Changes

[[File: Leonidas I of Sparta.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|King Leonidas I Sparta]]

Sparta is one of the most famous states in the Classical era. It is often regarded as the epitome of the military-state that is devoted to war. The history of Sparta has fascinated intellectuals from Plato until today and inspired great leaders such as Frederick the Great and Napoleon. For the majority of the Classical period of Greece, it was the greatest power and had the most formidable army. To many, it seemed that Sparta was invincible and indeed its army had never been defeated in battle. However, in 371 BCE Sparta was defeated and this marked the beginning of the end of Spartan power and it gradually became a minor power. This decay occurred because Sparta's population declined, change in values and a stubborn preservation of conservatism. Overtime, Sparta lost its position as a preeminent Greek military power.

Sparta was a society that was based according to many historians on a caste system. The Spartan citizens were the highest caste and they dominated the other groups in society. The other groups in Sparta included the helots and the Pereoki, this was a group of freemen who were not citizens and were usually craftsmen and traders<ref>Plutarch, p. 113</ref>. To be a Spartan citizen, a male or a female had to be able to trace their ancestry back to the original Doric conquerors. They also could not be of helot extraction<ref>Cartledge, 2001, p. 56</ref>. To be a Spartan citizen, one had to undertake the rigorous education of the agoge. Only those who had completed their education in the agoge was entitled to be a citizen. Now there were some exceptions to this and these include a helot or a foreigner who was adopted by a ‘Spartiate’ family <ref>Plutarch, p.69</ref>. To be a citizen the Spartan had to pay his own way in the agoge, that is he had to contribute to the running of the system and to supply his own armor. Failure to pay their way, meant that a Spartan could be expelled from the Spartan student body. The criteria for a Spartan citizen was very high. While the system ensured that the Spartans were dedicated and well-trained warriors it also led to problems replacing those who died in battle<ref>Cartledge, 2002, p. 118</ref>. The population of Sparta was never very high. Even at its peak in the 6th century BCE the number of Spartan citizens was approximately 9000. This is known from the size of the Spartan army at the time. By the time of the battle of Leuctra the size of the Spartan citizen population, once again based on the size of their army was only 4,000. The Spartan citizen body had been dwindling over time. This was even though the Spartans at various times of crisis had allowed some non-citizens to enrol in the citizen body. The Spartan leadership had long been very nervous about the decline in the citizen numbers, especially as the helot population continued to grow. The exact reasons for this decline are not known. It is believed that over time that the Spartan birth rate declined. The exact reasons for this are not known. It may be a result of the rigorous agoge system and the fact that the family was not as important for men as their comrades in the agoge <ref>Plutarch, Plutarch's. Morals (Boston, Cambridge University Press, 1891), p. 113</ref>, Another reason for the diminution in the number of citizens was the fact that increasingly many Spartan citizens could no longer afford to pay their dues in the agoge system as that society became increasingly divided between rich and poor. The growing wealth of Sparta was concentrated in the hands of the few and this meant that fewer men could meet the financial demands of a citizen<ref>Cartledge, 2002, p. 123</ref>. This decline in the Spartan citizen meant that there were fewer soldiers over time to fight its wars. The sheer brilliance of the Spartan hoplite meant that for many centuries even though their armies was getting smaller allowed them to overcome their enemies in battle. However, by the time of the battle of Leuctra the Spartan army was simply too small and it was defeated for the first time in its history.

[[File: Battle of Thermopylae - pass.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Spartans at the Battle of Thermopoyle]]

==The collapse in Spartan Values==

Sparta was much admired in Greece. The Greeks admired the harmony and order produced by the Spartan Constitution. Indeed many Greeks wanted their polis to adopt a similar form of government The city-state system also influenced philosophers such as Plato and its influence can be seen in his great work the Republic. The Spartan system was based on the idea that the collective came before the individual. The state demanded total obedience from the citizen whose service to the state came before, their family and personal wishes. The Spartan warrior and indeed other citizens saw themselves as members of the collective and this is best seen in the agoge system. The Spartan was expected to renounce personal wealth and gain and to use all their personal resources for the good of the state and the citizen-body<ref> Pausanias. Description of Greece. with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones (Boston, Cambridge University Press, 1918), p. 345</ref>. The citizen body was a band of equal all committed to the defines and glory of Sparta. However, over time these values were eroded and Sparta came to resemble its turbulent and very individualistic neighbors. This was a long-term process and there were many reasons for the decline in the traditional Spartan values, that underpinned its political system. However, the Peloponnesian War accelerated this trend <ref> Thucydides. 6. 7</ref>. The booty from the war led to a growing divide between the Spartan citizens. A wealthy class of citizen emerged rich from booty and payments from Sparta’s allies. This meant that many citizens could no longer be members of the agoge system but that they were under the control of a wealthy elite<ref>Cartledge, 2002, p. 176</ref>. It is also believed that the growing inequality in wealth also resulted in a falling birth-rate. Then Sparta was increasingly bedeviled by internal dissent and political in-fighting. This was because many Spartans had experience of leadership outside the city-state and they were no longer willing, to obey the old elite. Spartan generals such as Lysander began to seek personal power and this led to growing instability, in a political entity that seemed so fixed and stable, through the centuries. Before the fateful battle of Leuctra, Sparta was no longer as unified as it once was and this was a factor in its decline.