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119-430: Gytheio was the seaport of Ancient Sparta , which lies approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of it. It is the site of ancient Cranae , a tiny island where, according to the myth, Paris and Helen spent their first night together before departing for Troy . Gytheio used to be an important port until it was destroyed in 4th century AD, possibly by an earthquake , though its strategic location continued to give it

238-463: A free city under Roman rule, some of the institutions of Lycurgus were restored, and the city became a tourist attraction for the Roman elite who came to observe exotic Spartan customs. In 214 AD, Roman emperor Caracalla , in his preparation for his campaign against Parthia , recruited a 500-man Spartan cohort ( lokhos ). Herodian described this unit as a phalanx , implying it fought like

357-530: A "place in Lacedaemonia" named after Agis. The actual transition may be captured by Isidore of Seville 's Etymologiae (7th century AD), an etymological dictionary . Isidore relied heavily on Orosius ' Historiarum Adversum Paganos (5th century AD) and Eusebius of Caesarea 's Chronicon (early 5th century AD), as did Orosius. The latter defines Sparta to be Lacedaemonia Civitas , but Isidore defines Lacedaemonia as founded by Lacedaemon, son of Semele, which

476-585: A Greek alliance against the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. The decisive Greek victory at Plataea put an end to the Greco-Persian War along with Persian ambitions to expand into Europe. Even though this war was won by a pan-Greek army, credit was given to Sparta, who besides providing the leading forces at Thermopylae and Plataea, had been the de facto leader of the entire Greek expedition. In 464 BC,

595-482: A central ideological pillar of the old Spartan social system and the chief reason for objection to Spartan expansion by the surrounding poleis (city-states). Guarding against helot revolt had been, until this time, the central concern of Spartan foreign policy, and the need to protect against internal revolt had limited adventurism abroad; Nabis's action abolished this concern with a single stroke. His freed helots received land from him and were wedded to wealthy wives of

714-480: A considerable number of votive offerings. The city-wall , built in successive stages from the 4th to the 2nd century, was traced for a great part of its circuit, which measured 48 stades or nearly 10 km (6 miles) (Polyb. 1X. 21). The late Roman wall enclosing the acropolis, part of which probably dates from the years following the Gothic raid of 262 AD, was also investigated. Besides the actual buildings discovered,

833-487: A council of elders known as the Gerousia . The Gerousia consisted of 28 elders over the age of 60, elected for life and usually part of the royal households, and the two kings. High state decisions were discussed by this council, who could then propose policies to the damos , the collective body of Spartan citizenry, who would select one of the alternatives by vote . Roman-Spartan War The Laconian War of 195 BC

952-462: A double effect on Greek thought: through the reality, and through the myth.... The reality enabled the Spartans to defeat Athens in war; the myth influenced Plato's political theory, and that of countless subsequent writers.... [The] ideals that it favors had a great part in framing the doctrines of Rousseau , Nietzsche , and National Socialism . The ancient Greeks used one of three words to refer to

1071-454: A long period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages , when many of its citizens moved to Mystras . Modern Sparta is the capital of the southern Greek region of Laconia and a center for processing citrus and olives. Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution , which were supposedly introduced by the semi-mythical legislator Lycurgus . His laws configured

1190-457: A message to Sparta saying "If I invade Laconia, I shall turn you out.", the Spartans responded with the single, terse reply: αἴκα , "if". When Philip created the League of Corinth on the pretext of unifying Greece against Persia, the Spartans chose not to join, since they had no interest in joining a pan-Greek expedition unless it were under Spartan leadership. Thus, upon defeating the Persians at

1309-577: A number of points were situated and mapped in a general study of Spartan topography, based upon the description of Pausanias . In terms of domestic archaeology, little is known about Spartan houses and villages before the Archaic period, but the best evidence comes from excavations at Nichoria in Messenia where postholes have been found. These villages were open and consisted of small and simple houses built with stone foundations and clay walls. The Menelaion

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1428-420: A peace treaty with Rome, but in 201 BC he attacked the territory of Messene , at that time an ally of both parties, which Sparta had ruled until the mid 4th century BC. The Spartans captured Messene but were soon forced to abandon it when the army of Megalopolis arrived under the command of Philopoemen . Later, they were decisively defeated at Tegea and Nabis was forced to check his expansionist ambitions for

1547-484: A regular siege to the city but to instead try and storm it. The Spartans initially held out against the allies, but their resistance was hampered by the fact that the Romans' large shields made missile attacks futile. The Romans launched an assault on Sparta and took the walls, but their advance was initially impeded by the narrowness of the roads in the city's outskirts. However, the streets grew wider as they advanced into

1666-647: A result of the so-called Lycurgan Reforms. Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, chapter 1 In the Second Messenian War , Sparta established itself as a local power in the Peloponnesus and the rest of Greece. During the following centuries, Sparta's reputation as a land-fighting force was unequalled. At its peak around 500 BC, Sparta had some 20,000–35,000 citizens, plus numerous helots and perioikoi. The likely total of 40,000–50,000 made Sparta one of

1785-577: A result of the war, Sparta lost its position as a major power in Greece. Subsequent Spartan attempts to recover the losses failed and Nabis , the last sovereign ruler, was eventually murdered. Soon after, Sparta was forcibly made a member of its former rival, the Achaean League, ending several centuries of fierce political independence. After the death of the Spartan regent Machanidas in 207 BC in battle against

1904-491: A result, the fielding of a respectable hoplite army without mercenaries or freed helots was difficult. Cleomenes increased the number of full citizens again and made the Spartan army operate with an increased reliance on more lightly armored phalangites of the Macedonian style. However, many of these restored citizens were killed in the Battle of Sellasia and Nabis's politics drove the remainder of them into exile. In consequence,

