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Sparta
Sparta was one of the most important city-states in ancient Greece and was famous for its military prowess. The professional and well-trained Spartan hoplites with their distinctive red cloaks and long hair were probably the best and most...
Definition
Gorgo of Sparta
Gorgo was the queen of the Greek city-state of Sparta, daughter of the king Cleomenes (r. 520-490 BCE), wife of King Leonidas (r. 490-480 BCE), and mother of King Pleistarchus (r. 480-458 BCE). Her birth and death dates are unclear as women...
Definition
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies came in two stages: from c. 460 to 446 and from 431 to 404 BCE. With battles at home and abroad, the long and complex conflict was damaging to both sides. Sparta...
Definition
Cynisca of Sparta
Cynisca of Sparta (b. c. 440 BCE) was a Spartan royal princess who became the first female Olympic champion. Defying the traditional role of women in ancient Greece, she competed in the Olympic Games alongside the men and won. Her triumph...
Definition
Leonidas I of Sparta
Leonidas was the Spartan king who famously led a small band of Greek allies at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE where the Greeks valiantly defended the pass through which the Persian king Xerxes sought to invade Greece with his massive...
Definition
Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League (c. 550 BCE - c. 366 BCE) was a loose confederation of Greek city-states led by Sparta. The League was the oldest and longest-lasting political association in the ancient Greek world. For Sparta, the League gave it...
Article
The Delian League, Part 6: The Decelean War and the Fall of Athens (413/2-404/3 BCE)
This text is part of an article series on the Delian League. The sixth and last phase of the Delian League begins with the Decelean War, also referred to as the Ionian War, and ends with the surrender of Athens (413/2 – 404/3 BCE...
Article
The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta
In ancient Lacedaemon, as in all enduring political communities, there was a symbiotic relationship between the form of government chosen, the way of life that this form of government fostered, and the grand strategy that the community gradually...
Article
The Delian League, Part 5: The Peace of Nicias, Quadruple Alliance, and Sicilian Expedition (421/0-413/2 BCE)
This text is part of an article series on the Delian League. The fifth phase of the Delian League begins with the Peace of Nicias – a settlement that settled nothing – and ends with the start of the Decelean War (also referred to as...
Article
Spartan Women
Spartan women had more rights and enjoyed greater autonomy than women in any other Greek city-state of the Classical Period (5th-4th centuries BCE). Women could inherit property, own land, make business transactions, and were better educated...