HISTORY
Sparta was one of the most powerful city in Ancient Greece. It is popular for its strong army as well as its wars with Athens.
It was in a valley on the banks of the Eurotas river.
It is in the South Eastern Portion of Greece.
The lands it controlled were called Laconia and Messira.
Sparta was one of the most powerful city in Ancient Greece. It is popular for its strong army as well as its wars with Athens.
It was in a valley on the banks of the Eurotas river.
It is in the South Eastern Portion of Greece.
The lands it controlled were called Laconia and Messira.
Geography ~~ γεωγραφία
GEOGRAPHY
Sparta is an important and unique city-state – although it is only a teeny, narrowed down part of the entire colossal land of Ancient Greece. If you look at it from the broad point of view, you start off with the boundless southern side of Ancient Greece; titled the Peloponnese Region. This Peloponnese region is very large; taking up over 30% of Ancient Greece! If you narrow down more specifically, you get to a prefecture, or territory, of the eastern Peloponnese Region titled the Laconia. Here in the Laconia, the capital city is the one and only... Sparta! Yes, the rough and tough warriors’ home land, Sparta, is located here in Laconia. Ancient Sparta will be gifted with extremely vital attributes with the structure of this land, like the mountains and valleys here in the capitol of Laconia that would work to the Spartans advantage.
The very first concept you inspect for when you observe at the landscape of a city-state is water. This vital substance is vitally important in finding a place to live and build a community in; and in Ancient Sparta, the water source is very assessable. This is all thanks to the landscape structure of Ancient Sparta. Upon Sparta’s geography, the city-state is located on the eastern tip of the Peloponnese region, where it lays on the banks of the Evrotas River. This meant that the fellow Spartans had a reliable river; the Eurotas River to attain fresh, clean water from. This provided water for the Spartans, which was very crucial. With the water, the civilization is now hydrated and healthier-which all in all, made the Spartan community better. Not only did this provide fresh dirt less water to all the people of ancient Sparta, though it also made the soil near the banks extremely fertile. Yes, every Spring the Eurotas River would flood the area of Sparta near the banks. As the water would gradually drain into the soil, the dirt will become richer and more fertile. This would make the dirt highly fertile and extremely rich. Having a rich land of soil was extremely beneficial for growing crops in ancient Sparta. This meant that the fellow Spartans could now farm and have a reliable water source, which was absolutely huge for the fellow Spartans. As you can see, simply because the geography of Ancient Sparta lays on the banks of the Eurotas River, it affects positively in both water to drink and helps crops grow. Having this clean river is very vital for the city- state of Sparta.
The pros of ancient Sparta’s geography don’t end there. Ancient Sparta had a beautiful climate all thanks to where it was placed on the earth. Let’s begin at the basics; the land of Sparta is obviously in the dry, humid desert of Ancient Greece. Of, course, the weather here would be humid and dry because it’s a spacious desert. The intense temperatures could fly up to a whopping 50 degrees Celsius, daily! This extremely hot climate could be unbearable at times, and can possibly cause fatality. Though Ancient Greece is blazing hot and dry... its location helped cool the climate down by a tad. Like I said Ancient Sparta was near the banks of the of the Eurotas river, entering the Mediterranean Sea. This large body of cold water provided a cool, crisp breeze to the large city-state Sparta. Just by this simple breeze, it dropped the climate by approximately 5 degrees Celsius to the large land of Ancient Sparta. Hence, if Ancient Greece is extremely hot and at a painfully humid climate... Ancient Sparta will be wee bit cooler, as they are located beside the great body of water. This is greatly beneficial for the Spartans. This sturdy, moderate combination of intense heat from the overall Ancient Greece land, plus the cold breeze form the Eurotas River (entering into the Mediterranean Sea) resulted in a flawless climate where Spartans could live and crops could be grown. This allowed Spartans to work harder, because of the magnificent climate. This superb weather is all thanks to where ancient Sparta is positioned.
