Where is sparta

The duties of the kings were religious, judicial, and military in nature. They were the chief priests of the state, and maintained contact with Delphi, the sanctuary that exercised great authority in Spartan politics. Over time, royal prerogatives were curtailed further until, aside from their service as military generals, the kings became mere figureheads.

For example, from the time of the Greco Persian Wars, the kings lost the right to declare war and were shadowed in the field by two officials, known as ephors. Civil and criminal cases were also decided by ephors, as well as a council of 28 elders over the age of 60, called the gerousia.

The gerousia discussed high state policy decisions, then proposed action alternatives to the damos —a collective body of Spartan citizenry, who would then select one of the options by voting. Unique in ancient Greece for its social system, Spartan society was completely focused on military training and excellence.

Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates Spartan citizens, who enjoyed full rights , Mothakes non-Spartan, free men raised as Spartans , Perioikoi free, but non-citizen inhabitants , and Helots state-owned serfs, part of the enslaved, non-Spartan, local population.

Structure of Spartan society: Spartan society was highly regimented, with a clearly delineated class system. Typically only men who were to become Spartiates underwent military training, although two exceptions existed to this rule. For example, the Athenian general Xenophon sent his two sons to Sparta as trophimoi. Additionally, sons of a Helot could enroll as a syntrophos if a Spartiate formally adopted him and paid his way. If a syntrophos did exceptionally well in training, he could be sponsored to become a Spartiate.

Likewise, if a Spartan could not afford to pay the expenses associated with military training, they potentially could lose their right to citizenship. Spartiates were actually a minority within Sparta, and Helots made up the largest class of inhabitants of the city-state. Helots were originally free Greeks that the Spartans had defeated in battle, and subsequently enslaved.

In contrast to populations conquered by other Greek cities, the male Helot population was not exterminated, and women and children were not treated as chattel.

Instead, Helots were given a subordinate position within Spartan society more comparable to the serfs of medieval Europe. Although Helots did not have voting rights, they otherwise enjoyed a relatively privileged position, in comparison to slave populations in other Greek city-states.

The Spartan poet, Tyrtaios, gives account that Helots were permitted to marry and retain half the fruits of their labor. They were also allowed religious freedoms and could own a limited amount of personal property.

This was meant to prepare them for life in the army. Soldiers were trained as hoplites, or heavily armed foot soldiers. The Spartan army was known for its skill in on-land combat.

Sparta fought both foreign and neighboring adversaries. However, in B. Not long after, however, the two cities began fighting each other in the two Peloponnesian Wars to B. Most of the ancient Persian empire is in modern-day Iran. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

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If they got too hungry, the boys were encouraged to try stealing as a way of improving their stealth but were punished if they got caught. The Spartans trained rigorously and progressed through this training system until the age of 20 when they were allowed to join a communal mess and hence become a full citizen of the community. Each member of the mess was expected to provide a certain amount of foodstuffs and to keep training rigorously.

Those who could not fight due to disability were mocked by the Spartans. If he is strong and of sound body, they command that he be raised, and they assign him an allotment of land from the 9, plots. If he is ill born and misshapen, they throw him into the pit at the place called Apothetae, below Mt.

Taygetus, as it is better neither for him nor for the city to remain alive, as from the beginning he does not have a good start towards becoming healthy and strong" wrote Plutarch, a Greek writer who lived in the first century A.

Girls, while not trained militarily, were expected to train physically. This included running, wrestling, discus and javelin throwing.

Spartan woman even competed in the Olympic games , at least in the chariot racing competition, according to ancient writers.

In the fifth century B. After Cynisca other women, especially women of Lacedaemon, have won Olympic victories, but none of them was more distinguished for their victories than she," wrote the ancient writer Pausanias who lived in the second century A. Jones and H. Spartan women likely did not engage in any public nudity. Thucydides also wrote that the Spartans preferred to dress modestly and that "the richer citizens conducted themselves in a fashion that as much as possible put them into an equal position with the general populace.

Spartan poetry also showed a desire for equality among the male Spartans. This desire for some level of equality applies to something as simple as a bowl of soup. It has not been over a fire yet, but soon it will be full of soup, the kind that Alcman, who eats everything, loves hot after the solstice: he doesn't eat any confections, but seeks common, available food just like the people do," reads a poem by Alcman.

Sparta in time developed a system of dual kingship two kings ruling at once. Their power was counter-balanced by the elected board of ephors who may only serve a single one-year term.

There was also a Council of Elders Gerousia , each member of which was over the age of 60 and could serve for life. The general assembly, which consisted of each citizen, also had the chance to vote on legislation. The legendary lawmaker Lycurgus is often credited in ancient sources with providing the groundwork for Spartan law. Kennell notes, however, that he probably never existed and was in fact a mythical character. Initially, Sparta was hesitant to engage with Persia.

