Spartan Society

Spartan society changed considerably after the two Messenian Wars of the late 700s and the mid-600s b. c.e. The wars left the Messenian people completely enslaved by Sparta. No longer would any Spartan male citizen farm his own land or manufacture any item for sale or trade. From the 600s B. C.E. on, the Spartans’ Messenian serfs, the helots, farmed their own and Spartan land and had to hand over most of the food they produced to the Spartans. Outnumbered by their very hostile helots, who rebelled at almost any chance (often with help from Sparta’s enemies), Sparta became a strictly military society to keep the helots in check and to expand its power in the Peloponnese Peninsula. Confident in the capabilities of its military, Sparta, unlike most ancient cities, had no walls around it.

Under the social system that developed after the defeat of the Messenians, Spartan male citizens were prohibited by law to perform any type of work except warfare, and female citizens could only raise future hoplites or future mothers of future hoplites. All contributions from Sparta to the literature and art of Greece ceased. Individuality was almost completely subdued. Both simple and crucial decisions-from what hair style to wear to when to get married-were decided by the state.

There was little obvious show of wealth among Spartan citizens. Each citizen husband and wife received similar amounts of food, with financial equality among all citizens being the ideal. In reality, however, incomes and wealth did vary within Spartan society, and Aristotle wrote in his Politics that poor ephors were likely targets for bribery.

In general, Sparta did not welcome foreigners, although it allowed various neighboring peoples, called perioikoi, their independence but required them to pay taxes and fight in the Spartan army. The perioikoi also performed much of the commercial work forbidden to Spartan citizens.

Spartan women enjoyed considerably more freedom than other ancient Greek women. Spartan men spent little time at home, so wives and daughters did not have to attend to their needs. In addition, helots did all manual labor in homes and in the fields, male children left the home at age seven, and female children had freedom to play outdoors. Taken together, these factors meant Spartan women did not have many demands on their time. They could also own property, which most Greek women could not, except in rare circumstances. Spartan women freely exercised outdoors-without clothes, which shocked other Greeks-and had a reputation for talking back to their husbands and male relatives.

Spartan children belonged to the state, and boys left home at age seven to live in all-male barracks and begin their training as future hoplites and citizens-one and the same in Sparta. The Spartans placed much less value on knowledge of literature and music, unless it was for military purposes. Instead, they concentrated on teaching discipline, loyalty, and endurance. Unlike sheltered Athenian girls, who rarely left their homes, Spartan girls played outdoors, running, wrestling, and wearing very little clothing, like the boys. The idea was to raise strong young women who would bear healthy sons.

By age 12, Spartan boys had learned to march in bare feet. They were given little to eat so they would learn resourcefulness, including how to steal food. They also learned how to kill. By this age boys also were introduced to an older male lover who also served as a tutor and mentor.