Now the geography of Sparta doesn’t only favour the crops. We all know the civilizations of Sparta were shaped up to be warriors and defend the land. Though did you know the land was also shaped up to protect the people? Yes, the structure of Ancient Sparta was shaped up so that it could be an advantage to the Spartans in times of combat. The geography did this complicated task by having 3 main towering mountains, on three sides of the city-state. These mountains protected the 3 sides of Ancient Sparta from invaders. The three rocky terrains had names; Mt Taygetus was settled as protection on the west boarder, Mt Paron was guard to the east, and Mt Arcadian stood guard to the north. These three colossal mountains reached up to 1000m in altitude. It is without a doubt, these 3 mountains surrounding ancient Sparta were very beneficial for the Spartan military, as there was no easy way for intruders to get around it to invade Sparta. The colossal mountains acted as solid walls of protection against invaders. Considering at the time there were no fancy helicopters, these rugged mountains were unbreakable. With the 3 sides of Sparta covered, the only side to keep a watchful eye out for was the south side for intruders. Of course these mountains isolated Sparta from the rest of Greece, but considering it decreases the chance of tresspassers to invade the land... the Spartans adore the rocky terrains, as it helped them in times of battle.
With a built up structure such as the great land of ancient Sparta’s, it is without a doubt that the city state thrives in Ancient Greece. There is even an approximate population of 100,000 tough Spartans in Ancient Sparta , all thanks to the fantastic landscape and geography.
Sparta is an important and unique city-state – although it is only a teeny, narrowed down part of the entire colossal land of Ancient Greece. If you look at it from the broad point of view, you start off with the boundless southern side of Ancient Greece; titled the Peloponnese Region. This Peloponnese region is very large; taking up over 30% of Ancient Greece! If you narrow down more specifically, you get to a prefecture, or territory, of the eastern Peloponnese Region titled the Laconia. Here in the Laconia, the capital city is the one and only... Sparta! Yes, the rough and tough warriors’ home land, Sparta, is located here in Laconia. Ancient Sparta will be gifted with extremely vital attributes with the structure of this land, like the mountains and valleys here in the capitol of Laconia that would work to the Spartans advantage.
The very first concept you inspect for when you observe at the landscape of a city-state is water. This vital substance is vitally important in finding a place to live and build a community in; and in Ancient Sparta, the water source is very assessable. This is all thanks to the landscape structure of Ancient Sparta. Upon Sparta’s geography, the city-state is located on the eastern tip of the Peloponnese region, where it lays on the banks of the Evrotas River. This meant that the fellow Spartans had a reliable river; the Eurotas River to attain fresh, clean water from. This provided water for the Spartans, which was very crucial. With the water, the civilization is now hydrated and healthier-which all in all, made the Spartan community better. Not only did this provide fresh dirt less water to all the people of ancient Sparta, though it also made the soil near the banks extremely fertile. Yes, every Spring the Eurotas River would flood the area of Sparta near the banks. As the water would gradually drain into the soil, the dirt will become richer and more fertile. This would make the dirt highly fertile and extremely rich. Having a rich land of soil was extremely beneficial for growing crops in ancient Sparta. This meant that the fellow Spartans could now farm and have a reliable water source, which was absolutely huge for the fellow Spartans. As you can see, simply because the geography of Ancient Sparta lays on the banks of the Eurotas River, it affects positively in both water to drink and helps crops grow. Having this clean river is very vital for the city- state of Sparta.
The pros of ancient Sparta’s geography don’t end there. Ancient Sparta had a beautiful climate all thanks to where it was placed on the earth. Let’s begin at the basics; the land of Sparta is obviously in the dry, humid desert of Ancient Greece. Of, course, the weather here would be humid and dry because it’s a spacious desert. The intense temperatures could fly up to a whopping 50 degrees Celsius, daily! This extremely hot climate could be unbearable at times, and can possibly cause fatality. Though Ancient Greece is blazing hot and dry... its location helped cool the climate down by a tad. Like I said Ancient Sparta was near the banks of the of the Eurotas river, entering the Mediterranean Sea. This large body of cold water provided a cool, crisp breeze to the large city-state Sparta. Just by this simple breeze, it dropped the climate by approximately 5 degrees Celsius to the large land of Ancient Sparta. Hence, if Ancient Greece is extremely hot and at a painfully humid climate... Ancient Sparta will be wee bit cooler, as they are located beside the great body of water. This is greatly beneficial for the Spartans. This sturdy, moderate combination of intense heat from the overall Ancient Greece land, plus the cold breeze form the Eurotas River (entering into the Mediterranean Sea) resulted in a flawless climate where Spartans could live and crops could be grown. This allowed Spartans to work harder, because of the magnificent climate. This superb weather is all thanks to where ancient Sparta is positioned.
