Social And Economic Structure Of Spart Spartan Women

Social & Economic structure of Sparta including Spartan women.

Sparta was a major city in Ancient Greece. They were centred on warfare between the Spartans and the Athenians. Sparta has social and economic structures including Spartan women. The Spartan social structures include Helots, Inferiors, Perioeci, and Spartan women, while the economic structure involves, Kings, The Assembly, Gerousia, and The Ephors. The Helots were the lowest social class in the Spartan society, and the inferiors were neither slaves nor citizens. In the economic class, the kings commanded the Spartan army when sent out by the people. The Assembly had the power to declare war and choose the king to the lead the army. The Spartan women were trained to be fit companions,

They were mainly farmers and merchants. The Perioeci had no sharing in formulating Spartan policy and were also not permitted to intermarry with Spartiates. This group of people were autonomous (self-governing) in their own communities and had local citizenship; owed allegiance to Sparta.

Helots

The Helots were the lowest class in the Spartan society. They politically and socially had not rights, and only the state could free them or dispose of them. Their main duty was to supply a fixed amount of produce annually to Spartan masters - free to make a profit once upkeep of Spartans paid for. The Helots were known as pre-Dorian inhabitants or Messenians conquered by the Spartans. These people were often harshly treated from time to time to keep them under control; always under suspicion.

Government Structure - The Assembly

The Assembly was a group of warrior citizens. They were only allowed to vote to accept or reject motions put before it. They had the power to declare war and choose the king to lead the army. Moreover, Ecclesia was recognised as the principle assembly of the democracy of Ancient Athens. Its role was to let all the male citizens of Athens speak their opinions and practise their votes regarding the government of the city. Therefore, the Assembly was one of the most central and authoritative institutions of the Athenian

The kings commanded the Spartan army when sent out by the people. There were two kings, one from each of the ancient clans, Agid and Eurypondid and are given a hereditary position. One of the well-known kings of Sparta was King Leonidas. He was a leader in the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans were led by the king to fight in the battle against the Persian army.

The Gerousia and the Ephors

The Gerousia was one of the key elements of the Spartan political constitution. It had 28 members and the two kings. The election took place by the loudest cheer. This class could veto decisions of the Assembly. Their criminal court judged cases involving death or exile, and also involved trials of kings. The Gerousia controlled most of the public business and decided the debates the Assembly could have. One of the drawbacks of the Gerousia was that they could not pass laws themselves, and were relied on the