An earthquake in Sparta in the year 464 BCE started a series of events which ultimately led to the Peloponnesian War.

At the same time, the Spartans drilled so incessantly, and were constantly under arms, because they were afraid the Helots would revolt. This fear of the Helots kept Spartan soldiers at home ...

Vile as Spartan abuse of the Helots was, the end result of Sparta’s eventual championing of the cause of freedom abroad was arguably even worse. As I argue in my new book, ...

In the Mani region of the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, one finds the village of Neochori, where locals proudly claim they ...

Ancient Sparta turned its conquered neighbors into indentured serfs -- half free, half slave. The resulting Helot underclass produced the food of the Spartan state, freeing Sparta's elite males to ...

Ancient Sparta turned its conquered neighbors into indentured serfs — half free, half slave. The resulting helot underclass produced the food of the Spartan state, freeing Sparta’s elite males ...

Sparta’s rigid social system, reliance on a shrinking warrior elite, and fear-driven control over a vast population of helots (enslaved people) led to long-term instability.

Historian: I can see the graphic necessity of sculpted stomachs and three hundred Spartan-sized packages bulging in spandex thongs. On the other hand, the ways in which 300 selectively idealizes ...

Even the Spartan citizens, who were greatly outnumbered by the enslaved helots and noncitizen residents (the per ... Sparta had its revenge, in a way, in the twentieth century.

The Spartans’ reputation grew during the Greco-Persian wars (490-479 B.C.), when they took command of the Hellenic league and led the resistance against the Persian invaders.