2023-454: A revolution against the Spartan garrison. With a few followers, he stood in the city's agora and shouted to his fellow Argives, exhorting them to rise in revolt. However, no mass uprising materialized and Damocles and most of his followers were surrounded and killed by the Spartan garrison. A few survivors from Damocles's group escaped from the city and went to Flamininus's camp. They suggested to Flamininus that, if he moved his camp closer to

2142-475: A second attempt his forces were ambushed by Nabis's but nevertheless he managed to gain a victory. The Achaeans now could ravage Laconia for thirty days unopposed while the Spartan troops remained in their fortified city. Plans for capturing Sparta itself had been laid by the time the Roman envoy Flamininus arrived and convinced the Achaean strategus Philopoemen to spare it. For the time being Nabis decided to accept

2261-725: A significant role in Maniot history . Now the seat of the municipality of East Mani, Gytheio is the largest and most important town in Mani . Gytheio is located in the northeastern corner of the Mani Peninsula and lies on the northwestern end of the Laconian Gulf . Gytheio was built on a hill called Koumaros or Laryssio in one of the most fertile areas in Mani, near the mouth of the Gythium River , which

2380-592: A variant form by Josephus . Jewish historian Uriel Rappaport notes that the relationship between the Jews and the Spartans expressed in this correspondence has "intrigued many scholars, and various explanations have been suggested for the problems raised ... including the historicity of the Jewish leader and high priest Jonathan 's letter to the Spartans, the authenticity of the letter of Arius to Onias, cited in Jonathan's letter, and

2499-402: A vassal harbor, Gytheio , on the Laconian Gulf . Lacedaemon (Greek: Λακεδαίμων ) was a mythical king of Laconia. The son of Zeus by the nymph Taygete , he married Sparta , the daughter of Eurotas , by whom he became the father of Amyclas , Eurydice , and Asine. As king, he named his country after himself and the city after his wife. He was believed to have built the sanctuary of

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2618-520: A violent earthquake occurred along the Sparta faultline destroying much of what was Sparta and many other city-states in ancient Greece. This earthquake is marked by scholars as one of the key events that led to the First Peloponnesian War . In later Classical times, Sparta along with Athens , Thebes , and Persia were the main powers fighting for supremacy in the northeastern Mediterranean. In

2737-635: A week. It is the See of the Diocese of Gytheion and Oitylo , headed by a Metropolitan bishop of the Orthodox Church of Greece . Gytheio is the largest and most important town in Mani. Most of the ruins of ancient Gythium are now submerged in the Laconian Gulf. Some walls' remains can be seen today on the sandy beach of Valtaki and in the shallow waters, where the well known Dimitrios shipwreck lies stranded. It

2856-519: Is a shrine associated with Menelaus , located east of Sparta, by the river Eurotas, on the hill Profitis Ilias ( Coordinates : 37°03′57″N 22°27′13″E  /  37.0659°N 22.4536°E  / 37.0659; 22.4536 ). Built around the early 8th century BC, the Spartans believed it had been the former residence of Menelaus. In 1970, the British School in Athens started excavations around

2975-471: Is also the capital of the municipality of Gytheio. The province of Gytheio ( Greek : Επαρχία Γυθείου ) was one of the provinces of the Laconia Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal units Gytheio and East Mani . It was abolished in 2006. Gytheio is twinned with: ^   Roman Gythium:  Pausanias has left us a description of the town as it existed in

3094-513: Is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Approximately 5 km (3 mi) southwest is a passageway to the deeper Mani, historically guarded by Castle Passavas (now in ruins), which towers over the site of ancient Las . Further west is the historic city of Areopoli and the Caves of Diros , which are important tourist attractions. Gytheio is only 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Sparti , connected by Greek National Road 39 . The town center

3213-468: Is consistent with Eusebius' explanation. There is a rare use, perhaps the earliest of "Lacedaemonia", in Diodorus Siculus ' The Library of History, but probably with Χώρα (‘’chōra’’, "country") suppressed. Lakedaimona was until 2006 the name of a province in the modern Greek prefecture of Laconia . Sparta is located in the region of Laconia, in the south-eastern Peloponnese . Ancient Sparta

3332-423: Is described as "the country of lovely women", an epithet for people. The residents of Sparta were often called Lacedaemonians. This epithet utilized the plural of the adjective Lacedaemonius (Greek: Λακεδαιμόνιοι ; Latin: Lacedaemonii , but also Lacedaemones ). The ancients sometimes used a back-formation , referring to the land of Lacedaemon as Lacedaemonian country . As most words for "country" were feminine,

3451-497: Is difficult to reconstruct because the literary evidence was written far later than the events it describes and is distorted by oral tradition. The earliest certain evidence of human settlement in the region of Sparta consists of pottery dating from the Middle Neolithic period, found in the vicinity of Kouphovouno some two kilometres (1.2 miles) south-southwest of Sparta. This civilization seems to have fallen into decline by

3570-461: Is situated around the port. Pine trees are situated in the west and rocky mountains in the north. The reputed founders of ancient Gythium were Heracles and Apollo , who frequently appear on its coins or in other legends, and Castor and Pollux : the former of these names may point to the influence of Phoenician traders from Tyre , who, we know, visited the Laconian shores at a very early period. It

3689-486: Is thought that Gytheio may have been the center of their purple dye trade because the Laconian Gulf had a plentiful source of murex . In classical times it was a community of Perioeci , politically dependent on Sparta, though doubtless with a municipal life of its own. In 455 BC, during the First Peloponnesian War , it was burned by the Athenian admiral Tolmides who besieged the city with 50 ships and 4,000 hoplites . It