Now the geography of Sparta doesn’t only favour the crops. We all know the civilizations of Sparta were shaped up to be warriors and defend the land. Though did you know the land was also shaped up to protect the people? Yes, the structure of Ancient Sparta was shaped up so that it could be an advantage to the Spartans in times of combat. The geography did this complicated task by having 3 main towering mountains, on three sides of the city-state. These mountains protected the 3 sides of Ancient Sparta from invaders. The three rocky terrains had names; Mt Taygetus was settled as protection on the west boarder, Mt Paron was guard to the east, and Mt Arcadian stood guard to the north. These three colossal mountains reached up to 1000m in altitude. It is without a doubt, these 3 mountains surrounding ancient Sparta were very beneficial for the Spartan military, as there was no easy way for intruders to get around it to invade Sparta. The colossal mountains acted as solid walls of protection against invaders. Considering at the time there were no fancy helicopters, these rugged mountains were unbreakable. With the 3 sides of Sparta covered, the only side to keep a watchful eye out for was the south side for intruders. Of course these mountains isolated Sparta from the rest of Greece, but considering it decreases the chance of tresspassers to invade the land... the Spartans adore the rocky terrains, as it helped them in times of battle.
With a built up structure such as the great land of ancient Sparta’s, it is without a doubt that the city state thrives in Ancient Greece. There is even an approximate population of 100,000 tough Spartans in Ancient Sparta , all thanks to the fantastic landscape and geography.
Climate ~~ κλίμα
CLIMATE
The location in Sparta is tropical area where it is hot and rainy. It is hot humid for about 9 months and with a little bit of snow in winter. It takes up to 38 degrees celsius during Summer and the land is extremely dry. At winter season, that's the only time when rain falls a little bit of snow.
Summers tend to be particularly hot while winters are mild and cool. Summer begins in June. Winters in Sparta are chilly and rainy but not cold. It's unusual to snow in Sparta thought it happens but not that often. During Winter, most of the time in Sparta, it would be 10 degree celsius. You would only need a cloak to make you get comfortable.
The location in Sparta is tropical area where it is hot and rainy. It is hot humid for about 9 months and with a little bit of snow in winter. It takes up to 38 degrees celsius during Summer and the land is extremely dry. At winter season, that's the only time when rain falls a little bit of snow.
Summers tend to be particularly hot while winters are mild and cool. Summer begins in June. Winters in Sparta are chilly and rainy but not cold. It's unusual to snow in Sparta thought it happens but not that often. During Winter, most of the time in Sparta, it would be 10 degree celsius. You would only need a cloak to make you get comfortable.
Sparta Government ~~ Σπάρτη κυβέρνηση
GOVERNMENT
Spartans are known as the rough and tumble barbarians of the Ancient Greek world, but with a complete sense of seriousness in times of battle. It is no surprise, that their unique form of government includes a combination of both a structural manner with a barbarian twist. This is similar to their personalities. The creative Spartan government consisted of four main structures; let’s go through each step of the original, ordered government.
On the very top of the Spartan government lie the two mighty co-kings. These two male Spartans are strong; both outstanding in muscle and in combat, along with power over the entire city-state of Sparta. Therefore, the two kings are respected by every single citizen in Sparta. Some Spartans even viewed them as god-like religious figures! The co-kings are elected by the rest of Sparta to be in this prime position. The mighty kings’ most vital job in Sparta was to make sure Sparta was safe. They did this by keeping the city-state military the finest in all of Greece, so the region of Sparta was protected by elite combat warriors. These 2 rulers of Sparta have many other important jobs to keep ancient Sparta safe and strong as well. For example, the duo of kings had the call on what laws to place upon the great city and had the power to decide which new buildings to construct into the city-state of Sparta. Though both kings work together to keep the army highly skilled in combat, only one could be the chief of the Spartan army. The civilization would decide which king would be the leader of the military. Arguments on who was in control of certain topics like this often caused arguments. Although the kings were usually mature enough to do what is best for the city; even if they weren’t the ones leading the army.
