Significant Individuals
Who was credited with introducing the Great Rhetra (Sparta's constitution)?
Lycurgus
What is the term for the communal mess hall for Spartiates?
syssition
What were the two royal houses of Sparta?
the Agiads and Eurypontids
What material did Spartans use as currency after banning gold and silver and why was this specifically chosen?
iron bars chosen to make hoarding, theft, and trading difficult
What goddess was worshipped at the sanctuary where boys were whipped?
Artemis Orthia
This historian praised the Spartan system in Constitution of the Lakedaimonians
Xenophon
What class was the slave population in Sparta?
helots
What was the role of the ephors?
To supervise kings, control education, and hold judicial power.
What type of economy did Sparta discourage which led to the Perioikoi becoming the skilled craftsmen and traders of the region?
A market or commercial economy based on luxury.
What god had a colossal statue in Amyklai?
Apollo
Which philosopher claimed to have seen a discus with Lycurgus’ name at Olympia?
Aristotle
What is the Spartan assembly of adult male citizens?
the Apella or Ekklesia
What were the helots primarily responsible for?
agricultural labour and to accompany the army
What was the role of helots in the economic exchange?
To produce agricultural surplus which enabled full-time soldiering. Also included domestic labour.
Who in Spartan society received elaborate funerals
AND
What were the men often buried with?
Kings and women who died in childbirth
AND
Weapons, symbolic items, and animal sacrifices.
Who described the kings as both military leaders and chief priests?
Herodotus
What is the name for a Spartan citizen who had full citizenship and controlled the government?
Spartiate or homoioi
What is Eunomia?
Good order and governance, central to Spartan reform.
What is one archaeologically evident trade item produced by perioikoi?
AND
what was Sparta's main port?
What is pottery or bronze weaponry
AND
The port of Gytheion
What did Plutarch say about Spartan burials?
They were simple, but kings received grand funerals
Who introduced the term "Spartan Mirage" to describe biased portrayals of Sparta?
It is a modern scholarly concept, discussed by historians like Paul Cartledge
What group was tasked with secretly killing/ intimidating the helots to instill fear and control the helot population?
krypteia
Who judged marriages of heiresses and child adoptions?
the kings
What economic function did women hold?
Managing estates and inheriting land
Why did Spartan funerary practices align with their military values?
They focused on honour, simplicity, and duty rather than display.
Who claimed Spartan women were more free and powerful than in other Greek states?
Plutarch
What term means voice-vote used by the Ekklesia?
acclamation
What kind of training did the krypteia reinforce?
AND
What modern concerns exist about the historical interpretation of the krypteia?
Stealth, endurance, and obedience
AND
That it may be exaggerated or misunderstood due to limited and biased sources.
What was the main economic activity in Sparta
agriculture
What was the significance of burial near battlefields
It honoured those who died in service and tied them to Spartan land.
Which Athenian historian was generally hostile toward Sparta?
Thucydides
What term refers to the idealised version of Sparta created by non-Spartan writers?
Spartan Mirage
What was the role of syssitia in social equality
To eliminate luxury and foster unity
What are kleroi
Allotments of land given to Spartiates.
What role did myths like those of the Dioscuri play in Spartan religion?
They reinforced Spartan values of brotherhood and military service
Which historian doubted Lycurgus’ existence but believed the reforms attributed to him were real?
W.G. Forrest
What was the council of elders in Sparta, which consisted of 28 men and the 2 kings?
Gerousia
According to Plutarch, why did Lycurgus redistribute land?
To address growing inequality and create equality among Spartiates.
How did economic roles differ between helots and perioikoi?
Helots were enslaved labourers; perioikoi were free craftsmen and traders.
What are the 3 main religious festivals? What did each festival celebrate?
Gymnopaedia - ' festival of the unarmed boys' - physical strength, choral performances & pain endurance
Karneia - dedicated to Apollo Karneios. signified the transition into manhood
Hyakinthia - mourning for Hyacinthus (Apollo's young lover) to a transition of a celebration of Apollo