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3808-458: Is unclear in Herodotus' text and has been interpreted in a number of ways). Aristotle describes the kingship at Sparta as "a kind of unlimited and perpetual generalship" (Pol. iii. 1285a), while Isocrates refers to the Spartans as "subject to an oligarchy at home, to a kingship on campaign" (iii. 24). Civil and criminal cases were decided by a group of officials known as the ephors , as well as

3927-590: Is usually dry and has been nicknamed Xerias "dry river"; today, most of the Xerias is covered by Ermou Avenue. Directly north and visible from the harbor is Profitis Ilias, the ultra-prominent peak of Taygetus , the mountain range whose spine juts southward into the Mediterranean Sea and forms the Mani Peninsula. On the ridgeline running south from Profitis Ilias sits the Monastery of Panayia Yiatrissa overlooking

4046-943: The Arcadian Achaeans to the northwest. The evidence suggests that Sparta, relatively inaccessible because of the topography of the Taygetan plain, was secure from early on: it was never fortified. Nothing distinctive in the archaeology of the Eurotas River Valley identifies the Dorians or the Dorian Spartan state. The prehistory of the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and the Dark Age (the Early Iron Age) at this moment must be treated apart from

4165-656: The Battle of the Granicus , Alexander the Great sent to Athens 300 suits of Persian armour with the following inscription: "Alexander, son of Philip, and all the Greeks except the Spartans, give these offerings taken from the foreigners who live in Asia". Sparta continued to be one of the Peloponesian powers until its eventual loss of independence in 192 BC. During Alexander's campaigns in the east,

4284-591: The Charites , which stood between Sparta and Amyclae , and to have given to those divinities the names of Cleta and Phaenna . A shrine was erected to him in the neighborhood of Therapne . Tyrtaeus , an archaic era Spartan writer, is the earliest source to connect the origin myth of the Spartans to the lineage of the hero Heracles ; later authors, such as Diodorus Siculus , Herodotus, and Apollodorus , also made mention of Spartans understanding themselves to be descendants of Heracles. Thucydides wrote: Suppose

4403-578: The Corinthian War , Sparta faced a coalition of the leading Greek states: Thebes , Athens , Corinth , and Argos . The alliance was initially backed by Persia, which feared further Spartan expansion into Asia. Sparta achieved a series of land victories, but many of her ships were destroyed at the Battle of Cnidus by a Greek-Phoenician mercenary fleet that Persia had provided to Athens. The event severely damaged Sparta's naval power but did not end its aspirations of invading further into Persia, until Conon

4522-520: The Mycenaean Greek citadel at Therapne , in contrast to the lower town of Sparta. This term could be used synonymously with Sparta, but typically it denoted the terrain in which the city was located. In Homer it is typically combined with epithets of the countryside: wide, lovely, shining and most often hollow and broken (full of ravines), suggesting the Eurotas Valley . "Sparta" on the other hand

4641-629: The Nemean Games in Argos and proclaimed the polis free. The Argives immediately decided to rejoin the Achaean League. Flamininus also separated all coastal cities of Laconia from Spartan rule and placed them under Achean protection. The remains of Sparta's fleet were put under custody of these coastal cities. Nabis also had to withdraw his garrisons from Cretan cities and revoke several social and economic reforms that had strengthened Sparta's military capabilities. The Romans did not, however, remove Nabis from

4760-527: The status quo in return and surrender under the same conditions as the last treaty. Since Sparta's army was now weakened, Nabis appealed to the Aetolians for help. They sent to Sparta 1,000 cavalry under the command of Alexamenus . The story goes that while Nabis was observing his army's drills, the Aetolian commander Alexamenus charged at him and killed him with his lance. Afterwards the Aetolian troops seized

4879-516: The Achaean League, Nabis overthrew the reigning king Pelops with the backing of a mercenary army and placed himself on the throne, claiming descent from the Eurypontid king Demaratus . By then, the traditional constitution of Lycurgus had already lost its meaning and Sparta was dominated by a group of its former mercenaries. Polybius described Nabis's force as "a crowd of murderers, burglars, cutpurses and highwaymen". In 205 BC, Nabis signed

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4998-483: The Aetolian League and Thessaly, both of which wanted the Romans to leave Greece immediately. These two states offered to deal with Nabis themselves, but they met opposition from the Achaean League, which objected to any possible growth in the Aetolian League's power. The modern historian Erich Gruen has suggested that the Romans may have used the war as an excuse to station a few legions in Greece in order to prevent

5117-583: The Athenian ravaged the Spartan coastline and provoked the old Spartan fear of a helot revolt. After a few more years of fighting, in 387 BC the Peace of Antalcidas was established, according to which all Greek cities of Ionia would return to Persian control, and Persia's Asian border would be free of the Spartan threat. The effects of the war were to reaffirm Persia's ability to interfere successfully in Greek politics and to affirm Sparta's weakened hegemonic position in

5236-404: The Greek political system. Sparta entered its long-term decline after a severe military defeat to Epaminondas of Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra . This was the first time that a full strength Spartan army lost a land battle. As Spartan citizenship was inherited by blood, Sparta increasingly faced a helot population that vastly outnumbered its citizens. The alarming decline of Spartan citizens