Following the two co-kings of the Spartan government is the council of rich elders; labelled the Gerontes or Gerousia. The Gerontes are constructed by thirty rich elders, two council members being the mighty co-kings. The vigorous board is made up by retired male Spartan combat warriors (with the exception of the 2 co-kings) elected from the citizens of Sparta. This committee of elders remain on the board for the rest of their life. What did this council do? Well, this council acted as the advisory committee and court of criminal justice of Sparta. As the council of the advisory committee, their job was to provide input to guide Sparta towards a better future. In addition to that job, their job was to be the court of criminal justice. This meant they had to decide what punishment were handed to sentence on the corrupt criminals of ancient Sparta.Though most crimes won’t be too serious; there would be tough times where the council would have to declare executions. All in all, the Gerontes didn’t have a load of power, although still had an impact over the powerhouse city state Sparta.
The third layer of the structured Spartan government arrives the seemingly most powerful team of the government... The Ephors. This council has 5 elite, special Spartans. Any citizen has the opportunity to be elected in by the citizens of Sparta to this important council. This critical group of fantastic five Ephors; were similar to the Gerontes as they too are in charge of criminal justice. While the Generates were in charge of applying the charge to a criminal case, the Ephors were in charge of being the court (if needed) to declare if the punishment stands or not. The Ephors are like our modern day Supreme Court. Many people believe this stage of the government is the strongest, for these 5 noble Ephors even have the option of forcing the king to enter court for a possibility of de-crowning. Yes, surprisingly the Ephors are given the opportunity to give each co-king an evaluation of their progress in the leading spot. If the kings aren’t doing their best, and not keeping Sparta strong and safe enough the Ephors can de-crown the king(s). Freeing the spot for another king to be elected to the government. In general, the upper-class Ephors have lots of power in the criminal area of Sparta, similar to the Gerontes.
The final structure to complete the Spartan government is the ‘society’ of Sparta. Since there couldn’t be the entire civilization of Spartans in the government, the ‘society’ was a selected group of people given the honor to be in the structured government. This is an assembly of around 100 Spartans, over age 18. This group is often referred to as the Appella or Demos. The assembly of people shall change every month. The main role of this bundle of Spartans consisted of two simple jobs. The first assignment is to inquire questions upon the city to the upper, more powerful section of the government. The higher class government will answer all their questions to the best of their ability. The Appella group will now take the answers and can now spread it upon the rest of Spartan society. The second and final pursuit the assembly of ordinary Spartans most endure on, is to vote on which Spartan should be selected to be handed the great honour to be inserted into the government.
To elect someone into the ministry of Sparta, the barbarian twist of the Spartan government abruptly invades the structured, standard government. The Appella used an original form of system titled ''range voting''. The basic procedure of this system was quite straight forward; the crowds would bellow and make racket on which man they wanted to be elected to be introduced into the government. Whichever man received the louder cheer, will succeed in whatever job he was running for. This system worked fairly well, for it was simple and transparent.
I trust we can all agree that the Spartan government was unlike any other. The union combined Monarchical (with 2 co-kings), Oligarchical (with the groups who control the government -the Kings, Gerontes, and the Appella) and Democratic (the final part to the government consisting of over 18 citizens) without attempting to! Therefore, the Spartan government was truly a unique ministry.
Daily life for Spartans ~~ Την καθημερινή ζωή των Σπαρτιατών
DAILY LIFE IN SPARTA
From the moment a Greek is born in the vigorous city state of Sparta, their daily lives will be entitled to a tough lifestyle. All genders will have to contribute, daily, to the strong military of Sparta throughout their lives. Even as a baby Spartan (boy or girl) they are determined whether they were strong enough to be a Spartan. If the tiny infants are too weak or sick, the Spartans will view them as fragile and abandon the toddlers in the countryside to die. For the toddlers viewed as “strong enough” to live as a Spartan citizen, they will be raised by their mother to approximately age 7. At this point of the child’s life, the boys and girls entered different stages of growth, though both genders life will still have intense athletic training.
