Because of the large amounts of material available on Spartan society, this essay is simply designed as an overview. All of this information, and more, can be found in any text relating to ancient Greece.

Sparta is a Dorian civilization located in the Peloponnese. One thing that made Sparta different from other poleis is that it was a military state for most of its history.

Early Sparta
In the Dark Ages (the era after the fall of Myceneae), Dorians built Sparta as a military encampment, and remained as such until the Spartans took the nearby settlements on the Laconian plane.

By the end of the Dark Age, Sparta was the star of Greece. Spartans produced beautiful pottery and were noted for their singing and dancing at the festivals. The creativity of Sparta did not last, however, for they reverted back to a military state due to an outside threat. Once they went back to their military style of government, the level of artistic freedom was lost to them forever.

Lycurgus
In the early 7th century BCE, Lycurgus rose to power. He was the great lawmaker of Sparta, having written their constitution and laying down the law that made Sparta such a military power. Under the laws of Lycurgus, Sparta became the military power, which grew to dominate the southern half of the Peloponnese. That same military strength grew to take on a more subtle control of the remainder of the region.

His constitution guaranteed a level of political equality for all Spartan citizens.

Managing Sparta
Managing Sparta was no small task. Because of their military might, there were massive amounts of conquered territory, which remained property of the state, though citizens privately managed it. Subjects of those conquered lands were essentially enslaved by the Spartan government and were known as helots. Though the helots were viewed as state property, individual Spartans (presumably those who managed the conquered land) took half of the helot's protection, while the other half reverted to the state.

Because of the amount of conquered territory under Spartan rule, there were numerous helots. They identified themselves as being of the same race, which unified them and sowed the seeds of discontent. The unity of the helots made the risk of an uprising a very real thing, which furthered the drive of Sparta to remain a military state. That power would give them the ability to quash any rebellion that might occur, and also aid in alleviating Spartan fear of a helot uprising. Not all natives of subjugated lands were reduced to the position of helot. Some of the more important communities in conquered regions were given a special privilege: they were given some level of independence in their own domestic affairs. These peoples were called perioikoi (which translates as "neighbors"), and received somewhat better treatment than the helots. In spite of their better treatment, these peoples were still not thrilled with Spartan rule, but were not as likely to rise against Spartan rule as the helots.

Spartan Military and Politics
From the ages of five to thirty, Spartan males were required to serve in the military. During that time, they lived in the military barracks (or were stationed in military barracks in Spartan territory). After twenty-five years of service, it was common for them to spend their days in military training and evenings with other military companions. This military lifestyle made a home life next to impossible. The men weren't allowed to marry until the age of 20, but were unable to have a household until the age of 30. Even then, the government essentially owned them and their children.

Because Sparta's military state was so firmly established so early on, it alone maintained the tradition of a military monarchy. Other poleis started out with this form of leadership, but grew away from it as time passed. Sparta's kingship was hereditary, but also dual: that is to say, there were two kings from two different families. Sometimes these kings got on well and worked well together, but of course, not always.

The Spartan Constitution
Under the constitution as written by Lycurgus, citizens of Sparta did have some basic rights. It also mapped out the Spartan political structure. There were always two kings, and those two kings were military leaders. The kings worked with a council of aristocrats referred to as Gerousia. The Gerousia also handled political and judicial decisions.

Another governing body was the homoioi (or, equals). The homoioi was comprised of Spartan citizens who had survived their required military service, received state land (also known as conquered territories) with helots to work it, and continued to obey Spartan rules. This assembly met on a schedule and made final decisions on most of the important issues related to Spartan government.

The Spartan Citizen
In Sparta, a citizen was a member of society who was automatically entitled to certain (albeit few) rights. Citizens also shared a basic sense of community. That it was actually based on fear of helot uprising, desire to profit from the helots, or both, wasn't important. This equality, however, was a minimum. It was irrelevant that some Spartans owned their land privately while others had been granted use of state land or that some had even less than that. It didn't matter that some were high-ranking nobleman and others were mere mortals. They were Spartan citizens, so they all had those same basic rights.

Copyright Enyo Perseus
February 19, 2003
All Rights Reserved
Edited November 13, 2003