5355-547: The League and requesting Roman tutelage. The Romans, who wanted to see division in the League, did nothing about the situation. In 188, Philopoemen entered northern Laconia with an army and the Spartan exiles who insisted on returning to Sparta. He first massacred eighty anti-Achaeans at Compasium, and then had the wall that Nabis built around Sparta demolished. Philopoemen then restored the exiles and abolished Spartan law, introducing Achaean law in its place. Thus ended Sparta's role as

5474-462: The Menelaion in an attempt to locate Mycenaean remains in the area. Among other findings, they uncovered the remains of two Mycenaean mansions and found the first offerings dedicated to Helen and Menelaus. These mansions were destroyed by earthquake and fire, and archaeologists consider them the possible palace of Menelaus himself. Excavations made from the early 1990s to the present suggest that

5593-591: The Peloponnese, Flamininus joined his force with that of the Achaean commander, Aristaenos, who had 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry in Cleonae. Together, they advanced towards Argos. Nabis had appointed his brother-in-law, the Argive Pythagoras, as commander of his garrison of 15,000 men in Argos. As the Romans and the Achaean League were advancing towards the city, a young Argive named Damocles attempted to stir up

5712-657: The Persian invasion from their deposed king Demaratus , which prompted them to consult the Delphic oracle. According to Herodotus, the Pythia proclaimed that either one of the kings of Sparta had to die or Sparta would be destroyed. This prophecy was fulfilled after king Leonidas died in the battle. The superior weaponry, strategy, and bronze armour of the Greek hoplites and their phalanx fighting formation again proved their worth one year later when Sparta assembled its full strength and led

5831-417: The Roman army. Philip was later decisively defeated by the Romans at the battle of Cynoscephalae , but Sparta remained in control of Argos. After the war, the Roman army did not withdraw from Greece, but instead sent garrisons to various strategic locations across Greece to secure its interests. In return for his assistance in the war, Rome accepted Nabis's possession of the polis of Argos. While Nabis

5950-513: The Roman fleet to arrive, the Achaean army and navy headed towards Gythium under the command of Philopoemen. The Achaean fleet was defeated by the recently constructed Spartan fleet, with the Achean flagship falling to pieces in the first ramming attack. On land as well the Achaeans could not defeat the Spartan forces outside Gythium and Philopoemen retreated to Tegea. When Philopoemen reentered Laconia for

6069-491: The Roman intervention in Greek affairs, incited Nabis to retake his former territories and position among the Greek powers. By 192, Nabis who had built a new fleet and strengthened his army, besieged Gythium. The Achaeans responded by sending an envoy to Rome with a request for help. In response the Senate sent the praetor Atilius with a navy to defeat Nabis's navy as well as an embassy headed by Flamininus. Instead of waiting for

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6188-646: The Roman period. Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece . In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon ( Λακεδαίμων , Lakedaímōn ), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in the Eurotas valley of Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese . Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece. Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta

6307-514: The Romans left Greece. In 195 BC, Titus Quinctius Flamininus, the Roman commander in Greece, called a council of the Greek states at Corinth to discuss whether or not to declare war on Nabis. Among the states whose delegates participated were the Aetolian League , Macedon , Rome , Pergamum , Rhodes , Thessaly and the Achaean League . All the states represented favored war, except for

6426-418: The Spartan society to maximize military proficiency at all costs, focusing all social institutions on military training and physical development. The inhabitants of Sparta were stratified as Spartiates (citizens with full rights), mothakes (free non-Spartiate people descended from Spartans), perioikoi (free non-Spartiates), and helots (state-owned enslaved non-Spartan locals). Spartiate men underwent

6545-406: The Spartan city-state and its location. First, "Sparta" refers primarily to the main cluster of settlements in the valley of the Eurotas River . The second word, "Lacedaemon" ( Λακεδαίμων ), was often used as an adjective and is the name referenced in the works of Homer and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides . The third term, "Laconice" ( Λακωνική ), referred to the immediate area around

6664-618: The Spartan king Agis III sent a force to Crete in 333 BC to secure the island for the Persian interest. Agis next took command of allied Greek forces against Macedon, gaining early successes, before laying siege to Megalopolis in 331 BC. A large Macedonian army under general Antipater marched to its relief and defeated the Spartan-led force in a pitched battle. More than 5,300 of the Spartans and their allies were killed in battle, and 3,500 of Antipater's troops. Agis, now wounded and unable to stand, ordered his men to leave him behind to face

6783-406: The Spartan naval base at Gythium , and soon invested and besieged Sparta itself. Eventually, negotiations led to peace on Rome's terms, under which Argos and the coastal towns of Laconia were separated from Sparta and the Spartans were compelled to pay a war indemnity to Rome over the next eight years. Argos joined the Achaean League, and the Laconian towns were placed under Achaean protection. As

6902-429: The Spartan throne. Even though Sparta was a landlocked and effectively powerless state, the Romans wanted an independent Sparta to act as a counterweight against the growing Achaean League. Nabis's allegiance was secured by the fact that he had to surrender five hostages, amongst them his son, Armenas . The Romans did not restore the exiles, wishing to avoid internal strife in Sparta. They did, however, allow any woman who

7021-479: The Spartans and the Aetolian League from joining the Seleucid King Antiochus III if he invaded Greece. Flamininus first sent an envoy to Sparta, demanding that Nabis either surrender Argos to the Achaean League or face war with Rome and her Greek allies. Nabis refused to comply with Flamininus's ultimatum, so 40,000 Roman soldiers and their Greek allies advanced towards the Peloponnese. Entering

7140-539: The Spartans: Areus king of the Lacedemonians to Onias the high priest, greeting: It is found in writing, that the Lacedemonians and Jews are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham : Now therefore, since this is come to our knowledge, ye shall do well to write unto us of your prosperity. We do write back again to you, that your cattle and goods are ours, and ours are yours. The letters are reproduced in

