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Sparta, ancient and modern in Laconia Prefecture Page Two

sparta greece greek ancient modern peloponneseThe town of modern Sparta is a sleepy place and low key. You'll find the food fresh and atmosphere clean. The best thing about Sparta is nearby Mystras. Sparta is known in Greece as Sparti, and was settled as early as the Neolithic period or "new stone age" about 3,000 BC.

Sparti originally had 4 or 5 settlements which gradually merged. Historians agree that Sparti was a purely Doric city and a result of the new order of things that the Dorians had brought with them as invaders. Homeric myths are about the only thing that help us to understand the links that may have existed between the Mycenaean's and the Spartans. Lykurgos is traditionally given credit for the organization of the aristocratic and militaristic regime for which Sparta was so famous. Some historians doubt such a person as Lykurgos ever really existed but even so, his name is as good as any and you will see a statue of him below and in modern Sparti..

sparta greece greek ancient modern peloponneseThe Spartans divvied up the land they stole from the original inhabitants and they enslaved the ones they could catch. Life in ancient Sparta was like being in the army 24/7/365 only worse.

Both public and private life was highly regulated and militaristic with barracks life for the unmarried, communal food, whippings for the youth (to toughen them), institutional homosexuality and large numbers of slaves called Helots.

The original Messinian inhabitants were totally conquered, as a result of Sparta's expansionist policy, between the period of 740 to 630 BC. After the 7th C Sparta was openly attempting to conquer the whole of the Peloponnese and chose Arcadia and Argos as two plump juicy fruits. Sparta grew, and in about 556 BC came into conflict with the Athenians.

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