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A passage in Suetonius reveals that the Spartans were clients of the powerful patrician clan of the Claudii. Octavians's wife Livia was a member of the Claudii which might explain why Sparta was one of the few Greek cities that backed Octavian first in the war against Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC then in the war against Mark Antony in 30 BC. [143]
The groin and throat were among the favorite targets. According to Plutarch when a Spartan was asked why his sword was so short he replied, "So that we may get close to the enemy." [45] In another, a Spartan complained to his mother that the sword was short, to which she simply told him to step closer to the enemy.
Sparta's agriculture consisted mainly of barley, wine, cheese, grain, and figs. These items were grown locally on each Spartan citizen's kleros and were tended to by helots. Spartan citizens were required to donate a certain amount of what they yielded from their kleros to their syssitia, or mess.
Despite the majority of the Spartan army campaigning in Crete, the remaining Spartans were able to mount a defence led by the Spartan Crown Prince Acrotatus. The Spartans were able to withstand the Epiriote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus I, and Macedonian reinforcements, prompting Pyrrhus to abandon the ...
The defeat of the pro-Athens forces and the triumph of Sparta in the preceding Corinthian War (394–386 BC) was especially disastrous to Thebes, as the general settlement of 387 BC, called the Peace of Antalcidas or "King's Peace", stipulated the complete autonomy of all Greek towns and so withdrew the other Boeotians from the political control of Thebes.
The helots were captives of war and were state-owned slaves of Sparta. [1] They powered the city-state's agrarian economy and were the work force. Additionally, the other class of working population in Spartan society were the perioeci meaning “dwellers around” who were free peoples of conquered territories.
The battle of Leuctra "led, undeniably, to a wholly different world, in which the Spartans were badly weakened and Thebans wildly emboldened." [6] After the Battle of Leuctra in 371 B.C. had shattered the foundations of Spartan hegemony, Thebes' chief politician and general Epaminondas attempted to build a new hegemony centered around Thebes. [7]
The Argives, cautious of the Spartan’s predicted victory, decided to listen to the Spartan Herald’s commands to his troops and copy what the Herald said. [8] This allowed for the Argives to take their meal breaks at the same time as the Spartans, ensuring the Spartans would not attack the Argives when not prepared for battle. [8]