Who were the Spartiates proper?
The full citizens of Sparta, the Spartiates Proper were few in number but high in status. Sitting at the very top of the social classes the full citizens were afforded many rights, but of course their life dedicated to physical perfection and training would be viewed by some as a punishment.
What did the Spartiates do in ancient Sparta?
Politically, Spartiate males composed the army assembly, the body that elected the ephors, the most powerful magistrates of Sparta after the kings. The Spartiates were also the source of the krypteia, a sort of secret police, which, by measures such as assassination and kidnapping, sought to prevent rebellion among the helots.
Why did the number of Spartiates decline?
The latter became increasingly severe; as commercial activity began to develop in Sparta, some Spartiates would sell the land from which they were supposed to draw their earnings. Since the constitution included no known provisions for promotion to Spartiate status, the number of Spartiates gradually dwindled.
What was the source of income for Spartiates?
Each Spartiate male was assigned a plot of land, with the helots that worked it. That was the source of his income since he performed no labour or commerce himself. The primary use of that income was to pay the dues of the communal mess halls to which all Spartiates were required to belong.
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What were elite Spartans called?
SpartiatesClassical Spartan society was rigidly divided into several castes, each with assigned duties and privileges. The smallest of them, with the most power and freedom, was the Spartiate elite. Spartiates were exempt from manual labour and controlled the government of the state.
What were the 3 groups of Sparta?
Spartan Society The population of Sparta consisted of three main groups: the Spartans, or Spartiates, who were full citizens; the Helots, or serfs/slaves; and the Perioeci, who were neither slaves nor citizens.
How many Spartan warriors were there?
Still, according to Thucydides, at Mantinea in 418 BC, there were seven lochoi present, each subdivided into four pentekostyes of 128 men, which were further subdivided into four enōmotiai of 32 men, giving a total of 3,584 men for the main Spartan army.
How many helots were in Sparta?
seven helotsThe number of helots in relation to Spartan citizens varied throughout the history of the Spartan state; according to Herodotus, there were seven helots for each Spartan at the time of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.
Does the Spartan bloodline still exist?
The Maniots (inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula) therefore are considered direct descendants of Spartans. Almost three thousand years ago, Greece consisted of multiple 'polis' that were mostly controlled by Sparta. Spartans, as depicted in the 2006 movie 300, were highly trained fighters.
Is the 300 Spartans a true story?
It is true there were only 300 Spartan soldiers at the battle of Thermopylae but they were not alone, as the Spartans had formed an alliance with other Greek states. It is thought that the number of ancient Greeks was closer to 7,000. The size of the Persian army is disputed.
How many did the 300 Spartans face?
Battle of ThermopylaeSpartan army HelotsPersian armyStrength7,00070,000–300,000Casualties and losses10 more rows
How many Persians did 300 Spartans defeat?
twenty thousand PersiansThe Persian assault began on August 17 and lasted for three days before the Persians finally killed the 298 Spartans who had defended the mountain pass with another small Greek contingent of roughly three to four thousand men. Before the Spartans and others died, however, they had slain twenty thousand Persians.
Why did only 300 Spartans fight?
The Spartans may have only sent 300, not because of the Olympics or Carneia, but because they didn't wish to defend so far north, although it does seem unusual they would have sent a King if so.
Why did Sparta fear the helots?
Owing to their own numerical inferiority, the Spartans were always preoccupied with the fear of a helot revolt. The ephors (Spartan magistrates) of each year on entering office declared war on the helots so that they might be murdered at any time without violating religious scruples.
How many slaves were in Athens?
Athens alone was home to an estimated 60,000–80,000 slaves during the fifth and fourth centuries BC, with each household having an average of three or four enslaved people attached to it. Athenian slaves tended to enjoy more freedom than those elsewhere.
What was the ratio of helots to citizens?
We might never find out, but what is amazing about helots is that there were seven of them per a single Spartan. You heard it right, seven slaves per a single free citizen.
