta was weakened and by 362 BC, it was superseded by Thebes as the great Greek power. Sparta's last stand was against Philip of Macedon when Sparta was forced into surrender by the devastation of Laconia.

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Articles

Article

The Women of Sparta: Athletic, Educated, and Outspoken Radicals of the Greek World

by writer873
published on 18 January 2012
The laws of Sparta were developed and written by Lycurgus, a legendary lawmaker who, in the 7th century B.C. reorganized the political and social structure of the polis, transforming it into a strictly disciplined and collective society. He also developed the stringent military academy of the agoge, where Spartan boys were trained from childhood to adulthood... [continue reading]
Article

Greek Society

by Mark Cartwright
published on 17 March 2013
Although the male citizen, with his full legal status, right to vote, hold public office and own property, may well have dominated Greek Society, the social groups which made up the population of a typical Greek city-state or polis were remarkably diverse. Women, children, immigrants (both Greek and foreign), labourers and slaves all had defined roles... [continue reading]
Article

The Spartan Education

by Antonios Loizides
published on 20 March 2012
According to the legend, the Spartan law was written by the great lawmaker (Greek : νομοθέτης, nomothetis) Lycurgus. Plutarch mentions that Lycurgus (literally "wolf-worker") wrote the laws in order to make the city state of Sparta invincible, the Spartans fearless and law-abiding. It was a law-package... [continue reading]
Article

Trade in Ancient Greece

by Mark Cartwright
published on 18 January 2012
Trade was a fundamental aspect of the ancient Greek world and following territorial expansion, an increase in population movements and innovations in transport, goods could be bought, sold and exchanged in one part of the Mediterranean which had their origin in a completely different and far distant region. Food, raw materials and manufactured goods... [continue reading]
Article

Rites of Passage and their Role in the Socialization of the Spartan Youth

by Metaxia Papapostolou, Pantelis Konstantinakos, Costas Mountakis, Kostas Georgiadis / Department of Sport Management, (University of Peloponnese)
published on 14 February 2012
The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of rites of passage in the socialization of Spartan youth. Methodologically, our discussion will be based upon ancient literary sources, in particular Plutarch, Xenophon and Pausanias, interdisciplinary approaches initiated by modern historians and sociologists, and archaeological evidence. ... [continue reading]
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Spartan Warriors Battle of Thermopylae 480 BCE Spartan Silver Tetradrachm Map of the Peloponnesian War, Beginning Greek Hoplite Leonidas Map of Greece under Theban Hegemony Map of Archaic Greece

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