When the Persians threatened Greek cities in Ionia, on the west coast of what is now Turkey, the Greeks who lived in those areas sent an emissary to Sparta to ask for help. The Spartans refused but did threaten King Cyrus, telling him to leave Greek cities alone. The Persians did not listen. The first invasion by Darius I took place in B. The second invasion was launched by Xerxes in B.

Sparta and one of their kings, Leonidas, became head of an anti-Persian coalition that ultimately made an ill-fated stand at Thermopylae. Located beside the coast, Thermopylae contained a narrow passage, which the Greeks blocked and used to halt Xerxes' advance. Ancient sources indicate that Leonidas started the battle with a few thousand troops including Spartans at its core.

He faced a Persian force many times its size. After spying on the Spartan-led force, and waiting to see if they would surrender, Xerxes ordered an attack. The "Medes rushed forward and charged the Greeks, but fell in vast numbers: others, however, took the places of the slain, and would not be beaten off, though they suffered terrible losses.

In this way it became clear to all, and especially to the king, that though he had plenty of combatants, he had but very few warriors. The struggle, however, continued during the whole day," wrote Herodotus. Translation by George Rawlinson. After this beaten force withdrew, Xerxes sent an elite unit called the "Immortals" after the Spartan-led force but they too failed.

Despite the uniformity in hoplite dress, the Spartan warrior wore a distinctive scarlet cape to protect him from the cold, although it was always removed before combat. At daybreak on the morning of the battle, sometimes within sight of the enemy, the Spartan hoplites would polish their bronze-coated shields, prepare their weapons, and carefully arrange their long hair, as part of a symbolically charged ritual.

When the battle was imminent, a young goat would be sacrificed to Artemis Agrotera, goddess of the hunt. The sages examined the entrails under the watchful eye of the king, who would only give the order to attack if he could count on divine approval. The singing was accompanied by the flautists who played from their positions within the ranks. The Spartan phalanx, a tight military formation usually eight men deep, would then begin its advance, lances raised, in time with the music.

One measure of the Spartan reputation for courage and nerve was the pace with which it proceeded: Its army would draw close to enemy lines more slowly than their rivals, always following the steady rhythm set by the flutes.

Hoplite warriors formed phalanxes, which advanced in lockstep. The front row presented a barrier of shields locked together, from which a long line of spears protruded. Unity within the phalanx was crucial, and Spartan phalanxes had a fearsome reputation for holding their formation. During the Peloponnesian War, both the Spartan and Athenian sides made use of an additional class of soldier, the peltasts.

This division of light infantry supplemented the heavily armed—and often unwieldy—hoplites. Enemy commanders justly feared the colossal damage this disciplined mass could inflict. The phalanx was formed of compact columns of hoplites who maintained the formation at the exact width and depth required. Wielding a greater and more powerful block of fighters than the enemy was one of the keys to victory. The Spartan formation was typically a minimum of eight lines deep. The aim for those in the front row was to injure the arms, throat, or eyes of their opponents.

When the first lines clashed, all the soldiers would push forward with their shields. Every hoplite pressed hard against the back of the man in front, while those in the first three or four lines hurled their lances. The purpose of the phalanx was to smash the enemy line.

Until a breach was made, there were few casualties within the tightly packed Spartan lines, and the soldiers behind could immediately cover the gaps left by any men who did fall. If a phalanx did ever fall apart, the soldiers were left vulnerable, tempted to abandon their shields in order to flee.

For the Spartans, such an outcome was almost too shameful to contemplate. Despite their frightening reputation, the Spartan army was very restrained when it defeated a foe. This practice was, at heart, pragmatic: Having secured the military objective, there was little sense in unnecessarily exposing Spartan forces to further danger, especially if the enemy had men mounted on horseback.

Instead, the king would order the trumpeters to sound the retreat, and the army would start to retrieve the dead. When vanquished enemies wanted to retrieve the bodies of their fallen, they would send a representative to negotiate the handover with the king of Sparta. The bodies of the fallen Spartans were carried on their own shields to a site near the battlefield for burial.

From age seven, a Spartan boy was sent to the military academy known as the agoge, where he would be put under the supervision of a teacher and instructor, the paidonomos. From there, he would then be enlisted in the Spartan army. From age 20 to 29, he was part of the hebontes, an age group regarded by Spartan society as not yet fully adult, since marriage was only encouraged after age In theory, all Spartan males were bound to military service until achieving the status of elder, or geron, at age 60, but many continued to serve on the battlefield.

In a time-honored Spartan tradition, other markers were often erected on the site of the battle. One of the most common was a tree trunk dressed in the helmet, armor, and weapons of the defeated. If the battle was particularly significant, a stone monument might be constructed, such as the statue of the lion in honor of the Spartan leader Leonidas, which was placed on the battlefield of Thermopylae. When the rituals were over, the army began their triumphal return to Sparta. The worst fate for any Spartan was cowardice on the battlefield.