Subject: ὁπλίτης heavy infantry hoplite

Culture: Spartan Greek

Setting: Peloponnesian war, Spartan Hegemony, Greece 431-371BC

Event Photos

* Cole 2021 p32

"Lycurgus' laws forbade the Peers from engaging in any work other than training for war, and so the perioikoi served as Sparta's artisans, manufacturers and craftsmen, making arms and armor, pots and metalwork, and conducting whatever trade the Spartan state required.

"However, Lycurgus' prohibition of all work for Peers is another pillar of the Bronze Lie -- the notion that the Spartan's superwarrior status came from a single-minded focus on military training. The reality was far mor expansive. Forbidden to work, Spartan peers instead lived lives of leisure. Sure, they trained for war, but they also socialized, engaged in non-military exercises, sang and danced, hunted and managed their agricultural estates. A Spartan Peer's life was far more that of the aristocratic dandy than the hard-bitten single-minded warrior."

* Cole 2021 p48

"The Spartan Upbringing wasn't precisely military training (it was clearly physical, but there is no mention of weapons training, drilling in formation or even practicing marching; there are also some hints that the youths were trained in reading, writing and music). However, it clearly was intended to produce a similar effect. The Upbringing very likely cultivated that same sense of family-like bonds."

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Field Notes