Sparta's focus as a city-state was military. In the Corinthian War (395387) Sparta had two land victories over Athenian allied states and a severe naval defeat at Cnidus by a combined Athenian and Persian fleet. This eventually drew Sparta into the conflict. Submitted by Mark Cartwright, published on 28 May 2013. Cartwright, Mark. Special interests include art, architecture, and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. "Sparta." The focus of the education was very different in each city-state. Please donate to our server cost fundraiser 2023, so that we can produce more history articles, videos and translations. Sparta's history has fascinated intellectuals from Plato until today and inspired great leaders such as Frederick the Great and Napoleon. Male children were raised primarily by their fathers until the age of seven when they entered the agoge and were known as paides (boys). Women in the Sparta city-state had a better lot than in other Greek cities. Stealing was considered an important survival skill and so it was not the act of theft that was punished, it was the carelessness exhibited in getting caught. As Donald G. Kyle notes in his book Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, Spartan youth had to present themselves for regular inspections in the nude, and boys who didnt look sufficiently fit were flogged. He commissions the larger ones to fetch wood, and the smaller ones potherbs. The helots could keep a percentage of the produce they cultivated, but they were also regularly purged to keep them firmly in their social place and they could also be conscripted into military duties in times of war. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. No one soldier was considered superior to another. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. To push the claim, social media users are misrepresenting the limited use of RNA-based vaccines in animals, as well as a farming company's research into using plants to grow proteins used in vaccines. Sparta decided to retaliate. But Stephen Hodkinson, an professor emeritus of ancient history at the University of Nottingham, UK, says there are hints in other sources that they received the standard Greek elementary education in reading, writing, numbers, song and dance.. The walls helped protect Athens from direct assault, and its leader, Pericles, urged Athens not to engage in direct land battles with the Spartans. From the age of 7, Spartan children were trained to fight. They had no need to learn to sew or weave because the menial jobs in Sparta were taken care of by the helots. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/sparta/. Mark, published on 15 June 2021. Its real focus was to prepare Spartan males to be compliant members of society, who were ready to sacrifice their all for Sparta. (18.1). A peculiar feature of the Spartans and their military was the great importance given to matters of religion. It resulted in the emergence of Sparta as the most powerful state in Greece. When Spartan children were born, the male elders of the family decided if the infant was fit to live and be raised. (17.1). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Spartan boys started their military training at age 7, when they left home and entered the Agoge. Without a powerful, centralized state, smaller governing bodies created political order. (2.13-14). When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. But it accomplished all that at great cost, by turning Spartan boys childhood into what today would be seen as a traumatic experience. Sparta thus came to control some 8,500 km of territory making the polis or city-state the largest in Greece and a major player in Greek politics. World History Encyclopedia, 15 Jun 2021. Sparta thus came to control some 8,500 km of territory making the polis or city-state the largest in Greece and a major player in Greek politics. The goal of the agoge was the transformation of boys into Spartan soldiers whose loyalty was to the state and their brothers-in-arms, not their families. The teenage boys who demonstrated the most leadership potential were selected for participation in the Crypteia, which acted as a secret police force whose primary goal was to terrorize the general Helot population and murder those who were troublemakers. PUBLISHED 7:07 AM ET Apr. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. The Perioeci, whose name means dwellers-around, worked as craftsmen and traders, and made weapons for the Spartans. By 411 Athens itself was in political turmoil. Madden said the city was able to stay below New York's property tax cap, and said his . In order to see their wives during this time, husbands had to sneak away at night. Spartan warriors were also known for their long hair and red cloaks. Further, the Athenians were better prepared financially than their enemies, owing to the large war chest they had amassed from the regular tribute they received from their empire. https://www.worldhistory.org/sparta/. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. Even after gaining reinforcements in 413, the Athenian army was defeated again. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. This war shifted power from Athens to Sparta, making Sparta the most powerful city-state in the region. In the meantime (430429), the Spartans attacked Athenian bases in western Greece but were repulsed. Although a Spartan woman did not have much to do with the day-to-day raising of their sons, boys were still expected to recognize and honor their mothers through displays of courage, skill, and military victory. The war featured two periods of combat separated by a six-year truce. However, as a free city in the Roman world things did improve for Sparta, and the city enjoyed good relations with her conquerors but the end finally came for Sparta in 396 CE when the Visigoth king Alaric sacked the city. Spartans, who were outnumbered by the Helots, often treated them brutally and oppressively in an effort to prevent uprisings. The only excuses for non-attendance were participation in a religious ritual or a hunting expedition. The agoge aimed to instill soldierly virtues: strength, endurance, solidarity, as the late Canadian historian Mark Golden wrote. On the advice of Pericles, its most influential leader, Athens refused to back down. Marriage was important to Spartans, as the state put pressure on people to have male children who would grow up to become citizen-warriors, and to replace those who died in battle. