Sparta
Sparta names 5 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Sparta or LACEDÆMON dynasty of two kings in Sparta
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or LACEDÆMON dynasty of two kings in Sparta. Apart from this legend it is accepted as a historical fact that the Spartans were the descendants of the Dorians who invaded the Peloponnesus about that period, and that from an early period they followed a set of rigorous laws which they ascribed to Lycurgus. Shortly after their settlement in the Peloponnesus it is probable that the Spartans extended their sway over all the territory of Laconia, a portion of the inhabitants of which they reduced to the condition of slaves. They also waged war with the Messenians, the Arcadians, and the Argives, against whom they were so successful that before the close of the 6th century B. C. they were recognized as the leading people in all Greece. Early in the following century began the Persian wars, in which a rivalry grew up between Athens and Sparta. This rivalry led to the Peloponnesian war, in which Athens was humiliated and the old ascendency of Sparta re- GREECE.) Soon after this the gained. (See GRE gained. (See Spartans became involved in a war with Persia, and Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and some of the Peloponnesian states took this opportunity to declare war against them. This war, known as the Bœotian or Corinthian war, lasted eight years and increased the reputation and power of Athens. To break the alliance of Athens with Persia, Sparta, in 387 B. C., concluded with the latter power the peace known by the name of Antalcidas; and the designs of Sparta became apparent when she occupied, without provocation, the city of Thebes, and introduced an aristocratical constitution there. Pelopidas delivered Thebes, and the celebrated Theban war (378-363) followed, in which Sparta was much enfeebled. During the following century Sparta steadily declined, though one or two isolated attempts were made to restore its former greatness. The principal of these was made by Cleomenes (236-222), but his endeavors failed, because there were then scarcely 700 of Spartan descent, and the majority of these were in a state of beggary. With the rest of Greece Sparta latterly passed under the dominion of the Romans in 146 B. c. The Spartans differed from the other Greeks in manners, customs, and constitution. Their kings (two of whom always reigned at once) ruled only pires in disputes, and commanding the army. The Spartans proper, that is, the descendants of the Dorians, occupying themselves with war and the chase, left all ordinary labor to the Helots (slaves), while the class known as Periœci (descendants of the ancient inhabitants of the country) engaged in commerce, navigation, and manufactures. The distinguishing traits of the Spartans were severity, resolution, and perseverance, but they were also accounted faithless and crafty. When a child was born, if it proved vigorous and sound the state received it into the number of citizens, otherwise it was thrown into a cave on Mount Taygetus. They wore no outer garment except in bad weather, no shoes at any time, and they were obliged to make their beds of rushes from the Eurotas. The principal object of attention during the periods of boyhood and youth was physical education, which consisted in running, leaping, throwing the discus, wrestling, boxing, the chase, etc. The Spartans were the only people of Greece who avowedly despised learning and excluded it from the education of youth. The education of the Spartan females was also different from that of the Greeks elsewhere. Instead of remaining at home, as in Athens, spinning, they danced in public, wrestled with each other, ran on the course, threw the discus, etc.
Sparta or LACEDÆMON
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or LACEDÆMON, a celebrated city of ancient Greece; capital of Laconia and of the Spartan state, and the chief city in the Peloponnesus; on the W. bank of the Eurotas river, and embraced a circuit of 6 miles. Sparta was a scattered city consisting of five separate quarters. Unlike Athens it was plainly built, and and had few notable public buildings; consequently there are no imposing ruins to be seen here as in Athens, and the modern Sparta is only a village of some 4,000 inhabitants. Laconia, the district in which Sparta was situated, was the S. E. division of the Peloponnesus, bounded on the W. by Messenia, from which it was separated by the chain of Taygetus, on the N. by Arcadia and Argolis, and on the E. and S. by the sea. The Eurotas (Vasilopotamo, "king of rivers") here flows through a picturesque valley and empties into the Gulf of Laconia. The Spartan state was founded, according to tradition, by Lacedæmon, son of Zeus. The most celebrated of its legendary kings was Menelaus. It is said to have been conquered by the Heraclidæ from N. Greece about 1080, who established a dyarchy or double
Sparta The capital of Laconia and the chief city of Peloponnesus
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
The capital of Laconia and the chief city of Peloponnesus , was situated on the right bank of the Eurotas (Iri), about twenty miles from the sea. It stood on a plain which contained within it several rising grounds and hills.
Sparta or LACEDÆMON neck black
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or LACEDÆMON neck black, underparts light gray. From a high antiquity, their great fecundity, their attachment to their young, their extreme pugnacity, and the large tolls they levy on the farmer and market gardener have been commented on by writers on ornithology. In many places a small sum is paid for the destruction of these birds, the legislatures of some of the States having made appropriations for this fund. The name sparrow is also loosely applied to several of the Fringillidæ.
Sparta . See Greece
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
. See Greece ; Athens ; Lycurgus ; Thermopylae
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's reported in 1921 that "the modern Sparta is only a village of some 4,000 inhabitants"; the town refounded in 1834 now has roughly 16,000 residents, with about 35,000 in the surrounding municipality. Historians since have grown far more cautious about the picture these accounts give: Lycurgus is now generally treated as a legendary figure rather than a lawgiver of record, and much of what Athenian writers said about Spartan austerity is discussed as the "Spartan mirage", a partly invented image. The claim that weak infants were "thrown into a cave on Mount Taygetus" is a case in point, since bones recovered from the Kaiadas chasm were reported to be those of adults, not babies. Archaeology has also filled the gap the entry notes about the absence of ruins, from the British School's excavation of the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia to the Mycenaean palace complex with Linear B tablets under excavation at Ayios Vasileios south of the city since 2009.
Written for this edition, 2026.