Sparta and its surrounding territory were located on Peloponnesus, a peninsula southwest of Athens. Sparta, also called Lacedaemon, was the capital of the district of Laconia.
Culture and society
Sparta was known not for its art, culture, or buildings but rather for its brave warriors. The lifestyle of the warriors of Sparta gave rise to the adjective Spartan, which is used to describe people who have great self-discipline and live with few comforts.
Three different classes of people lived in Laconia. First, there were the citizens of Sparta, who were the only people who had a role in government. They lived in the city and spent all their time in military training. Another class, called the peroikoi, lived in the surrounding villages and were also free, but they had no political power or rights. They worked as traders or mechanics, which the Spartans were not allowed to do. The Helots were the third class. They held a position that was only slightly better than slaves, and they made up most of the population.
Spartan society was founded on the idea that the life of every person, from the moment of birth, belonged completely to the state. The leaders of Sparta inspected newborn babies and ordered the weak and unhealthy ones to be carried away and left to die. The leaders wanted to make sure that only the physically strong would survive.
Spartan children who were allowed to live had a very strict upbringing. At the age of 7 boys were taken from their parents and put into small groups. The strongest and bravest were made captains. The boys ate crude meals, wore simple clothing, and slept on hard beds. Unlike the children of Athens, the boys of Sparta did not spend much time learning music or dance. Instead, they exercised to improve their bodies and learned military skills. They were taught never to retreat or surrender in battle. They learned to put up with hardship and obey orders without question.
Young boys were allowed to feel the pain of hunger and were even expected to steal food when their own supplies ran short. This was done not to encourage them to be dishonest but rather to develop their creativity and enterprise. If they were caught, they were punished. Girls were educated in a similar way, but the system was not as strict.
The system became even harder as the boys reached manhood. All male Spartan citizens between the ages of 20 and 60 who served in the army were allowed to marry. However, they had to eat in the men's dining hall and sleep in a public camp. They were not allowed to own gold or silver, and their money consisted of iron bars. War songs were their only music. They spoke in short sentences that were to the point. Speaking more than necessary, or using too many words, was not allowed. This way of speaking has come to be called laconic, after Laconia.
Spartan armies were small but well trained, well organized, and strong. Each soldier aimed either to win a battle or to die in it.
Military battles and decline
Among Sparta's greatest achievements was the brave stand taken by its soldiers at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, during the Persian War. In the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) Sparta defeated Athens, its rival, to become the most powerful state in Greece. Sparta continued to conquer neighboring states until it took control of most of Peloponnesus.
The cruelty of the Spartans toward the people they had conquered led to hatred and revolts against them. At the same time, Sparta's strict rules of citizenship reduced the number of trained warriors until only a few remained. After about 30 years of Spartan rule, the Thebans defeated Sparta in 371 BC and ended its power.
War weakened many of the Greek city-states. By 339 BC King Philip II of Macedonia had conquered most of Greece, including Sparta. In the 2nd century BC Sparta was taken over by Rome's armies. In AD 396 a group of Germanic people from Central Europe called the Visigoths destroyed the ancient city of Sparta. A modern town called New Sparta was built in 1834 on the ancient site.