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Ancient greek society roles of spartan woman
Spartan life for men and women
Spartan civilization
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The Spartans were a prominent ancient warrior society in Greek history. They were founded by Lacedaemon, a son of Zeus, in mythology. They named the city Sparta after his wife. There was no possible way for the Spartans to be successful for an extended period of time. The Spartans rose to military power around 650 BC and held power for over three hundred years. Spartan society was complex with the women having most of the freedoms men had. The Spartans were a warrior based society that was incredibly powerful during ancient times and the things that made them powerful to begin with, also led to their downfall in the end.
The Spartan’s were a highly developed warrior based society. They came into the major military power through their highly developed military strategy. The men were required to be a part of the military if they were to be future citizens. The Spartans had a highly revered group of men, who decided if a
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If an enemy tried to stand up to them , they would demolish them and take over their land. They kept many different people under their control. The Spartans were part of most major battles in the Greek area during this time period. They fought the Peloponnesian Wars (5th Century BCE) and Corinthian Wars(4th Century BCE), which they mostly dominated(Wilkes, 2015). They took part of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, where they only had a few hundred Spartans fighting alongside some Greeks, to destroy the Persian’s advances into their land. In fact, there was only three-hundred Spartan men in the battle led by Leonidas. They had a few thousand Greeks that were helping them. The Persian king, Xerxes, made this attack to revenge his father’s death in an earlier war against Greece. The battle took place in Thermopylae, which means Hot Gates, because that is where the Persians were advancing and it gave the Spartans soldier better ground through the very narrow
...litary end even the women in Sparta would have been affected by the military ways of life almost as much as the young men. From childhood they were being primed to raise a family, they were taught in the ways of mid wifery, learning the correct manner in teaching the future young men of Sparta and keeping themselves fit to produce fit children.
The Battle of Thermopylae was the first between the Greeks and Persians during the Persian invasion of 480 – 479BC. The Greek force was very small compared to the Persians but was determined to make a stand against the huge army of 300,000 Persians suggested by modern historians compared to Herodotus account of the army consisting of 1700 000 men. The Greeks chose to defend a narrow pass, or gap, between the mountains of central Greece and the sea, called Thermopylae.
The one thing we know for certain about Spartan society is that we don’t know much about it. Very few documents and artifacts about the Spartans have been discovered, but the ones that have tell us everything we know. Two of these works are Plutarch’s On Sparta and Xenophon’s Spartan Society. One of the main things these two accounts focused on was the Lycurgan reforms. Through their stories and writings Plutarch and Xenophon had both some similarities and differences when talking about the political, economic, militaristic, and social reforms. One of the main differences when comparing these two writings is how Plutarch gives a historical account of Spartan society and tries to keep objectivity
Things are now different in our American culture, but in the core of the test for your manhood it is inherently the same. For example, young men and women who join the US Military have to undergo their own “agoge” which would be boot camp/basic training, the most rigorous of these would be the United States Marine Corps Boot Camp, the Marines go through the most grueling time of their life during their agoge.Which in turn gives them the ultimate sense of pride in who they are because of the hardship Marines face during their agoge they tend to emulate the Spartans, not only for their warrior pride but in their moral values.Other things the Spartans valued, respect for elders and more senior military members have also transferred over to our culture in the form of modern military respect and
The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.
Like most Greek states of the Archaic and Classical Era, the Spartan city-state was a militaristic one. Sparta, however, took the idea to its extreme. In order to become the best soldiers, Spartan citizens had to dedicate their entire lives to the occupation. In fact to be a soldier – a hoplite – was the full infrastructure of Spartan society. While most Greek city-states looked down on labor, physical work, and even working for profit, they still had to work for a living, produce something. “The Spartans a...
Sparta was a key city state which was located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greek, which today is referred to as Laconia. Sparta is historically known for their strong military training, warfare tactics, and numerous victories. This city state included full citizens known as the Spartans, the helots, and the Perioeci. The men of Sparta had a main obligation to become strong warriors, fight with their brothers, and protect against any invasions or attacks. The helots where owned by city state of Sparta. They came from Messenia and were forced into slavery after being invaded by the Spartans in c.735. The helot’s responsibilities included farming, being of help if needed during battles, used as nurses, and for any other task that need to be accomplished. Unlike many traditional slaves, the Messenia’s were given certain leeway. They had
In the Ancient Greek polis of Sparta, the entire culture was built around war. The Character of a Man was based on how his performance and bravery in battle, and many Spartan laws were put in place to better educate, toughen, and train the Spartans for war. Young Spartans were only fed enough to survive with terrible food that was only eaten out of necessity, not out of desire to have the enjoyment of eating. “Those who underwent this training would be better able to continue working on an empty stomach” (Xen. Lac. Pol. 2.5) This reform helped create...
