Sparta (Greek Σπάρτα): one of the main city-states of ancient Greece, leader of the Peloponnesian League. The city-state is also called Lacedaemon.
History
The acropolis of Sparta
Mentioned by Homer as an important town in early Greek history, ruled by king Menelaus and his queen Helen; Mycenaean finds corroborate Sparta's early importance
Several villages on the plain of the river Eurotas become one city-state (although it took long before they developed a real urban unity)
Inhabitants of the surrounding villages reduced to various lower statuses (a/o perioikoi)
s.VIII BCE: no colonization, but expansion on the Peloponnese
s.VII BCE: Conquest of Messenia, creation of the helots
s.VI BCE: creation of the Peloponnesian League; Sparta becomes the leading power in Greece, although its ambitions are usually limited to the Peloponnese
Spartan shield, seized by the Athenians at Sphacteria
480-479: Defense of the Peloponnese against Persian aggression forces Sparta to fight at Thermopylae, Plataea, Mycale
Sparta, Temple of Athena Chalkioikos, Statue of a Spartan hoplite ("Leonidas")
Sparta, Laconian bowl decorated with fish
395-387: Corinthian War; Sparta maintains its hegemony
371: Battle of Leuctra: end of Spartan hegemony, liberation of the helots of Messenia
Sparta remains outside the Corinthian League and does not take part in Alexander's campaign against the Achaemenid Empire; on the contrary, the Spartan king Agis III attacks Macedonia
Slow decline in the course of the third century
Forced to join the Achaean League; part of the Roman province of Achaea after 146 BCE
Retains some of its archaic custom to attract Roman "tourists"
Sparta-Magoula, Relief of a young hero
Sparta, Temple of Athena Chalkioikos, Inscription of someone killed in action
Sparta, Mosaic of Alcibiades
Sparta, Statue of Julia Aquilia Severa, damaged after her death
