Archaic and Classical Greece · 700-371 BC

Sparta: a city built for war

Sparta had no walls, no coins worth stealing and the best army in Greece. Students explore how a city that enslaved its neighbors turned every citizen into a soldier, what Spartan women could do that other Greek women could not, and why the system finally broke.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 700 BC to 371 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Sparta had no walls, no coins worth stealing and the best army in Greece. Students explore how a city that enslaved its neighbors turned every citizen into a soldier, what Spartan women could do that other Greek women could not, and why the system finally broke.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Sparta and Messenia and explain who the helots were.
  • Describe the training of Spartan boys and the role of Spartan women.
  • Give two reasons Sparta's power ended after its defeat at Leuctra in 371 BC.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

700 BC

The valley of the Eurotas

Open the map in 700 BC on the southern Peloponnese with the Cities layer on. Sparta lies in the Eurotas valley, ringed by mountains, with the Taygetus range to the west. Beyond those mountains lies Messenia, the rich farmland Sparta conquered around this time. Find both areas.

Open this view on the map
b

500 BC

Leader of the Peloponnese

Jump to 500 BC. By now most cities of the Peloponnese follow Sparta in a league. Turn on Historical Events (Political) and find "Peloponnesian League Formed". Zoom out and compare the league's land with Athens's small territory of Attica.

Open this view on the map
c

371 BC

The end at Leuctra

Go to 371 BC and find "Battle of Leuctra" in Historical Events (Battles). Thebes crushed the Spartan army here, then marched into the Peloponnese and freed the helots of Messenia. Find Messenia on the map: without it, how would Sparta feed its soldiers?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The helots, the conquered people of Messenia and Laconia, farmed the land so Spartan citizens could train full time. Why did Sparta need a permanent army, and against whom?
  2. Spartan boys left home at seven for military training. Spartan girls trained in sports too, and Spartan women could own land. Why did a warrior state give women more freedom than Athens did?
  3. Sparta had two kings, a council of elders and five elected ephors who could even punish the kings. Was Sparta a monarchy, an oligarchy or something else?
  4. The number of full Spartan citizens fell from perhaps 8,000 in 480 BC to around 1,000 by 371 BC. What might cause a city of soldiers to run out of soldiers?
  5. Many later writers, from Plato to modern films, admired Sparta. Others point to the helots and the harsh training. How should we judge a society that was strong because others were unfree?
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History has no Spartan king, so play one round as Alexander the Great, who left Sparta out of his Greek league (Sparta refused to join) and sent it 300 Persian suits of armor after his first victory with a message mocking its absence. Discuss: was Sparta's refusal pride, principle or a mistake?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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