The male children Spartans, at age 7, are taken away by the government and sent off to an elite military camp for precisely 13 years. This was all in preparation to join the military when they are adults. In this vigorous boot camp, the word “mercy” was not in the vocabulary; as you will be put up against your friends to battle each other, sometimes even to fatality. The young male Spartans were also be taught and mentored how to kill, hunt, steal, and be discipline, by experienced Spartan warriors in the boot camp. The everyday life for these small males will be a lengthy series of intense combat workouts, athletic activities, and survival techniques. The young boys will barely get any time to rest, and given only bushes to sleep on. This harsh daily life was no walk in the park. To top it off, the young boys aren’t even given enough food for dinner! This encouraged the male Spartans to steal from nearby houses. If the boys are caught, they weren’t punished for theft; instead they were punished for not being sneaky enough. As the young males remain in the barrack every day of their young lives training to serve the city-state their daily lives were awful and a struggle. This stage of the male Spartan's life; being trained daily on how to become an intense warrior, was known as an "agoge" in Greek language.
As the male grows older, increasing his skills at combat and such, the intense 13 years will fly by. Soon the years of intense training will be over, and at age 20 he will eventually become a full army warrior of the most powerful military in all of ancient Greece... the Spartan army. At this point of the young adult Spartan’s life, he will be considered an equal of the civilization. His daily routine will change, as he now can live in a house of his own, with a family. The male Spartan may now live in a house outside of the boot camp as well. Although he may have more freedom than spending all his days in the intense camp, the male warrior will still have to train in the military; for he had to make sure his combat skills were fresh, in case of any time for war. He will train intensely for up to 5 hours a day normally, and then go home to his wife. There may be some time to socialize to other Spartans, though most friendships will be made in the camp. This daily routine of training, resting at home, socializing with other Spartans, and raising a family will continue until age 60 when he may retire from becoming a Spartan warrior.
On the other side of the everyday life come the female children. Their daily lives are quite close to the lives of the males, as they too were trained to become warriors. Though they are not sent to a tough garrison like the boys, they too were sent to a different place at around age 7. The girls Spartans attend a special school. This school did not teach too much academic things, and shaped their learning more around combat and art. This camp was a little similar to the military school of boys, as it too was a harsh and extremely resilient camp, mainly teaching girls how to be tough warriors. I guess you could somewhat say that this school camp was an easier version of the intense boot camp the male Spartans had to endure. The everyday life of these girls will consist of a series of intense combat workouts and lessons, and a little bit of art classes. This school camp will include fairly filling meals, though the girls were still encouraged and pushed to steal from others like the boys. The ladies would get a descent amount of rest, to get energy to attend school the next day. This profound daily life style of mostly combat workouts with weapons will occur for approximately 11 lengthy years. At around age 18, the girl Spartan was put to a serious test of their athletic ability. This test will determine the future for the rest of the girl’s life. The evaluation will include a sequence of fierce combat tests and other athletic assessments. The girls will be tested by other experienced warriors. If she passed her fitness test and other skills, she will be ranked as the high class and be able to return home and possibly find a husband to start a family with later on. For those who failed to pass the school, they will be able to return home, but they did not have as much freedom to leave the house and will merely rank as the middle class.
All females will be able to have the freedom to find a husband, and live in a home together in the next stage of the female Spartans life. The lady’s husband will most likely be gone in the military, so the women would usually have to stay in the house, and do house chores, such as cooking meals. That doesn’t mean that the females didn’t have freedom though; they could wander around outside of the house, socializing and exercising with other girl Spartans, and have a fun time. This sort of freedom was looked down upon by the other Greek city-states particularly Athens who believed women shall stay inside their house. Though Spartans didn’t care, they were the rebels of ancient Greece. The daily life of women consists of doing some household chores, and then leaving the house to exercise, socialize, or shop. The women had as much freedom as the men did.
As you can tell now, the daily life of male Spartans and female Spartans is very unique. Their lives are built solely around vigorously training for warfare, much different than the lives of other Greeks, particularly Athenians. The Ancient Spartan life was truly one unlike any other.
From the moment a Greek is born in the vigorous city state of Sparta, their daily lives will be entitled to a tough lifestyle. All genders will have to contribute, daily, to the strong military of Sparta throughout their lives. Even as a baby Spartan (boy or girl) they are determined whether they were strong enough to be a Spartan. If the tiny infants are too weak or sick, the Spartans will view them as fragile and abandon the toddlers in the countryside to die. For the toddlers viewed as “strong enough” to live as a Spartan citizen, they will be raised by their mother to approximately age 7. At this point of the child’s life, the boys and girls entered different stages of growth, though both genders life will still have intense athletic training.
