Ancient Sparta and its history

At a time when cities grew in mighty Greece, philosophers speculated on the nature of things, the warlike Sparta lived with her daily life. The main occupation of the city's residents was always preparation for attacks. The specter of war hung on Sparta relentlessly. Residents were not going to make new campaigns, they wanted peace, but in the event of a danger from other cities and countries they wanted to be prepared. All the forces of the Spartans went to defend the conquered lands: the plains of Messenia and the valley of Evrot. And they guarded these areas not from their neighbors, from whom they were taken away, but from slaves living in these territories and always ready for an uprising.

Ancient Sparta numbering 9000 people had 200,000 slaves-ilots, who bowed their heads to the ground, but never lost hope of liberation. So, for example, in 464, when the city was destroyed by an earthquake, the Helots rushed there, but not to save the lives of their masters, but to kill them. But, thanks to the far-sightedness of King Archidamus, who built a phalanx from the surviving warriors, the slaves retreated. After that, it took more than 10 years of a bloody war to bring the helots back to submission.

After the submission of slaves Ancient Sparta, having Dorian related communities, Megara and Corinth, was involved in the war with Athens. After long battles, long battles, the belligerent state triumphed over the state of thinkers and philosophers. However, this brought not only great fame, but also great trouble. The fact is that immediately after the victory to power in Sparta came hoplites, who despised the "mob" and recognized only their kind. This was highly disliked by the large traders and representatives of the lower classes, they constantly made attempts to change power. Therefore, the government of Sparta was forced to defend itself from the people.

Ancient Sparta, whose history holds many military victories, was first defeated in 371 by the Thebans. In this battle, a new system of building phalanges ("oblique system") was applied. During the battle the king of the Spartans Cleombrot was killed, and the once fearless army succumbed to panic and fled from the battlefield. But the Thebans did not stop there. They moved to Sparta and showed the Spartans their fighting power. As a result, the Thebans conquered the Messenian plain.

We can say that after this battle, the ancient Sparta began to lose its power. Among the once "equal" Spartans began to appear "smaller". Many citizens began to sell their land, because Were in need. While men tried to maintain the fighting power of Sparta, women began to engage in usury. They bought land for debts. Thus, the stratification of society began, a well-to-do aristocracy appeared. Less and less importance was given to the military training of the younger generation.

Only a hundred years later the leaders of Sparta realized that there was no one to defend the city, and they made attempts to restore the order of the old days. The land was redistributed, debts were canceled, the ranks of the soldiers were replenished with strong helots and pariks. But the aristocracy of the city was frightened of the new order, the revolution began, which called the Macedonians. So in 221 the Spartans suffered another defeat, but not at the hands of the Thebans.

Spartan system of education

In a bellicose state much attention was paid to protecting the city from internal and external enemies. For this, a system of upbringing was developed, consisting of 3 steps:

- Training of boys from 7 to 12 years. At this stage, the children were grouped together. They played, learned. But constantly the mentors did it so that the children would fight among themselves. So they revealed the strengths and weaknesses of their wards.

- From the age of 12 to 20, the boys were united in detachments, where they were headed by older boys. At this stage there were no games, all attention was paid to military training.

- From 20 to 30 years, the Spartans united in sissitia - groups that usually included about 15 people. They continued to engage in military training in their own circle, but now they could start a family, engage in some household chores.

Apparently, the ancient Sparta paid great attention to the training of real soldiers for the defense of their state.