Spartan Society
This group made up the full Spartan citizens who had political rights and completed the agoge
Who were the Spartiates?
Spartan boys entered this state-run education and training system at age seven.
What was the agoge?
Sparta uniquely had this number of kings ruling simultaneously.
What is two?
Unlike in Athens, Spartan women were encouraged to participate in this type of physical activity.
What was athletic training?
This 5th-century BCE historian wrote about Sparta in his account of the Persian Wars.
Who was Herodotus?
These free but non-citizen inhabitants of Laconia and Messenia often served in the army but had no political power.
Who were the Perioikoi?
At age 20, Spartan males entered this phase of military service before gaining full citizenship at 30.
What was participation in the syssitia?
This council of 28 elders over age 60, plus the kings, proposed laws to the Assembly.
What was the Gerousia?
Spartan women could own and inherit this, giving them unusual economic power.
What was land/property?
This historian wrote Constitution of the Lacedaemonians.
Who was Xenophon?
This enslaved population, primarily from Messenia, worked the land and supported the Spartan economy.
Who were the Helots?
This secretive institution tested young Spartan men through survival and stealth.
What was the Krypteia?
These five annually elected officials held significant power, including supervising the kings.
Who were the Ephors?
This primary role of Spartan women was seen as vital to the state’s military strength.
What was producing strong warriors?
This concept refers to the idealised portrayal of Sparta by later writers.
What is the Spartan Mirage?
This annual declaration of war allowed the killing of helots without religious pollution.
What was the declaration of war by the Ephors?
This value, emphasizing endurance and self-discipline, was central to Spartan education.
What was discipline and endurance?
This Spartan assembly of male citizens voted on proposals but could not debate them.
What was the Apella?
This famous saying reflects Spartan mothers’ militaristic values.
What is 'With your shield or on it'?
Because Spartans left few records, historians rely heavily on this type of evidence.
What are external literary sources?
This constant fear shaped Spartan society and explains its militaristic structure.
What was fear of helot revolt?
Our understanding of the agoge relies heavily on this Athenian historian who admired Sparta.
Who was Xenophon?
This term describes Sparta’s system combining monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy.
What is a mixed constitution?
Much evidence about Spartan women comes from this biographer who wrote Life of Lycurgus.
Who was Plutarch?
This challenge refers to separating myth from historical reality, especially regarding Lycurgus.
What is the problem of limited and biased sources?