The male children Spartans, at age 7, are taken away by the government and sent off to an elite military camp for precisely 13 years. This was all in preparation to join the military when they are adults. In this vigorous boot camp, the word “mercy” was not in the vocabulary; as you will be put up against your friends to battle each other, sometimes even to fatality. The young male Spartans were also be taught and mentored how to kill, hunt, steal, and be discipline, by experienced Spartan warriors in the boot camp. The everyday life for these small males will be a lengthy series of intense combat workouts, athletic activities, and survival techniques. The young boys will barely get any time to rest, and given only bushes to sleep on. This harsh daily life was no walk in the park. To top it off, the young boys aren’t even given enough food for dinner! This encouraged the male Spartans to steal from nearby houses. If the boys are caught, they weren’t punished for theft; instead they were punished for not being sneaky enough. As the young males remain in the barrack every day of their young lives training to serve the city-state their daily lives were awful and a struggle. This stage of the male Spartan's life; being trained daily on how to become an intense warrior, was known as an "agoge" in Greek language.
As the male grows older, increasing his skills at combat and such, the intense 13 years will fly by. Soon the years of intense training will be over, and at age 20 he will eventually become a full army warrior of the most powerful military in all of ancient Greece... the Spartan army. At this point of the young adult Spartan’s life, he will be considered an equal of the civilization. His daily routine will change, as he now can live in a house of his own, with a family. The male Spartan may now live in a house outside of the boot camp as well. Although he may have more freedom than spending all his days in the intense camp, the male warrior will still have to train in the military; for he had to make sure his combat skills were fresh, in case of any time for war. He will train intensely for up to 5 hours a day normally, and then go home to his wife. There may be some time to socialize to other Spartans, though most friendships will be made in the camp. This daily routine of training, resting at home, socializing with other Spartans, and raising a family will continue until age 60 when he may retire from becoming a Spartan warrior.
On the other side of the everyday life come the female children. Their daily lives are quite close to the lives of the males, as they too were trained to become warriors. Though they are not sent to a tough garrison like the boys, they too were sent to a different place at around age 7. The girls Spartans attend a special school. This school did not teach too much academic things, and shaped their learning more around combat and art. This camp was a little similar to the military school of boys, as it too was a harsh and extremely resilient camp, mainly teaching girls how to be tough warriors. I guess you could somewhat say that this school camp was an easier version of the intense boot camp the male Spartans had to endure. The everyday life of these girls will consist of a series of intense combat workouts and lessons, and a little bit of art classes. This school camp will include fairly filling meals, though the girls were still encouraged and pushed to steal from others like the boys. The ladies would get a descent amount of rest, to get energy to attend school the next day. This profound daily life style of mostly combat workouts with weapons will occur for approximately 11 lengthy years. At around age 18, the girl Spartan was put to a serious test of their athletic ability. This test will determine the future for the rest of the girl’s life. The evaluation will include a sequence of fierce combat tests and other athletic assessments. The girls will be tested by other experienced warriors. If she passed her fitness test and other skills, she will be ranked as the high class and be able to return home and possibly find a husband to start a family with later on. For those who failed to pass the school, they will be able to return home, but they did not have as much freedom to leave the house and will merely rank as the middle class.
All females will be able to have the freedom to find a husband, and live in a home together in the next stage of the female Spartans life. The lady’s husband will most likely be gone in the military, so the women would usually have to stay in the house, and do house chores, such as cooking meals. That doesn’t mean that the females didn’t have freedom though; they could wander around outside of the house, socializing and exercising with other girl Spartans, and have a fun time. This sort of freedom was looked down upon by the other Greek city-states particularly Athens who believed women shall stay inside their house. Though Spartans didn’t care, they were the rebels of ancient Greece. The daily life of women consists of doing some household chores, and then leaving the house to exercise, socialize, or shop. The women had as much freedom as the men did.
As you can tell now, the daily life of male Spartans and female Spartans is very unique. Their lives are built solely around vigorously training for warfare, much different than the lives of other Greeks, particularly Athenians. The Ancient Spartan life was truly one unlike any other.