When you think of the Spartans, what is the first thing that you think about? Well most people think about how they centered their life's around warfare and conquest of other territories. The Spartans even had a so called military training and solicitation program known as the Agoge. Which was used to emphasize duty, disciple and perseverance to the young Spartan boys. Even though the women of Sparta could not participate in the military, doesn’t mean they wasn’t important. They were educated and were more privileged than most Greek women of that time (“Sparta”) This shows the importance and role of all men, women and children, and the kind of lifestyles they possessed.
Sparta was a strict military city-state. The people were Dorians who conquered Laconia. This region lies in the Peloponnesus, which lied in southern Greece. The invaders turned the conquered people into state owned slaves, called helots. Since the helots greatly outnumbered their rulers, Spartans established a strict and brutal system of control. The Spartan government had two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of all citizens approved all major decisions. From child-hood, a Spartan prepared to be part of the military. All newborn were examined and the healthy lived and the sickly were left to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers or mothers of soldiers to be healthy. At the age of seven, boys trained for a lifetime in the Spartan military. They moved to the barracks and endured brutal and extensive training.
The Battle of Thermopylae began in 480 BC and was a product of the Greeks attempt help defend the Ionians from the Persians. This irritated the Persian Emperor, Xerxes, because he thought of Greece as a small kingdom that had no place revolting against the Persian Empire. The Athenians sympathized with the Ionians because the Persians had also tried to invade Greece on multiple occasions. The Athenians provided feeble help to the Ionians and in retaliation the Persians struck at athens (23B). Xerxes was known to be irrational with his temper, and may have thought of his invasion as retaliation for the fact that his father, Darius the Great, was defeated at the Battle of Marathon against the Greeks. His temper was so great that at Hellas Point he had the water whipped because it would not obey him (E49). One of several Greek war leaders in the Battle of Thermopylae was Leonidas, the second born son of King Anaxandridas. It was not until his half brother was killed under controversial circumstances that Leonidas rose to power (G72). Apart from misconceptions spread by the popular film “300,” the three hundred Spartans did not go into battle alone, and were accompanied by over eight hundred allies. Nevertheless, the Persians still outnumbered the Greeks ten to one, which is why it is incredible that the Greeks were able to hold them for three days before eventually losing that specific battle. Despite losing the battle in terms of soldiers and defending greece, the battle of thermopylae was somewhat successful in that it was a demonstration of the courage of greek soldiers, impressive battle tactics,
The life of a Spartan male was a life of discipline, self-denial, and simplicity as the Spartans viewed themselves as the true inheritors of the Greek tradition. This key to understanding the Spartans. The ideology of Sparta was oriented around the state as the individual lived (and died) for the state. Their lives were designed to serve the state from their beginning to the age of sixty. The combination of this ideology, the education of Spartan males, and the disciplined maintenance of a standing army gave the Spartans the stability that had been threatened so dramatically in the Messenean revolt.
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an army led by King Leonidas of Sparta and the Persian Empire of Xerxes. Over the course of many days, during the second Persian attack of Greece the Persians had failed. The spartans had felt scared. It took place at the battle of Artemisium, in 478 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae. The Persian attack was a defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece. which had been finished. by the victory at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Xerxes had a huge army and navy, and sent it out to take over all of Greece. The Greek general Themistocles had said that the romans should block the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae, and also block the Persian navy at the beginning of thermopylae.
To look at this epistemologically, there is an understanding that almost every aspect involved in this culture was derived for the good of the polis. This seemed to be a very proud and arrogant people. A city with no walls, and in almost certainty, only natural born were allowed to earn citizenship. To even be called a Spartan meant years of fighting, service and status. Tyrtaeus states this argument best in the last line of his work. “Thus a man should endeavor to reach this high place of courage with all his heart, and, so trying, never be backward in war.” These writings are great resources for Spartan’s war enhanced values and societal customs, but lack in evidence of governmental affairs and religion.
Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave and kept under a close eye to prevent insurgence (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece). Additionally, Sparta had strict and trained soldiers that underwent intense physical exercising and instruction.