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. The present-day city was built in 1834 on the ancient site; it is called Na (New) Spart locally to distinguish it from the ruins that were excavated in 190610 and 192429. Indeed, the Spartan king Menelaus instigated the war after the Trojan prince Paris abducted his wife Helen, offered to Paris by the goddess Aphrodite as a prize for choosing her in a beauty contest with fellow goddesses Athena and Hera. Each stood at the head of alliances that, between them, included nearly every Greek city-state. Lycurgus reforms were comprehensive, including every aspect of the peoples lives, and, as he had mandated from the start, were not committed to writing; the laws would be kept in the peoples hearts because they would know these precepts led to the best possible society. This weekend on In Focus, the conversation turns to financial literacy. In the former battle, the Spartan soldiers arrived too late to assist the other Greek cities and in the latter mobilised only a token force as they felt compelled to first celebrate the Karneia festival in honour of Apollo. Gabrielle Heim pitched a complete game and recorded 14 strikeouts for Sparta and allowed eight hits, four earned runs, and one walk as it defeated Lenape Valley 11-4 in Stanhope. The following essay will focus on the main features of Spartan religion. Healthy daughters were also a priority, however, as they would eventually be expected to produce children of their own. Corrections? You may have read on the web that Sparta had two kings. One factor was the agoge, the Greek city-states educational and training system, which used harsh, extreme and sometimes cruel methods to prepare boys to be Spartan citizens and soldiers. Whether Lycurgus was history of myth, the program he is credited with establishing became the foundation of Spartan society & military might. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. During this final period of the agoge, a man might marry but most did not until they graduated at the age of 30. Pre- and post-battle sacrifices were a common feature of Greek warfare in general but the Spartan army took things one step further and sacrificed before crossing rivers, for example, and even withheld from mobilising the army if an important religious festival was ongoing. Athens believed that power should be used for the individual's benefit. But to make sure they learned cunning, boys who were caught stealing were whipped. 30 Apr 2023. In Sparta, only the strongest males and females survived. Once election to a mess was secured, all the men of that mess ate every meal together. Web. The relationship between citizens and helots was an uneasy one and there were sometimes uprisings, notably in the 7th century BCE which contributed to Sparta's defeat to Argos at Hysiae in 669 BCE. Xenophon, however, denies there was any sexual element to the relationships of the boys in the agoge. Spartan government What was characteristic of Spartan society? The word means "raising" in the sense of raising livestock from youth toward a specific purpose. Cartledge comments: One particularly striking instance of this displaced or surrogate fathering was the institution of ritualized pederasty. Reputedly founded in the 9th century bce with a rigid oligarchic constitution, the state of Sparta for centuries retained as lifetime corulers two kings who arbitrated in time of war. Military activity was essential to Sparta. The Spartan political system was unusual in that it had two hereditary kings from two separate families. Eventually it produced a sort of conceptual lock when Spartans could not imagine any other kind of life, Reiter explains. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The Helots, whose name means captives, were fellow Greeks, originally from Laconia and Messenia, who had been conquered by the Spartans and turned into slaves. The most famous example of this is the tale of Philip II of Macedon sending the threat, If I enter Laconia with my army successfully, I will raze Sparta to the ground to which the Spartans replied, If. It is possible, therefore, that Xenophon is wrong even though he is frequently cited by modern writers claiming there were no homoerotic relationships among the candidates of the agoge. In the late 8th century BCE, Sparta subjugated most of neighbouring Messenia and its population was made to serve Spartan interests. Reduced by constant wars in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, the Spartan hoplites (homoioi) became dangerously small in number (8,000 in 490 BCE to 700 in 371 BCE), so much so, that non-Spartiate soldiers had to be enlisted and their loyalty and interest in Sparta's ambitions was questionable. Spartan citizens did not indulge in farming activities themselves but devoted their time to military training, hunting, war, and politics. Aided by a force of Spartans, Syracuse was able to break an Athenian blockade. According to the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who wrote several centuries after Spartas heyday in the 400s B.C., Spartans began developing soldiers shortly after birth, when male infants were evaluated by Spartan elders. This defeat led to Athenian surrender. What is an Oligarchy? In 425 the picture was bleak for Sparta, which began to sue for peace. Helots could not own property and so could not rise to become full-citizens, and this lack of social mobility would come back to haunt Sparta in later centuries. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Thucydides survived an attack of the plague and left a vivid account of its impact on Athenian morale. Within a few months, however, Pericles fell victim to a terrible plague that raged through the crowded city, killing a large part of its army as well as many civilians. The understanding that ones life was not ones own to do with as one pleased but belonged to the state which had given that life was inculcated for women through the examples of their mothers and their tutelage and, for men, through the Spartan training program of the agoge. Plutarch equates the relationship of the young lovers with the classical model of other Greek city-states in which an older male (the erastes, lover) encourages and nurtures a younger man (the eromenos, beloved). Widely circulating online posts are spreading the false narrative that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are being quietly added to the food supply. At age seven, Spartan boys were turned over by their parents to the state, where they were organized into companies that lived, studied and trained together. Along with the surrounding area, it forms the perifereiak entita (regional unit) of Laconia (Modern Greek: Lakona) within the Peloponnese (Pelopnnisos) perifreia (region). What was the focus of Spartan culture? The city lies on the right bank of the Evrtas Potams (river). Such harsh punishment was a prominent part of the Spartan training system. Describe Sparta as a city-state? Sparta was known as possibly the strongest city-state in all of Greece, and are still one of the most feared military squads in history. Methods of mistreatment could be far more extreme: Spartans were allowed to kill Helots for being too smart or too fit, among other reasons. The program was first instituted by the lawgiver Lycurgus (l. 9th century BCE) and was integral to Spartas military strength and political power. Sparta and Athens are known as city-state with many contrasting beliefs. What is Sparta best described as? At the age of seven, boys left home to begin training at a military academy called an agoge (a-go-je). (This practice was also intended to demonstrate to young people how an adult Spartan should never act, as self-control was a prized trait.) The boy who excelled in judgement and was most courageous in fighting was made captain of the company, Plutarch wrote. At the end of 411 the rebuilt Athenian navy, fresh from several victories, acted to restore democratic rule. Thus, the Athenians had the stronger navy and the Spartans the stronger army. In the phalanx, the army worked as a unit in a close, deep formation, and made coordinated mass maneuvers. Which battle established Sparta as the most powerful state in Greece? Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. With your support millions of people learn about history entirely for free, every month. It is an ancient greek city home to the Spartans. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Updates? They would not intervene while the punishment was inflicted, but afterwards they would judge whether it was excessive or too lenient. Sparta focused on producing good . World History Encyclopedia. In that sense, the regimen that helped make the Spartans so tough also contributed to Spartas ultimate downfall. They were encouraged to break the exclusive ties with their own natal families and to consider all Spartans of their fathers age to be [their parents]. They were subjected to continual physical, competitions (which could involve violence), given meager rations and expected to become skilled at stealing food, among other survival skills. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Going into battle, a Spartan soldier, or hoplite, wore a large bronze helmet, breastplate and ankle guards, and carried a round shield made of bronze and wood, a long spear and sword. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Please support World History Encyclopedia. Lycurgus may have been a mythological figure (his dates are given as anywhere between the 9th and 6th century BCE), but whether he was history of myth, the program he is credited with establishing became the foundation of Spartan society and military might. This regional instability brought about the Peloponnesian League (c. 505 to 365 BCE) which was a grouping of Corinth, Elis, Tegea, and other states (but never Argos), where each member swore to have the same enemies and allies as Sparta. The historical name of Sparta is Lacedaemon. And even this story gains credence from what their youths now endure, many of whom I have seen expiring under the lash at the altar of Artemis Orthia. In addition to foot races and wrestling, their sports included a particularly brutal contest in which two teams would try to drive each other off an island by pushing, kicking, biting and gouging their opponents, according to Kyles book. The planning, design, and construction projects for its water plant will lead to a connection to Decaturville's water system, to be used in the case of emergency. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Sparta believed that a good citizen was someone who could protect the city-state, so education focused on military training. The Spartans way of life would not have been possible without the Helots, who handled all the day-to-day tasks and unskilled labor required to keep society functioning: They were farmers, domestic servants, nurses and military attendants. Sparta grew to rival the size of the city-states Athens and Thebes by subjugating its neighboring region of Messenia. Follow ancient Greek civilization from Philip II of Macedonia's unification to the Roman Empire's conquest, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Peloponnesian-War, World History Encyclopedia - Peloponnesian War, Chemistry LibreTexts - The Peloponnesian War, Ancient Origins - The Peloponnesian War: Intrigues and Conquests in Ancient Greece, Peloponnesian War - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Peloponnesian War - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Ancient Greek civilization: The Peloponnesian War. Sparta gained revenge on Argos in c. 545 BCE but then lost a battle with Tegea shortly after. (17.2-3). Holders of slaves, exacters of infanticide, practitioners of pederasty. Omissions? Diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute failed. Related Content Sparta is one of the most famous states in the Classical era. Learning from its past experiences with the Athenian navy, they established a fleet of warships. But Sparta was very different from the other Greek city-states. The result of the conflict was the 'King's Peace' where Sparta ceded her empire (for which she in any case lacked the necessary bureaucratic apparatus to manage properly) to Persian control but Sparta was left to dominate Greece.
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