7259-593: The abutting states of the Aegean Sea and the Roman Republic. Nabis's rule was largely based on his social reforms and the rebuilding of Sparta's armed forces. The military of Lacedaemon , Sparta, had traditionally been based on levies of full citizens and perioeci (one of the free non-citizen groups of Lacedaemon) supported by lightly armed helots. From several thousands in the times of the Greco-Persian Wars ,

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7378-465: The adjective was in the feminine: Lacedaemonia ( Λακεδαιμονία , Lakedaimonia ). Eventually, the adjective came to be used alone. "Lacedaemonia" was not in general use during the classical period and before. It does occur in Greek as an equivalent of Laconia and Messenia during the Roman and early Byzantine periods, mostly in ethnographers and lexica of place names. For example, Hesychius of Alexandria 's Lexicon (5th century AD) defines Agiadae as

7497-507: The advancing Macedonian army so that he could buy them time to retreat. On his knees, the Spartan king slew several enemy soldiers before being finally killed by a javelin. Alexander was merciful, and he only forced the Spartans to join the League of Corinth, which they had previously refused. During the Punic Wars , Sparta was an ally of the Roman Republic . Spartan political independence

7616-416: The allies into a state of confusion, but the Spartans retreated back to the city when the main body of legionary cohorts arrived. As the Romans marched past Sparta on their way to Mount Menelaus , Nabis's mercenaries attacked the allies' rear. Appius Claudius, commander of the rearguard, rallied his troops and forced the mercenaries to retreat behind the city's walls, inflicting heavy casualties on them in

7735-546: The allies that several fleets had arrived off the Laconian shore: a Roman fleet under Lucius Quinctius with forty ships; a Rhodian fleet with eighteen ships, led by Sosilas, hoping that the defeat of Nabis would stop the pirates that plagued their ships; and a Pergamene fleet of forty ships under King Eumenes II of Pergamum , who hoped to gain more favor with Rome and Roman support if Antiochus invaded. Nabis drafted 10,000 citizens into his army and hired 3,000 additional mercenaries. Nabis's Cretan allies , who profited from

7854-521: The area around the Menelaion in the southern part of the Eurotas valley seems to have been the center of Mycenaean Laconia . The Mycenaean settlement was roughly triangular in shape, with its apex pointed towards the north. Its area was approximately equal to that of the "newer" Sparta, but denudation has wreaked havoc with its buildings and nothing is left of its original structures save for ruined foundations and broken potsherds . The prehistory of Sparta

7973-467: The army marched to Tegea in Arcadia . The next day, Flamininus advanced to Caryae, where he waited for allied auxiliaries to reinforce him. These forces soon arrived and joined the Romans; they consisted of a contingent of Spartan exiles led by Agesipolis, the legitimate King of Sparta, who had been overthrown by the first Tyrant of Sparta, Lycurgus, twenty years earlier, and 1,500 Macedonians with 400 Thessalian cavalry sent by Philip. News also reached

8092-438: The attack was renewed later, the Spartans managed to hold off the Roman assaults for three days before Nabis, seeing that the situation was hopeless, decided to send Pythagoras with an offer of surrender. At first, Flaminius refused to see him, but when Pythagoras came to the Roman camp a second time Flamininus accepted the surrender, with the conditions of the treaty being the same as Flamininus had previously proposed. The treaty

8211-425: The city gates, the Argives would revolt against the Spartans. The Roman commander sent his light infantry and cavalry to find a position for the new camp. Upon spotting the small group of Roman soldiers, a group of Spartan troops sallied forth from the gates and skirmished with the Romans about 300 paces from the city walls. The Romans forced the Spartans to retreat back into the city. Flamininus moved his camp to

8330-413: The city of Sparta to be deserted, and nothing left but the temples and the ground-plan, distant ages would be very unwilling to believe that the power of the Lacedaemonians was at all equal to their fame. Their city is not built continuously, and has no splendid temples or other edifices; it rather resembles a group of villages, like the ancient towns of Hellas, and would therefore make a poor show. Until

8449-404: The city's Acropolis (west of the theatre) were discovered by the archeologist Dimitris Skias in 1891. Some time in the 4th century AD, the city was destroyed. What happened to Gythium is not recorded but it is thought to have been either sacked by Alaric and the Visigoths , pillaged by the Slavs or destroyed by the massive earthquake that struck the area in 375 AD. After the earthquake Gythium

8568-410: The city's center, and the Spartans were forced further and further back. Nabis, seeing his defenses collapsing, tried to flee, but Pythagoras rallied the soldiers and ordered them to set fire to the buildings closest to the walls. Burning debris was thrown on the coalition's soldiers entering the city, causing many casualties. Observing this, Flamininus ordered his forces to withdraw to their base. When

8687-558: The city-state maintained its political independence until its forced integration into the Achaean League in 192 BC. The city nevertheless recovered much autonomy after the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC and prospered during the Roman Empire , as its antiquarian customs attracted many Roman tourists. However, Sparta was sacked in 396 AD by the Visigothic king Alaric , and underwent

8806-508: The city. Under Nabis , Gythium became a major naval arsenal and port. During the Roman-Spartan War , Gythium was captured after a lengthy siege. After the war finished, Gythium was made part of the Union of Free Laconians under Achean protection. Nabis recaptured Gythium three years and the Spartan fleet defeated the Achean fleet outside of Gythium. Gythium was liberated by a Roman fleet under

