History of the Spartans

 

 

Sparta is the capital of the Laconia region of the Peloponnese and lies in the Eurotas River valley under the Eastern foothills of Mount Taygetos and was one of the most prominent city-states in ancient Greece from the Mycenaean bronze age period through to the Hellenistic period.

Legend has it that Sparta was founded by Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and the nymph Taygete, who married Sparta, daughter of the mythical king Eurotas, hence the city’s name.

Famous for its fearless warriors, Sparta was the leader of the Hellenic forces during the Greco-Persian Wars of 480 BC and arch enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (from which it emerged victorious), however, the city underwent a decline after the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC.

 

 

By the 13th century raids by roaming tribes caused the inhabitants of Sparta to leave their exposed city and the political and cultural center relocated to the Byzantine settlement of Mystras, a fortified town, with a castle for protection, 4 km to the west.

Although ancient Sparta (named Lacedaemonia), continued to exist only a few thousand people lived among the ruins.

The modern city was built, in neo-classical style, on the site of ancient Sparta in 1834.

 

The Byzantine City of Mystras

 

 

Mystras is a small town situated on Mount Taygetos.
Here a Byzantine fortress and the palace of Prince William II Villehardouin (a grand-nephew of the Fourth Crusade historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin) tower above Sparta.

Mystras, often mistaken by travellers for ancient Sparta, was abandoned in the 1830s and the new town of Sparta was built nearby under the orders of King Otto.

 

 

The Venetians occupied Mystras from 1687 to 1715 but otherwise the Ottomans held it until the beginning of the Greek War of Independence (1821).

 In 1989 the ruins, including the fortress, palace, churches and monasteries, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

The Ancient City of Sparta:

The making of Spartan warriors

 

 

By the fifth century, Sparta, a militarist state, was the most powerful nation in all of Greece and was always ruled by two kings so that in times of war, when one king was away fighting, the other could stay behind to keep his subjects in order.

Soon after birth male babies of Sparta were bathed in wine, if they survived this, they were taken by their fathers to the elders who decided if the child was strong enough to become a Spartan.

If there were any visible defects, or the child looked weak, it was taken to mount Taygetos and left to die.

 

 

Children, until the age of seven, were schooled at home and after that were educated by the state, the emphasis being on athletics and physical fitness.

Using this form of education (in ancient Greece named the “Agoge” system), said to have been devised by Lycurgus, the legendary ancient Greek lawgiver, whom the ancient Spartans honoured as a god, produced the most elite of ancient Greek warriors.

 

 

Women of Sparta

 

 

 Spartan women, some of the most unique women of ancient Greece, had more freedom and were usually better educated in ancient Greece than women elsewhere in the Greek world, the thought being, that an educated women would produce strong, intelligent children.

(Spartan girls, unlike boys, were raised at home with their mothers while undergoing their education)

Unlike their Athenian counterparts Spartan women could legally own and inherit property.

Sparta was the only place in ancient Greece where unmarried girls regularly took part in sports.

In his “Constitution of the Spartans”, Xenophon of Athens (c 430 – 355 B.C.), Greek military leader, philosopher and historian, tells us that Lycurgus ordered women to exercise as much as men and to help them along created  athletic competitions for women.

These competitions included running and wrestling, throwing the javelin and discus and boxing.

They also learned to ride, in fact, the first ever female champion of the ancient Olympic Games was Cynisca, a Spartan princess born in Sparta in 442 BC.

 

 

Cynisca, took part in the Olympic Games of 396 BC and again in 392 BC, in the four horse chariot race, not as a driver but as a breeder and trainer of horses.

She won both times.

The most important role of adult women in Sparta was to bear healthy children and this is probably the reason for the emphasis on physical fitness for Spartan women, the logic being that physically stronger women would bear stronger and healthier children.

 

 

When Spartan men left for war their wives and mothers presented them with a shield whist at the same time saying to them:”

“H τάν ή Επί τας”  (He tan, he epi tas”)

This translates as  “with this or upon this“, meaning either you return from war victoriously carrying your shield, or are carried home upon your shield dead but honoured.

 

King Leonidas of Sparta

 

 

Leonidas  (540 BC –  480 BC), king of the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta  was the son of king Anaxandridas II and the 17th king of the Agiad dynasty.

Leonidas I was declared King in c. 489 BC, succeeding his half-brother king Cleomenes I.

He ruled together with king Leotychidas until his death in 480 BC, when he was succeeded by his son, Pleistarchus.

In 480, King Leonidas of Sparta (540 BC – 480 BC), led his three hundred warriors against the Persians at The Battle of Thermopyle and when Xerxes (King of the Persians) demanded the Greeks surrender their arms, Leonidas replied:

“Μολών Λαβέ (“Come and get them”)

Although the Greeks were in serious trouble and finally lost the battle, after holding back the Persians for three days, there was no way they were about to surrender.

The determination of the Greeks, delayed the Persians’ progress to Athens, giving the Greek forces time to evacuate Athens and head for the island of Salamis, where they defeated the Persians.

Against all odds the Spartans had triumphed and became a legend.

 

 

Even today, people hailing from Sparta, Mani and surrounding regions, still maintain the reputation of being wild, strong and fearless.

 

Modern – Day Sparta

 

 

The modern city of Sparta, built upon the site of ancient Sparta, is located on the eastern foothills of Mount Taygetos in the Evrotas River valley and is the capital of the prefecture of Laconia.

The city dates back to 1834 when, after the Greek War of Independence, following a decree of King Otto, the city’s urban plan was drawn up by the Bavarian architect Stauffert using the “Hippodamian Plan ” or “Grid Plan”, a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.

 

 

The large central square is dominated by the most impressive Neo-classical building in Sparta, the City Hall, built in 1909.