Thomas R. Martin, An Overview of Classical Greek History from Mycenae to Alexander

The Late Archaic City-State

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6.1. VI. The Power of Sparta

The Spartans made oligarchy the political base for a society devoted to military readiness, and the resulting Spartan way of life became famous for its discipline, which showed most prominently in the Spartan infantry, the most powerful military force in Greece during the Archaic Age. Sparta's easily defended location--nestled on a narrow north-south plain between rugged mountain ranges in the southeastern Peloponnese, in a region called Laconia (hence the designation of Spartans as Laconians)--gave it a secure base for developing its might. Sparta had access to the sea through a harbor situated some twenty-five miles south of its urban center, but this harbor opened onto a dangerous stretch of the Mediterranean whipped by treacherous currents and winds. As a consequence, enemies could not threaten the Spartans by sea, but their relative isolation from the sea also kept the Spartans from becoming adept sailors. Their interests and their strength lay on the land.

• Spartan way of life: Xen. Const. Lac. 1.1ff [Text]
• Sparta's easily defended location: Views and description of Sparta [Site]; Sparta [Atlas]; Description of Laconia [Encyclopedia]; References to Spartans [Encyclopedia]; References to Spartans [Encyclopedia]
• harbor: Gytheion and Sparta [Atlas]; Harbor of Sparta-Gythion [Text]; References to harbor [English index]
• their strength: Thuc. 1.10.2 [Text]

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OCLC: 33900145
ISBN: 0300069561

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