8925-430: The coastal Laconian cities autonomy and give them his fleet; pay a war indemnity over the next eight years and not enter into alliances with any Cretan cities. Nabis rejected this offer, claiming that he had enough supplies to withstand a siege. Flamininus therefore led his force of 50,000 men to Sparta and, after defeating the Spartans in a battle outside the city, began investing the city. Flamininus resolved not to lay

9044-453: The command of Aulus Atilius Serranus . Subsequently, Gythium formed the most important of the Union of Free Laconians , a group of twenty-four, later eighteen, communities leagued together to maintain their autonomy against Sparta and declared free by Caesar Augustus . The highest officer of the confederacy was the general, who was assisted by a treasurer ( rauias ), while the chief magistrates of

9163-631: The course of the Peloponnesian War , Sparta, a traditional land power, acquired a navy which managed to overpower the previously dominant flotilla of Athens, ending the Athenian Empire . At the peak of its power in the early 4th century BC, Sparta had subdued many of the main Greek states and even invaded the Persian provinces in Anatolia (modern day Turkey), a period known as the Spartan hegemony . During

9282-605: The early 20th century, the chief ancient buildings at Sparta were the theatre , of which, however, little showed above ground except portions of the retaining walls ; the so-called Tomb of Leonidas , a quadrangular building, perhaps a temple, constructed of immense blocks of stone and containing two chambers; the foundation of an ancient bridge over the Eurotas; the ruins of a circular structure; some remains of late Roman fortifications ; several brick buildings and mosaic pavements. The remaining archaeological wealth consisted of inscriptions, sculptures, and other objects collected in

9401-431: The exiled Spartan demos (all former full citizens) and widows of the rich elite, whose husbands had been killed at his orders. The Achaean League was upset that one of its members had remained under Spartan occupation and persuaded the Romans to revisit their decision to leave Sparta's territorial gains intact. The Romans agreed with the Achaeans, as they did not want a strong and re-organized Sparta causing trouble after

9520-457: The famous flogging ordeal administered to Spartan boys ( diamastigosis ). The temple, which can be dated to the 2nd century BC, rests on the foundation of an older temple of the 6th century, and close beside it were found the remains of a yet earlier temple, dating from the 9th or even the 10th century. The votive offerings in clay, amber, bronze, ivory and lead dating from the 9th to the 4th centuries BC, which were found in great profusion within

9639-479: The first credible history. Between the 8th and 7th centuries BC the Spartans experienced a period of lawlessness and civil strife, later attested by both Herodotus and Thucydides. As a result, they carried out a series of political and social reforms of their own society which they later attributed to a semi-mythical lawgiver, Lycurgus . Several writers throughout antiquity, including Herodotus, Xenophon, and Plutarch have attempted to explain Spartan exceptionalism as

9758-456: The following year excavations were made at Thalamae , Geronthrae , and Angelona near Monemvasia . In 1906, excavations began in Sparta itself. A "small circus" (as described by Leake ) proved to be a theatre-like building constructed soon after 200 AD around the altar and in front of the Temple of Artemis Orthia . It is believed that musical and gymnastic contests took place here, as well as

9877-464: The heavy troops were no longer available in sufficient numbers. This led to a serious decline in Sparta's military power, and the aim of Nabis reforms was to reestablish a class of loyal subjects capable of serving as well-equipped phalangites (operating in a close and deep formation, with a longer spear than the hoplites'). Nabis's liberation of the enslaved helots was one of the most outstanding deeds in Spartan history. With this action, Nabis eliminated

9996-432: The hostile exiles close by and not having access to the sea, the Spartans captured the city of Las , which was the home of many exiles and a member of the Union of free Laconians. The Acheans officially adopted this as the reason to finish Spartan independence once and for all. They demanded the surrender of the people responsible for the attack. The culprits responded by murdering thirty pro-Achaean citizens, seceding from

10115-457: The kings were primarily religious, judicial, and military. As chief priests of the state, they maintained communication with the Delphian sanctuary, whose pronouncements exercised great authority in Spartan politics. In the time of Herodotus c. 450 BC, their judicial functions had been restricted to cases dealing with heiresses ( epikleroi ), adoptions and the public roads (the meaning of the last term

10234-470: The larger Greek city-states; however, according to Thucydides, the population of Athens in 431 BC was 360,000–610,000, making it much larger. In 480 BC, a small force led by King Leonidas (about 300 full Spartiates, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans, although these numbers were lessened by earlier casualties ) made a legendary last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae against the massive Persian army, led by Xerxes . The Spartans received advance warning of

10353-474: The late Bronze Age , when, according to Herodotus, Macedonian tribes from the north (called Dorians by those they conquered) marched into the Peloponnese and, subjugating the local tribes, settled there. The Dorians seem to have set about expanding the frontiers of Spartan territory almost before they had established their own state. They fought against the Argive Dorians to the east and southeast, and also

10472-526: The local museum, founded by Stamatakis in 1872 and enlarged in 1907. Partial excavation of the round building was undertaken in 1892 and 1893 by the American School at Athens . The structure has been since found to be a semicircular retaining wall of Hellenic origin that was partly restored during the Roman period. In 1904, the British School at Athens began a thorough exploration of Laconia , and in

10591-469: The naval bases on his territory, dispatched 1,000 specially selected warriors to augment the 1,000 they had already sent to Sparta's aid. Nabis, fearing that the Roman approach might encourage his subjects to revolt, decided to terrorize them by ordering the execution of eighty prominent citizens. Flamininus left his base and descended upon Sellasia ; while the Romans were making camp, Nabis's auxiliaries attacked them. The sudden surprise attack briefly threw