Structure of Spartan society
Spartan society in the classical period was rigidly divided into several castes, each with assigned duties and privileges. The smallest of these, with the most power and freedom, was the Spartiate elite. Spartiates were exempt from manual labor, and controlled the government of the state.
Origins of the Spartan system
According to classical accounts, the Spartan constitution was the product of a great lawgiver, Lycurgus. He was said to have written the Spartan constitution late in the Archaic Period, most likely in the 770s BC. It is impossible to determine whether Lycurgus was an actual historical figure.
The lifestyle of the Spartiate class
During the 6th and 5th centuries BC, the Spartan system was at its height. In 555 BC, Sparta defeated Tegea and forced that state to become its ally. Around 544 BC, Sparta defeated Argos, establishing itself as the preeminent power in the Peloponnese.
Decline of the Spartiate class
In the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC, the Spartiate class gradually declined, along with Spartan military prowess. There were several reasons for this decline. First was attrition through the increasingly frequent wars that Sparta found itself embroiled in from the mid-5th century on.
Who were the Spartiates?
The Spartiates Proper were essentially the upper class of ancient Sparta, but their life while better than Perioeci and the helots, was not the same as the upper class of ancient Greece. A Spartan officer and Spartiate proper.
What were the full citizens of Sparta?
The full citizens of Sparta, the Spartiates Proper were few in number but high in status. Sitting at the very top of the social classes the full citizens were afforded many rights, but of course their life dedicated to physical perfection and training would be viewed by some as a punishment.
What was the lowest class in Sparta?
The lowest of the classes in ancient Sparta was the helot class. While we have lots of additional information on the helot class its worth explaining their place in the social rankings of the Spartan society. The Helots were thought to have originally come under the Spartan rule when the Spartans conquered the Messenians after ...
What was the social structure of Sparta?
The class and social structure of Sparta was very regimented similar to the way they treated everything, methodical and ordered. The Spartan people or the Lacedaemonians as they would also be known divided their social structure into three basic classes.
What was the class of ancient Sparta?
The class of ancient Sparta in summary. Sparta in many ways had had a similar but unique class structure to much of ancient Greece, but the range of their classes was much smaller. The lower end of the class, the helots, received what is thought to be better treatment than their peers in Greece, and the Spartiates Proper didn’t quite live ...
Where did the Perioeci live?
The Perioeci were afforded the luxury of free movement in Sparta and outside of the state also. Typically, the Perioeci would live on the fringes of the Spartan area and were free to own land, become hoplites and even join the navy.
Did Helots live in their own homes?
The helots were allowed to live in their own accommodation, allowed to keep some of their farming yields and allowed to have their own families, although mixing with the Spartiates proper was not allowed.
How many Spartans were at the Battle of Thermopylae?
It is true there were only 300 Spartan soldiers at the battle of Thermopylae but they were not alone, as the Spartans had formed an alliance with other Greek states. It is thought that the number of ancient Greeks was closer to 7,000.
What was the last stand of Sparta?
It is considered a heroic last stand by King Leonidas of Sparta and his tiny number of brave warriors against an army of a supposed million soldiers. The 2006 film 300 told the fantastical story of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, when a handful of Spartans fought the entirety of Persia’s armies for three days.
How long did Leonidas hold off the Persians?
Leonidas’ forces held off the Persians for two full days. The Spartans were brutal warriors, raised never to surrender or show weakness. When a Persian ambassador ordered the Greeks to lay down their weapons, Leonidas hit back with, “Come and take them”.
Where did Xerxes meet Sparta?
With this huge army, Xerxes I of Persia was intent on invading and conquering all of Greece, but King Leonidas of Sparta met him at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae, known as the Hot Gates, where Persia’s superior numbers counted for nothing.
How did Ephialtes betray his country?
A Greek called Ephialtes betrayed his country by revealing a path to the Persians that allowed them to outflank Leonidas. The Spartan King dismissed most of the army and formed a rear-guard of around 1,500 men, including his 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and a few hundred others, many of them slaves.
