To fully understand the structure of Sparta's society one must realise each and every role of its social groups that made Sparta once the most powerful civilisation on earth. Even before its rise to power Sparta's geographical location in southeastern Peloponnese was advantageous in sustaining the austere and strict lifestyle of the citizens. Laconia's rich agricultural lands produced various raw materials such as marble and limestone, their renowned honey and red-purple dye extracted from Murex mollusc harvested in great numbers along the Laconian Gulf. According to the ancient geographer Strabo, the mountains were quarried for marble and limestone. It was these impassable mountains that provided Sparta a natural defensive barrier against …show more content…
Having no citizenship they integrated into the Spartan system as traders, fishermen, sailors, manufacturers and craftsmen. There is little known about the perioeci except that they were of Dorian origin and lived in communities spread throughout Laconia and Messenia and on all major routes. They were a self-governing people free to make their own laws but they did not have full rights within Spartan society and could not make alliances with others in the Peloponnese. Although their loyalty is only to Sparta, this alliance proves to be resistant as they gained their prosperity and protection form the Spartans where some even become quite wealthy. Plutarch agrees on this notion that through this ‘free-status’ the ‘commercial and economic role of the perioeci must have become a very important one’. Yet, although being formally free subjects the Perioeci were still at the ‘disposal for military’ P. Cartledge and was quite imperative that they serve as they ‘formed half of the Spartan army’ either as a separate unit or as part of the main phalanx. More importantly, the perioeci, who lived outside the surrounding area of Sparta, served as a buffer against escaping helots and also keeping the other helots in rural areas ‘in
In this research paper I am going to talk about how the Spartan Military influenced our society. You are sure to expect to learn about how it affected how we live on an everyday basis. Also, on how it affected the way the U.S military runs/works. Sparta's military has caused many influences on our modern-day society. This includes on how our military works and fights to how we live every day. In the next paragraph I am going to give a little back ground on how Sparta's military training went.
Despite common belief, Sparta was not simply a horde of strong, vicious and primitive warriors living on the Laconian plain, on the right bank of the Eurotas River. Though this was the general impression there was
Spartan Canada had its last East Coast of Canada event of 2017 and it was big one! A complete all in one Trifecta weekend! The race weekend actually started on a Friday with the Sprint, had the Beast course race on Saturday, and finished up Sunday with the Super!
The Spartan State was a militaristic force to be reckoned with, and is famous for the values that were expected of their people. These Spartan values and militaristic system of government is described in a document by Plutarch (45-125 CE) regarding Sparta after the Lycurgian reforms, specifically after
Classical Sparta Page 1 Samantha Elliott Ancient Sparta was an interesting time, one that’s like no other. There were many key components of Sparta and the Spartans that stood out to make it unique. The first unique trait of Sparta was; “Sparta was one of the most efficient and strongest of the Leading Greek city states in its time”(“Spartan Warriors.” Ancient Warriors.) regarding its military.
The different geographic location of Athens and Sparta had a great impact on their military strategy and technologies. Athens was close to the sea, therefore it expanded by conquering nearby islands. This necessitated the construction of ships, which was expensive and required a lot of wood material and cheap labor. Both of those were supplied by Athens' allies; wood was purchased with paid tributes and labor came from conquered slaves (Pomeroy, p.22). Sparta was situated far inland on the Laconian plain and had no access to sea. It directed its military expansion towards the neighboring poleis and relied mostly on its standing army. In return, its allies were expected to provide military support to the Spartan army in an effort to appropriate even more land on the Peloponnesian peninsula.
During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.
Sparta was a small city-state on the Peloponnese and they managed with only a population of 25,000 and an army of about 8,000 men. The Spartans used a battle formation called the phalanx.
The history of Sparta was the great exception to the political evolution of the city-states. Despite the fact that Spartans in the end were all Greek, Sparta failed to ever move in the direction of democratic rule. Instead, its government evolved into something more closely resembling a modern day dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices they might have been able to avoid their own downfall and could have even become stronger.
In ancient Greece there were two major polises which allowed the Greek culture to achieve greatness during the 400-500 B.C.E. era. These two polises were Athens and Sparta; both city states differed in many ways before the start of the Persian War. There were low rugged mountains that separated these two city states so communication and travel were difficult. The government of these two city states can be seen as a primary difference between the two. Draco, Solon, Pisistratus, and Cleithenes were four leaders that greatly influenced the political development of Athens. Athens and Sparta differed primarily in their political, social, and economical aspects. But there were other difference that Athens and Sparta share which I will examine in this essay.
Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.
Sparta was one of the most powerful city-states in Greece and in order to increase a food supply, the Spartans turned to their bordering country Messenia. In the eighth century B.C. the Spartans conquered the Messenians and set up a new type of social system. The Messenians would work the soil to supply the Spartans with the food supply, which would leave the dominating class available for a life of military training. The Messenians outnumbered the Spartans and without a strong hold the lower-class citizens would eventually overtake them by physical force.
There is a considerable amount of evidence, revealing aspects of cultural life in Sparta during this period. According to Brennan [2007], Early Sparta had a vivid culture where many different forms of art were created. The evidence that provides such information includes art, architecture and writings and literature. Thus, the evidence reveals ample information about cultural life in Sparta, at the time. There is evidence that art was one of the major forms of cultural expression.
The army was responsible for maintaining the reputation of Sparta, arguably the most important role it played. Knows as the best warriors of the Peloponnese the Spartans used their strong military tactics in order to conquer neighbouring lands in order to further expand Sparta and gain larger areas of fertile land. Sparta lead the untied Peloponnese army and was greatly feared throughout the Mediterranean due to their title as the greatest army throughout Greece. This title in itself made the thought and task of attacking or declaring war on the spartiates a feared happening, further defending them from attacks dismissed as useless and never carried out by neighbouring states. The army was the main defence of Sparta keeping the citizens safe and