What was Sparta known for?
Quick answer
Sparta was an ancient Greek city-state famous for its military-focused society. From about age 7, Spartan boys entered the agoge, a harsh state training program, and men served as soldiers until about 60. Sparta’s army was considered the best in Greece, and its stand at Thermopylae in 480 BC became legendary.
Life in a warrior state
| Stage | What happened |
|---|---|
| Birth | Elders inspected newborns; according to Plutarch, weak babies could be abandoned |
| Age 7 | Boys left home for the agoge: barracks life, little food, harsh discipline |
| Age 20 | Became soldiers; lived and ate with fellow soldiers in mess halls |
| Age 30 | Became full citizens, allowed to live with their families |
Boys were sometimes encouraged to steal food to build cunning, but punished if caught.
Who did the work?
Sparta’s citizens could focus on war because most labor was done by the helots, an enslaved population that greatly outnumbered them. Fear of helot revolts helped shape Sparta’s tough, militarized society.
Spartan women
Spartan women had more freedom than women in most of Greece. They received physical training, could own property and managed estates while men were at war. A saying attributed to Spartan mothers told sons to come back “with your shield or on it,” meaning victorious or dead.
Thermopylae
In 480 BC, King Leonidas led about 300 Spartans, plus several thousand other Greeks, to block a huge Persian army at the narrow pass of Thermopylae. They held for three days before being betrayed and surrounded. The battle inspired the film 300. The Persian Empire is described in the Royal Road.
Words from Sparta
| Word | Origin |
|---|---|
| Spartan | Simple, strict, without comfort |
| Laconic | Using very few words, from Laconia, Sparta’s region |
When Philip II of Macedon threatened, “If I invade Laconia, you will be destroyed,” the Spartans reportedly replied with one word: “If.”
Sparta vs Athens
Sparta’s great rival was Athens, which valued philosophy, art and democracy. They fought the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which Sparta won. Athens’ great temple is described in the Parthenon.
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