Sparta Flashcards
(38 cards)
What would a Spartan soldier wear?
Bronze helmet, breast plate, spear, sword, shield, sandals, gauntlet
Levels of Spartan government?
King, Ephors, Gerousia, Ecclesia/Appella, peroikoi Helots at the bottom
What did the two kings do?
Took part in Gerousia and Ecclesia/Appella, manages the roads, takes care of orphaned women who have inherited riches, one went off to war, in charge of religious ceremony, two families agiads and euripontas
What did the Gerousia do?
Decided on bills to go through the Appella, advised the kings, acted as court and jury, proposed bills on foreign policy
What did the Ephors do?
Made sure the kings did not gain too much power, acted as a judge in the court system, declared war on the helots once per year to control them, in control of Kryptia, two of the five accompanied king into battle, in charge of education
What did the Ecclesia/Appella do?
Voted on bills through the clapping system
How would some one become part of the Ecclessia?
You must be a male Spartiate above the age of 30
How did the agoge prepare boys for life in the army?
Physical hardship: bare feet, no clothes, food ration
Loyalty to Sparta through: team work, obedience loved one another
Describe the duties of the krypteia.
• to go out in the countryside with minimal rations and live off the land;
• hide in the day and patrol the countryside at night;
• kill any helot they see as a threat to Sparta;
• terrorise helots as an incentive for the others to behave;
• become efficient killers.
Why did the Spartans treat the helots harshly?
They had to keep them in a state of fear and oppression to stop them from rebelling because they outnumbered the Spartans;
They had rebelled before and the Spartans were fearful of further uprisings;
They were slaves in their own land
The Spartans needed more land so they took over the fertile soil in Messenia.
The Spartans needed the Helots to work the land to support the Spartans so that they could concentrate on the military. The women (unlike other Greek women) were not considered inferior to men and not given menial tasks so the helots had to do them.
Also the Spartan population was small so they needed the extra labour.
How did Spartan mothers bring up their sons?
Handed them over to see if they were worthy of being raised.
Raised boys until they were 7 then sent them off to be educated.
Did not pamper the children in any way.
Boys would be encouraged to do physical exercise.
Let children cry to make them tough.
Taught them Spartan values
What things did Spartan women do to help Sparta?
Produced healthy sons for the army or daughters to breed more sons.
Ran the household and land while the men were away.
Supervised the helots and made sure they made the clothes and produced the food. Jeered at men if they were cowards to encourage bravery.
Explain what other Greeks thought about Spartan women.
They were strong and muscular and sun tanned because they did exercise and went outside and other Greek women did not do things like that.
They were seen as outspoken or bossy because they criticised their husbands.
They were seen to be sexy as they flashed their thighs while other Greek women were covered up.
They got involved with horse training while other Greek women stayed at home.
They were unfeminine as they did not weave the clothes which was the job of women in other Greek states. They possessed too much freedom as they did not live in women’s quarters like other Greek women.
They were seen to be bad mothers as they sent their sons away.
They were promiscuous as they slept with men other than their husbands.
Outline some Spartan fighting methods
Phalanx formation with each man’s shield protecting half of the man next to him. Took the places of fallen comrades in the front line.
Used spears and swords - stabbed with spears then used swords to fight at close quarters.
Wore red cloaks to maintain morale and intimidate the enemy.
Sometimes pretended to retreat so as to trick the enemy.
Were trained to die rather than surrender so as to be victorious in battle Used music to give instructions in battle for efficient communication Allowed the enemy to flee instead of fighting
Briefly outline what happened at Thermopylae
King Leonidas and only 300 men held back the massive Persian army of Xerxes at the narrow pass of Thermopylae which gave the rest of the Greek allies time to prepare the defences elsewhere.
Used phalanx formation.
Were betrayed by Ephialtes who told the Persians about another path.
All the Spartans fought to the death.
Explain why the army was important to the survival of Sparta.
Their reputation was a deterrent and prevented invasion.
Maintained their way of life and isolation so that they were not influenced by other cultures. Made sure they had enough food/wealth to live because they did not trade.
Kept Helots in check/fear to prevent rebellion.
The army was the society’s only protection because the Spartans did not have walls.
Where was Sparta geographically?
Sparta is in the area called Laconia in the south east of the Peloponnese. Messenia is to the west. Laconia has a long coastline but Sparta is not very near the coast. Sparta is in the deep valley of the river Eurotas and is bounded by Mt Parnon and Mt Taygetus on both sides. The land to the south was marshy. It is a long way from Athens.
‘The Spartans were both physically and socially isolated from the rest of Greece.’ Explain what made the Spartans and their city so isolated from the rest of Greece.
They were physically isolated by being far from other cities and cut off by the mountains and rugged, marshy coast. They did not use money like other states and did not trade with them. Although other states had slaves, Spartans were the only ones who enslaved other Greeks. Foreigners were not encouraged to travel to Sparta nor were Spartans allowed to travel beyond their own borders. Other Greeks disapproved of Spartan lack of education, treatment of boys and women and government. The Periokoi acted as a buffer zone.
Describe how the Perioikoi and the Helots came into being.
Over time, the Spartans took control of Laconia and Messenia. They made the other Dorian inhabitants into Perioikoi and allowed them to govern themselves to a degree but expected them to make goods for them and do any trading that was needed. The Spartans captured the Achaean Greeks and enslaved them making them work on the farms to produce food for them and do domestic chores.
What did non-Spartans typically think about Spartans?
Non-Spartans often criticized the Spartans. Spartans were famous for not having personal wealth so the second part could be considered typical or non typical. Non-Spartans usually commented on the Spartan women and their behaviour and also on Sparta’s military distinction or the harshness of the upbringing of the boys. Women were important and could own land. Method of electing parts of the government was silly. There was a lack of attractive buildings. They disapproved of enslaving other Greeks.
Explain how some aspects of Spartan society might have made the city poor and its citizens greedy.
Aspects of Spartan society might have made the city poor and citizens greedy in that currency was outlawed. The selling of land was not technically allowed but it happened anyway. Spartans were not encouraged to create lavish buildings. Everyone was supposed to be equal but this did not encourage wealth. Some Spartans became corrupted when they went abroad. They didn’t have much time to amass wealth.
Why is it difficult for us to trust the evidence we have about Sparta? Explain your answer.
Spartans were a very closed, isolated society so the information we have comes from outsiders who may have been badly informed and also biased against the Spartans. Spartans did not have any literature except for the poems of Tyrtaios so we can not use this to form opinions of them as we do with other cultures. They did not build elaborate buildings or make works of art so we have few physical remains to look at. Some sources (e.g. Plutarch) were not contemporary or were from comedy.
Describe the typical appearance of a spartan woman
A typical Spartan woman would have had well developed muscles. She would have had tanned skin. Spartan women wore no make up or jewellery. She would have worn a short dress. Bare feet may be mentioned and lack of veil over her head.
Explain why a typical Spartan woman spent her time as she did.
She had to produce healthy children. Women exercised to enable them to produce healthy sons for the army. The population was small so they all needed to contribute and only pure bred Spartans would do. She had to supervise the running of the farm because the men were away training or fighting and the people had to be fed so the women had to make sure the helots produced enough food for their husbands’ dining group and the household itself. Also discouraging cowardice/promotion of the Spartan ethos so the cowardly soldiers did not dare to return to Sparta and boys behaved bravely.
