THE STORY

Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, Spártā; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, Spártē) was a prominent city-state
in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (Λακεδαίμων,
Lakedaímōn), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the
[1]
Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become
the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.
Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified
Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars, in rivalry with the rising naval power of
[2]
Athens. Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (between
[3]
431 and 404 BC), from which it emerged victorious. The defeat by Thebes in the Battle of
Leuctra in 371 BC ended Sparta's prominent role, though it maintained its political
independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. It then underwent a long period
of decline, especially in the Middle Ages, when many Spartans moved to Mystras. Modern
Sparta is the capital of the Greek region of Laconia and a center for processing citrus and
olives.
Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution introduced by the
almost mythical figure of Lycurgus. He configured the entire society in order to maximize
military proficiency at all costs, focusing all social institutions on military training and
physical development. Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates (Spartan citizens with full
rights), mothakes (non-Spartan free men raised as Spartans), perioikoi (free residents
engaged in commerce), and helots (state-owned serfs, enslaved non-Spartan local
population). Spartiates underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and
Spartan phalanx brigades were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan
women enjoyed considerably more rights and equality with men than elsewhere in classical
antiquity.