The Decline Of Spartan Society

Sparta was a society in Ancient Greece that focused on loyalty to the state and the military. However, Spartan society focused too much on warfare and not enough on education and bettering of all of its citizens and that is what led to the decline of the Spartans. The focus of on social roles, and lack of economy also led to Sparta’s demise, as well as their vastly different social views.
Social structures were standards in most ancient societies. In Sparta, there were three main social groups. The lowest of society were the Perioecis, and they were neither citizens, nor slaves. The Perioecis were also called “dweller arounds” because they had no fit in society. Most Perioecis were craftsman or traders. Some also built weapons for the Spartan …show more content…
The woman’s place was in the home. She was to raise children and keep up with the home. However, Sparta was a different story. While most women in ancient societies were treated as “less than” and forced to take care of the home and family, Spartan women enjoyed many freedoms that most ancient women did not have the luxury of experiencing (O 'Pry). Spartan women often received a formal education, and were eligible to compete in athletic competitions such as javelin throwing wrestling, and singing and dancing competitions. The Helots took care of all of the Spartan woman’s typical domestic responsibilities. Both Athenian and Spartan women were encouraged to get married and start a family, and there was a push for Spartan women to reproduce boys to replace the men who were dying in battle, however, both sexes of offspring were seen as valuable. In Athens, female offspring were sometimes left to die because the family had too many children (O 'Pry). Athenians valued male offspring over female offspring because of their general value of women, which is interesting, because Spartans had such a focus on warfare. One would think that Spartan would share these views on offspring, but they did not. Spartan women had the privilege of owning property and could do with it what they pleased. They also had equal shares to their inheritance of their father’s estate. According to Aristotle, women owned …show more content…
Sparta was much more concerned with gaining more land and conquering more people. They were a power hungry society. The citizens had power over the lower social classes, power over women, and were gaining power of more and more people. Sparta had caused so much destruction, that eventually Thebes decided to rise up for the rest of Greece. Although Sparta had clear focus on military and basically bullied their way through Greece, they had no backbone of economy and government. All Spartans “served the state,” but for what? Men and women couldn’t even enjoy their marriages because the husbands were always away at war. Spartans didn’t even seem to enjoy life or use the education they received. Children couldn’t enjoy their childhood because they had to be sent off to training camp. Maybe it would be empowering to instill fear into all others around you, but was it really worth it? Spartan society focused too much on warfare and not enough on education and bettering of all of its citizens and that is what led to the decline of the