At a time when cities were growing in mighty Greece, philosophers pondered the nature of things, the warlike Sparta lived its daily life. The main occupation of city residents has always been preparing for attacks. The specter of war hovered relentlessly over Sparta. Residents were not going to make new trips, they wanted peace, but in case of danger from other cities and countries, they wanted to be prepared. All the forces of the Spartans went to the defense of the conquered lands: the plains of Messenia and the valley of Eurotas. Moreover, they protected these sites not from their neighbors from whom they were taken away, but from slaves living in these territories and always ready for rebellion.
Ancient Sparta, numbering 9,000 people, had 200,000 helot slaves 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 in order to save the lives of their masters, but in order to kill them. But, thanks to the foresight of King Archidam, who built a phalanx from the surviving soldiers, the slaves retreated. After that, it took more than 10 years of a bloody war in order to bring the Helots back to submission.
After the slaves were subjugated, Ancient Sparta, which had Dorian kinship communities, Megaru and Corinth, was involved in the war with Athens. After long battles, long battles, the warlike state defeated the state of thinkers and philosophers. However, this brought not only loud fame, but also great troubles. The fact is, immediately after the victory, the hoplites came to power in Sparta, who despised the "mob" and recognized only their own kind. Large merchants and representatives of the lower classes did not like this very much; they constantly made attempts to change power. Therefore, the government of Sparta was forced to defend itself against the people.
Ancient Sparta, whose history holds many military victories, was first defeated in 371 by the Thebans. In this battle, a new phalanx construction system (“oblique formation”) was used. During the battle, the king of the Spartans Cleombrot died, 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, Ancient Sparta began to lose its power. Among the once "equal" Spartans, "lesser" began to appear. 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 debt. Thus, the stratification of society began, a prosperous 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 accepted attempts to restore the order of the past. The land was redistributed, debts canceled, the ranks of the warriors were replenished with strong helots and peeries. But the aristocracy of the city was frightened of the new orders, a revolution began, which called on the Macedonians. So in 221, the Spartans suffered another defeat, but no longer at the hands of the Thebans.
Spartan education system
In a warlike state, much attention was paid to protecting the city from internal and external enemies. For this, a system of education was developed, consisting of 3 steps:
- Teaching boys from 7 to 12 years. At this stage, the children were grouped. They played, studied. But constantly mentors did so that the children fought among themselves. So they revealed the strengths and weaknesses of their wards.
- From 12 to 20 years, the boys were united in groups, where they were led by older boys. There were no games at this stage, all attention was paid to military training.
- From 20 to 30 years old, the Spartans united in sissitii - groups that usually included about 15 people. They continued to engage in military training in their circle, but now they could start a family and do some household chores.
As you can see, Ancient Sparta paid great attention to the training of real warriors to defend their state.