10710-499: The nearby settlement of Mystras , and Sparta fell further in even local importance. Modern Sparta was re-founded in 1834, by a decree of King Otto of Greece . Sparta was an oligarchy . The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and Eurypontid families , both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague. The duties of

10829-499: The numbers of full citizen Spartans had declined to a few hundred in the times of Cleomenes III . There were possibly several reasons for the decline of numbers, one of which was that every Spartan who was unable to pay his share in the syssitia (common meal for men in Doric societies) lost his full citizenship, although this did not exclude his offspring from partaking in the agoge (traditional Spartan education and training regime). As

10948-408: The old Spartans as hoplites, or even as a Macedonian phalanx . Despite this, a gravestone of a fallen legionary named Marcus Aurelius Alexys shows him lightly armed, with a pilos-like cap and a wooden club. The unit was presumably discharged in 217 after Caracalla was assassinated. An exchange of letters in the deutero-canonical First Book of Maccabees expresses a Jewish claim to kinship with

11067-585: The palace and set about looting the city but its Sparta were able to rally and drive them from Sparta. As Sparta was in turmoil Philopoemen entered the city with the Achaean army and made Sparta a member state of the League. The polis of Sparta was allowed to keep its laws and territory, but the exiles, and their rule of the Spartan warrior demos were not restored. In 189 BC, the hostages taken by Rome, excluding Nabis's son, who fell ill and died, were allowed to return to Sparta. Still deprived of any port and suffering from political and economic problems from having

11186-538: The peak of the city-state's power had come and gone. In 396 AD, Sparta was sacked by Visigoths under Alaric I . According to Byzantine sources, some parts of the Laconian region remained pagan until well into the 10th century. The Tsakonian language still spoken in Tsakonia is the only surviving descendant of the ancient Doric language . In the Middle Ages, the political and cultural center of Laconia shifted to

11305-405: The port of Gythium into a major naval arsenal and fortified the city of Sparta. His Cretan allies were already allowed to have naval bases on Spartan territory, and from these they ventured on acts of piracy. His naval buildup offered a chance even for the very poor to participate, as rowers, in the profitable employment. However, the extension of the naval capacities at Gythium greatly displeased

11424-476: The position where the skirmish had occurred. For a day he waited for the Spartans to attack him but, when no attack came, he called a war council to discuss whether or not to press the siege. All the Greek leaders except Aristaenos thought that they should attack the city, as capturing it was their primary objective in going to war. Aristaenos, on the other hand, argued that they should instead strike directly at Sparta and Laconia. Flamininus agreed with Aristaenos and

11543-520: The precinct range, supply invaluable information about early Spartan art. In 1907, the location of the sanctuary of Athena "of the Brazen House" (Χαλκίοικος, Chalkioikos) was determined to be on the acropolis immediately above the theatre. Though the actual temple is almost completely destroyed, the site has produced the longest extant archaic inscription in Laconia, numerous bronze nails and plates, and

11662-411: The process. The coalition army then proceeded to Amyclae , from whence they plundered the surrounding countryside. Lucius Quinctius, meanwhile, received the voluntary surrender of several coastal towns in Laconia. The allies then advanced on the largest city in the area, Sparta's port and naval arsenal at Gythium . As the land forces began to invest the city, the allied navy arrived. The sailors from

11781-515: The reign of Marcus Aurelius, the agora, the Acropolis, the island of Cranae (Marathonisi) where Paris celebrated his nuptials with Helen of Troy, the Migonium or precinct of Aphrodite Migonitis (occupied by the modern town), and the hill Larysium (Koumaro) rising above it. The numerous remains extant, of which the theatre and the buildings partially submerged by the sea are the most noteworthy, all belong to

11900-462: The rest of his garrison from Argos and to hand over to the Romans any deserters and prisoners . Flamininus called another war council. Most of the council felt that they should capture Sparta and unseat Nabis. Flamininus replied to Nabis by proposing his own terms, under which Sparta and Rome would conclude a six-month truce if Nabis would surrender Argos with all his garrisons from the Argolid ; give

12019-501: The rigorous agoge training regimen, and Spartan phalanx brigades were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women enjoyed considerably more rights than elsewhere in classical antiquity . Sparta was frequently a subject of fascination in its own day, as well as in Western culture following the revival of classical learning. The admiration of Sparta is known as Laconophilia . Bertrand Russell wrote: Sparta had

12138-490: The several communities bore the title of ephors . In Roman times Gythium remained a major port and it prospered as a member of the Union. As purple dye was popular in Rome , Gythium exported that as well as porphyry and rose antique marble. Evidence of the ancient Gythium prosperity can be found by the fact that the Romans built an ancient theatre which is well preserved today and is still used occasionally. The ancient theatre and

12257-502: The stream of Dorian Spartan history. The legendary period of Spartan history is believed to fall into the Dark Age. It treats the mythic heroes such as the Heraclids and the Perseids , offering a view of the occupation of the Peloponnesus that contains both fantastic and possibly historical elements. The subsequent proto-historic period, combining both legend and historical fragments, offers

12376-408: The supposed 'brotherhood' of the Jews and the Spartans." Rappaport is clear that "the authenticity of [the reply] letter of Arius is based on even less firm foundations than the letter of Jonathan". Spartans long spurned the idea of building a defensive wall around their city, believing they made the city's men soft in terms of their warrior abilities. A wall was finally erected after 184 BCE, after

12495-597: The three fleets set to construct siege engines within a few days. Though these machines had a devastating effect on the city walls, the garrison successfully held out. Eventually, Dexagoridas, one of the two garrison commanders, sent word to the Roman legate that he was willing to surrender the city. This plan fell through when Gorgopas, the other commander, learned of it and slew Dexagoridas with his own hands. Gorgopas continued to resist fiercely until Flamininus arrived with 4,000 additional troops that he had recently recruited. The Romans renewed their assault and Gorgopas

