Sparta had an oligarchic government with elements of monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy. It was ruled by two kings with both military and religious duties, along with five annually elected overseers who managed daily affairs. Adult Spartan males could vote in the Assembly and propose laws through the Council. Spartan society consisted of Spartiates as the military elite, Perioeci as free citizens, and Helots as enslaved serfs. Spartan culture emphasized strict discipline, martial values, and service to the state above all else from a very young age through harsh military-style upbringing and education.

1. Sparta
1 ESO
Winter 2015

2. Government
•Oligarchy
•Elements of Monarchy (2 Kings)
•Elements of Democracy (election of Council &
Senators)
•Elements of Aristocracy (rule by the upper class)

3. Government
• 2 Kings: generals in command of the armies, some
religious duties.
• 5 Overseers (ephors): elected every year, ran the day-
to-day operations of Sparta.
• Council/Senate: 28 councilmen and the 2 kings. They
acted as judges and proposed laws.
• Assembly: all Spartan males aged 30 or over could
support or veto the council's recommendations.

4. Social Structure
• 3 Classes
• 1st = Spartiates: military professionals who lived
mostly in barracks and whose land was farmed by
serfs; they served in the army and could vote.
• 2nd = Perioeci: "neighbors/outsiders" who were
freemen.
• 3rd = Helots: serfs descended from those peoples who
had resisted enslavement by Sparta. They were
treated like slaves.

5. Everyday Life
• Militaristic values.
• Children of citizens were raised to be "Spartan",
taught to get along with almost nothing.
• Spartiate citizens were not permitted to own gold or
silver or luxuries.
• Spartan children were taught to respect elderly,
women, and warriors.
• Spartan mothers would say to their sons, "Either come
back with your shield or on it“.

6. Family
• Children were children of the state more than of their
parents. They were raised to be soldiers, loyal to the state,
strong and self-disciplined.
• When a Spartan baby was born, soldiers came to the house
and examined it carefully to determine its strength.
• The baby was bathed in wine to see its reaction. If a baby
was weak, the Spartans exposed it on the hillside or took it
away to become a slave (helot).

7. Family/Education
•Soldiers took the boys from
their mothers at age 7, housed
them in a dormitory with
other boys and trained them
as soldiers.
•The boys endured harsh
physical discipline.
•The marched without shoes
and went without food.

8. Family/Education
• They learned to fight, endure pain and survive with their minds.
• The older boys beat the younger boys to toughen them up.
• Self-denial, simplicity, the warrior code, and loyalty to the city-
state.
• Spartan children were taught stories of courage and fortitude.

9. Family
• At 20, the boys had to pass a hard test to graduate and
become full citizens.
• If they failed their tests they never became citizens, but
became perioeci.
• Soldiers lived in the barracks and trained as soldiers but were
required to marry to produce new young Spartans.
• The state gave them a piece of land which was farmed by
slaves and which they did nothing to tend.
• At 30 they were allowed to live with their families, but kept
training until they were 60.

10. Role of Women
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX9spQBSLVo&list=WL
&index=189
• Women enjoyed much greater freedom and independence in
Sparta than in other Greek city-states.
• Because mothers had little responsibility for the care of their
children, they were not as tied to the home as most Greek
women were.
• They were allowed to walk abroad in the city and transact
their own affairs.
• They owned their own property. Their husbands were only a
minor part of their lives.

11. Role of Women/Family/Education
• Girls were removed from the home at 7 and sent to school.
They learned wrestling, gymnastics, fighting, and other
physical training.
• If girls passed their citizen tests, they were assigned a
husband at 18-20.
• Men and women did not live together, but met occasionally
for procreation.
• There were more women than men in Sparta and women
often had more than one father for their children, and a
several men might share a wife.

12. Education
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEItBM1dc9o&index=16
6&list=WL

13. Diet and Dress
• Spartan Broth consisted of pork, blood, salt and vinegar.
• Spartans were trained to dislike luxuries and fancy foods.
• The Spartan way of dressing was very much like their
attitude to life, simple, organized and uncluttered.
• The Spartans were known in Ancient Greece for liking to
not wear any clothes at all.

14. Diet and Dress
• The most common form of
dress in the Spartan society
was the Chiton or Doric, a
type of tunic.
• They liked to use the color
red.
• Footwear for all Spartans
was a sandal or boot.

15. Sparta
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSLmYg1nJ7A&index=165&list=
WL