Download Sparta, known for its militaristic culture and the status

Sparta, known for its militaristic culture and the status rights its women
enjoyed, was a dominant military land­power during Classical Greece.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Distinguish key differences between Athens and Sparta
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Sparta was a prominent city­state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the Eurotas River in
Laconia, in south­eastern Peloponnese.
Given its military pre­eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined
Greek forces during the Greco­Persian Wars, and eventually defeated Athens during
the Peloponnesian War.
Sparta's defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE ended Sparta's prominent role in
Greece, but it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146
BCE.
Sparta functioned under an oligarchy of two hereditary kings, so that one could not act against the
power and political enactments of his colleague.
Unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, Sparta was completely focused on
military training and excellence. Besides physical and weapons training, boys studied reading,
writing, music and dancing.
Spartan women, of the citizenry class, enjoyed a status, power, and respect that was unknown in
the rest of the classical world.
TERMS [ edit ]
Sparta
a prominent city­state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia.
The dominant military land­power in ancient Greece.
agoge
the rigorous education and training regimen mandated for all male Spartan citizens, except for
the firstborn son in the ruling houses, Eurypontid and Agiad.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
Sparta was a prominent city­state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the Eurotas
River in Laconia, in south­eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the
10th century BCE, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non­Dorian population.
Around 650 BCE, it rose to become the dominant military land­power in ancient
Greece.Given its military pre­eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the
combined Greek forces during the Greco­Persian Wars. Between 431 and 404 BCE, Sparta
was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged
victorious, though at great cost. Sparta's defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE
ended Sparta's prominent role in Greece. However, it maintained its political independence
until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BCE.
Political geography of ancient Greece
Spartan Culture and Government
Sparta functioned under an oligarchy. The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the
Agiad and Eurypontid families, both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in
authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his
colleague. Unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, Sparta was
completely focused on military training and excellence. Its inhabitants were classified as
Spartiates (Spartan citizens, who enjoyed full rights), Mothakes (non­Spartan free men
raised as Spartans), Perioikoi (freedmen), and Helots (state­owned serfs, enslaved non­
Spartan local population).
When male Spartans began military training at age seven, they would enter the system. The
was designed to encourage discipline and physical toughness and to emphasize the
importance of the Spartan state. Boys lived in communal messes and, according to
Xenophon, whose sons attended theagoge, the boys were fed "just the right amount for them
never to become sluggish through being too full, while also giving them a taste of what it is
not to have enough. " Besides physical and weapons training, boys studied reading, writing,
music and dancing. Special punishments were imposed if boys failed to answer questions
sufficiently 'laconically' (i.e. briefly and wittily).
Spartan Hoplite
Marble statue of a helmed hoplite (5th century BCE), Archaeological Museum of Sparta, Greece.
At age 20, the Spartan citizen began his membership in one of the syssitia (dining messes or
clubs), composed of about fifteen members each, of which every citizen was required to be a
member. Here each group learned how to bond and rely on one another. The Spartans were
not eligible for election for public office until the age of 30. Only native Spartans were
considered full citizens and were obliged to undergo the training as prescribed by law, as well
as participate in and contribute financially to one of the syssitia.
Spartan Women
Spartan women who were members of the citizenry class enjoyed a status, power, and
respect that was unknown in the rest of the classical world. The higher status of females in
Spartan society started at birth; unlike Athens, Spartan girls were fed the same food as their
brothers. Nor were they confined to their father's house and prevented from exercising or
getting fresh air as in Athens, but exercised and even competed in sports. Most important,
rather than being married off at the age of 12 or 13, Spartan law forbade the marriage of a girl
until she was in her late teens or early 20s. The reasons for delaying marriage were to ensure
the birth of healthy children, but the effect was to spare Spartan women the hazards and
lasting health damage associated with pregnancy among adolescents. Spartan women, better
fed from childhood and fit from exercise, stood a far better chance of reaching old age than
their sisters in other Greek cities, where the median age for death was 34.6 years or roughly
10 years below that of men.Unlike Athenian women who wore heavy, concealing clothes and
were rarely seen outside the house, Spartan women wore dresses (peplos) slit up the side to
allow freer movement and moved freely about the city, either walking or driving chariots.
Girls as well as boys exercised, possibly in the nude, and young women as well as young men
may have participated in the Gymnopaedia ("Festival of Nude Youths").