12614-478: The time. During the Second Macedonian War , Nabis had another possibility for expansion. Philip of Macedon offered him the polis of Argos in exchange for Sparta defecting from the Roman coalition and joining the Macedonian alliance. Nabis accepted and received control over Argos. When the war turned against Macedon, however, he rejoined the Roman coalition and sent 600 Cretan mercenaries to support

12733-565: The town of Sparta, the plateau east of the Taygetos mountains, and sometimes to all the regions under direct Spartan control, including Messenia . The earliest attested term referring to Lacedaemon is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀨𐀐𐀅𐀖𐀛𐀍 , ra-ke-da-mi-ni-jo , "Lakedaimonian", written in Linear B syllabic script, the equivalent of the later Greek Λακεδαιμόνιος , Lakedaimonios ( Latin : Lacedaemonius ). Herodotus seems to use "Lacedaemon" for

12852-648: The valley toward Gytheio; the E4 hiking path connects the three, running south from Profitis Ilias, passing by the monastery, and leading to Gytheio. Northeast of Gytheio is the delta of the Evrotas River . Offshore are several small islands; the most important of these islands is Cranae , on which sits the Tzannetakis Tower (now the Historical and Cultural museum of Mani) and a lighthouse built of solid marble. Today Cranae

12971-538: Was abandoned. It remained a small village throughout the Byzantine and Ottoman times. Its importance grew when Tzannetos Grigorakis built his tower at Cranae and more people came and settled at Gytheio. During the Greek War of Independence , refugees flooded into Mani and made Gytheio a major town. The modern Gytheio opened a port in the 1960s. Ferries sail from Gytheio to Kythira almost daily and also to Crete twice

13090-436: Was already King of Sparta, he made his wife Apia ruler of her hometown Argos. Afterwards, Apia and Nabis staged a financial coup by confiscating large amounts of property from the wealthy families of these cities, and torturing those who resisted them; much of the confiscated land was redistributed to liberated helots loyal to Nabis. After increasing his territory and wealth by the aforementioned method, Nabis started to turn

13209-479: Was built on the banks of the Eurotas , the largest river of Laconia, which provided it with a source of fresh water. The Eurotas valley was a natural fortress, bounded to the west by Mt. Taygetus (2,407 m) and to the east by Mt. Parnon (1,935 m). To the north, Laconia is separated from Arcadia by hilly uplands reaching 1000 m in altitude. These natural defenses worked to Sparta's advantage and protected it from sacking and invasion . Though landlocked, Sparta had

13328-418: Was commented on by Aristotle . Sparta never fully recovered from its losses at Leuctra in 371 BC and the subsequent helot revolts . In 338, Philip II invaded and devastated much of Laconia, turning the Spartans out, though he did not seize Sparta itself. Even during its decline, Sparta never forgot its claim to be the "defender of Hellenism" and its Laconic wit . An anecdote has it that when Philip II sent

13447-405: Was forced to surrender, though he did secure the condition that he and his garrison could leave unharmed and return to Sparta. During the siege at Gythium, Pythagoras had joined Nabis at Sparta, bringing with him 3,000 men from Argos. When Nabis discovered that Gythium had surrendered he decided to send an envoy to Flamininus to open negotiations on the terms of a peace. Nabis offered to withdraw

13566-525: Was fought between the Greek city-state of Sparta and a coalition composed of Rome , the Achaean League , Pergamum , Rhodes , and Macedon . During the Second Macedonian War (200–196 BC), Macedon had given Sparta control over Argos , an important city on the Aegean coast of Peloponnese . Sparta's continued occupation of Argos at the end of war was used as a pretext for Rome and its allies to declare war. The anti-Spartan coalition laid siege to Argos, captured

13685-559: Was later ratified by the Senate. The Argives revolted when they heard that Sparta was under siege. Under the Argive Archippas, they attacked the garrison commanded by Timocrates of Pellene. Timocrates surrendered the citadel on condition that he and his men could leave unharmed. In return all the Argives serving in Nabis's army were allowed to return home. After the war Flamininus visited

13804-457: Was married to an ex-helot but whose husband was in exile to join him. After the legions under Flamininus had returned to Italy , the Greek states were once again on their own. The dominant powers in the region at this time were the kingdom of Macedon , which had recently lost a war against Rome, the Aetolians , the strengthened Achaean League and a reduced Sparta. The Aetolians, who had opposed

13923-456: Was put to an end when it was eventually forced into the Achaean League after its defeat in the decisive Laconian War by a coalition of other Greek city-states and Rome, and the resultant overthrow of its final king Nabis , in 192 BC. Sparta played no active part in the Achaean War in 146 BC when the Achaean League was defeated by the Roman general Lucius Mummius . Subsequently, Sparta became

14042-593: Was rebuilt and was most probably the building ground for the Spartan fleet in the Peloponnesian War . In 407 BC during the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades landed there and saw the thirty triremes the Spartans were building. In 370 BC, the Thebans under the command of Epaminondas besieged the city successfully for three days after ravaging Laconia , but it was recaptured by the Spartans three days later. In 219 BC, Philip V of Macedon unsuccessfully attempted to capture

14161-412: Was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars , in rivalry with the rising naval power of Athens . Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), from which it emerged victorious after the Battle of Aegospotami . The decisive Battle of Leuctra against Thebes in 371 BC ended the Spartan hegemony , although

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