about ancient sparta?

Question

who used to live in sparta in histort plz dont just say - spartans i really need a proper answer. i've tried to look for it on the web but my searching wasn't very helpful

Answer 1

Sparta was one of the major city-state in Greece. Its habitants, the Spartans were originally Dorian (on of the Greek tribes) lived in the area of Laconia in the southern Peloponnese. The fearsome Spartan warriors bitter enemy were Athens and its merchants - although both of them were Greek.

For more accurate answer try these. I hope it helps
http://www.laconia.org/sparti_h_1.htm
http://www.sikyon.com/sparta/history_eg.html
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/greece/spar...

Answer 2

Actually, Spartans is correct, in the most literal sense. Spartans were the members of a city-state of ancient Greece. They were extremely militaristic and warlike, and were most cruel in their use of slavery. They were great friends and allies, and really, really terrible enemies.

For many years, the Greeks owned slaves (helots) to do their daily work and help with the farming. Sparta was not different, but what set them apart was the amount of slaves they owned. Is Sparta, the ratio of slaves to free men was almost 7 : 1 ! It became more and more difficult to keep all of the slaves under control. Then around 600 B.C., there was a slave revolt and the Spartan free men barely won. The people of Sparta though now lived in constant fear of another helot revolt. To keep this from happening, they decided to develop the most powerful army in all of the Greek islands.

Even at a young age, children were taught to be strong and physically fit. Boys would begin their training as early as age 7. They would enter into military schools and lead a very harsh life. This difficult life was teaching the boys to grow up to be tough mentally and physically. Boys would continue their military training until the age of 18, and would serve in the military until they were 30. At that age, they had the option to retire from the military, but few did.

Girls were also expected to be strong. They trained in physical activities much the same way that the boys did. Girls did not serve in the military though. But women were allowed to own land (rare in Greece) and even take part in business. It was thought that only strong women would have strong and healthy babies. Some stories state that if a baby were born with a birth defect, they would be left in the woods overnight. If the baby died, then they would not have grown up to be a strong Spartan citizen.

Sparta’s government was an oligarchy, which means “rule by a few” There was a 30-member senate, with an assembly of citizens. But the senators had the real power. Even if the assembly of citizens voted on a law, the senators could over-rule. So in reality, these few rich men controlled Sparta.

Answer 3

The majority of the population where Helots who where really slaves in servitude to the Spartans.

Sparta was such a militaristic society, males where taken from their families at a young age to train as soldiers, that food production for the city was the work of the enslaved Helots.

If you want an idea about how Spartan society worked a good book is 'The Spartan' by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. He has written a work of fiction around the lead up to the Battle of Thermopylae, however as a professor of ancient history his novel gives an insight into how the Spartan culture was structured.

Answer 4

The city of Sparta was originally founded during and after the Mycenaen War, in which the Dorian Spartans crossed the Taygetus mountains and took the territory of the Messenia. However, the original occupants of Messenia did not easily submit to the Spartans' rule, and thus, in 640 BC the Mycenaeans revolted. The revolt nearly defeated the Spartans, but they managed to hold strong and continued their rule over the Mycenaean's region. However, obviously outnumbered by the native population of Messenia, and accompanied by other political stresses, the Spartans responded by enacting a military government, or a military oligarchy, formulated by Lycurgus. In such an oligarchic polis, the native population were relegated to the status of agricultural slavery, or helots, which only amounted to a life of meek serfdom. Above the helots in status were the perioeci. The perioeci were the traders, merchants, and foreigners of Spartan society, who were allowed a larger amount of freedom than the helots. Atop both the helots, and the perioeci, were the Spartiate. A Spartiate could trace their lineage through to the cities original Dorian occupants, was required to serve in the army, could vote. They were the only people who were allowed full political rights of the state itself.

Unlike Athens, Sparta was a military oligarchy, monarchy, democracy, and timocracy all rolled into one. Originally founded with aristocratic interest, Sparta managed to keep its lineage of kings throughout its existence. The kings themselves came from two great aristocratic houses. From these two great houses and the aristocratic influence of early Sparta, the city survived under the edict of "dependence of the small on the great." The two kings (dual monarchy) of Sparta however held little rule over Sparta, rather it was the counsel below the kings, composed of 28 nobles (all past their mandatory service in the military), and the two kings which made many of the political decisions for Sparta. Just below the Counsel was the assembly of the Spartiate (composed of Spartan males). The assembly was run democratically and could veto or approve the rulings of the counsel above it. However, beyond the counsel and beyond the assembly, was the Ephorate. The ephorate was a group of five men who practically guided all aspects of Spartan life. Along with ruling over the military, it held the power to veto any ruling made by the Counsel or the assembly. Regardless of how odd such a political system may seem in the twentieth century, and how opposite it may have been in comparison to the democracy of Athens, Spartan culture flourished through out the Aegean. Known almost exclusively for its military strength, and its role within the Persian Wars, the Spartans believed themselves to be of "true" Greek lineage and tradition. Their reign, extended with the aid of alliances and invasions, covered most of the pelloponesus, until the Spartans eventually rivaled Athens.

Answer 5

The recorded history of Sparta began with the Dorian invasions, when the Peloponnesus was settled by Greek tribes coming from Epirus and Macedonia through the northeast region of Greece, submitting or displacing the older Achaean Greek inhabitants.
The Mycenaean Sparta of Menelaus described in Homer's Iliad was an older Greek civilization, whose link to Hellenic or Classical Sparta was only by name and location. What is widely known today as ancient Sparta refers to state and culture that were formed in Sparta by the Dorian Greeks, some eighty years after the Trojan War.

Answer 6

Spartans

Answer 7

sparta in greece was a special place designated for the spartan warriors,who were enlisted and trained there,like a camp but solely for those specially selected,the young spartan would be in the care of an older partner who were like brothers no women were allowed,they often formed loving relationships between them if you get my meaning,this was encouraged and created a fierce unbreakable bond.
they would die to the last man in battle,and were unbeaten,meaning to say that they would all die and not allow defeat,i believe there was only one surviver at the battle of heraculeas who was taken only because of injury,one of the bloodiest battles in classical history,revered by the greeks and indeed the romans who tried to emulate their style and faith.
hope this helps.

Answer 8

The Spartans:
Leonidas was a king who died in the battle of Thermopylae

Demaratus was another king who was kicked out. He then joined the Persians.

Leotychides was yet another king who accepted a bribe but was found later sitting on it, trying to hide it.

In the Iliad, Menelaus, was from Sparta.

Thucydides, who was an ostracized Athenian, lived in Sparta in the time of the Peloponnesian wars, and wrote about it.

Answer 9

Well... they WERE Spartans. Sparta was one of the city-states of Greece. So they were Greeks... and they were Spartans.

Answer 10

Well, I thought the wiki article is pretty informative. Did you check that? Greece was famous as a location with many city-states. Read up on Suetonius. He was the first to write about the ancients.