Mr. Hannian
World History
September 22, 2011
Guided Note-Taking: Sparta!
Location
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Southern Greece, in the middle of the Peloponnese
Surrounded by rocky terrain, but there is some farmland.
Not much natural wealth.
Great rivals with Athens. Because of its inland position, Sparta was a
land power while Athens was a seapower.
Helots
Who were the Helots?
-
-
People who lived near Sparta and were conquered by the Spartans.
Although there were many more Helots than Spartans, the Spartans
were able to defeat them after a bloody war.
o Spartans won because they were very good at fighting. Very
organized, very violent.
The Spartans turned the Helots into slaves.
Helots did almost all of the agricultural work in Sparta. They grew all
the food.
How did the Spartans treat the Helots?
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The Spartans used violence and fear to control the Helots.
They threatened, beat and even killed Helots regularly.
o Life as a Helot was awful.
They also used the Helots as an example to their children of what not
to do.
o Example of making the Helots get drunk and stupid to teach
Spartan children.
What was the impact on Sparta of having all these slaves?
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The Spartans were constantly paranoid that the Helots would revolt.
o The Helots did revolt several times. These rebellions were always
bloody and bitter.
In order to control the Helots, the Spartans organized their entire
society to be good at fighting and terror.
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Sparta had to be tough and ruthless or their own Helots would
murder them.
Spartan Values
1.
Toughness
2.
Discipline and devotion to Sparta
3.
Austerity – no luxuries
Spartan Society
Role of men
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Warriors above all else.
Lived in barracks the other men of their company.
Trained for war and combat constantly.
Lived a very austere life
Role of women
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Trained in athletics and management.
Women were expected to run the city when the men were away
fighting (which was often)
Spartan women were seriously bad-a**
Spartan Education
Training for boys
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At age 7, taken away from home and sent to live in barracks.
Put through incredibly rigorous training.
o No shoes, only one piece of clothing to last an entire year, little
food.
In early teens, they were “adopted” by a senior warrior who guided
them and trained them.
o There was usually homosexual sex between the mentor and the
student. This was supposed to promote bonding and loyalty.
o But the Spartans did not see themselves as “gay.” The idea of
being “gay” or “straight” did not exist in the ancient world.
o Spartan men were supposed have homosexual sex and marry
women and have lots of children.
Training for girls
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Girls were not given the same combat training but they were expected
to be tough, resourceful and disciplined.
Girls trained in the open naked, while the boys did the same.
o They couldn’t talk to each other but they did check each other out.
This gave motivation to work hard and be fit.
The Spartan Army
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The toughest, most feared army in all of Greece.
They almost never lost
Conclusions
Violence in Sparta
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Sparta used violence to build itself up, but the violence defined their
society and twisted it into something very strange.