Spartans

One of the most colorful people of Greek history are the Spartans. A research paper on the Spartans will reveal many interesting aspects of Greece and its early history; therefore, it is a highly recommend research paper topic. Paper Masters can help you write a research paper on the Spartans. If you choose to write your own, a few aspects of the Spartans that you should write on in your research paper include:

• The Spartan Military
• Spartan Slaves
• Spartan Class system
• Spartan Family and Social Relationships

Spartans were the Greek residents of the classical city-state of Sparta, a rival to Athens and characterized by its commitment to austerity and militarism. Like other ancient societies, only the elite males were considered citizens. In the case of Sparta, this group was called "Spartiates."

Spartans were trained to become warriors from a very young age. The Spartan elite was the smallest of the three social castes in Sparta, but their training and reputation allowed them to dominate society. Spartiates were expected to constantly train and be ready for military action, and were thus exempt from manual labor and forbidden from engaging in commercial activity.

Spartans and the Social Rung

The social rung below the Spartiates were the Periokoi, the middle class that carried on commerce. At the bottom rung in Spartan society were the helots, the slaves. Uprisings of heliots against Spartan rule were not uncommon, and part of the Sparitate existence was to prevent or put down such occurrences.

Spartan boys were enrolled in military training from the age of seven, living in barracks away from their families until they were too old to fight. Each Spartiate was given a plot of land and helot slaves to work it, which became the source of their wealth. Additionally, Spartan women were of an elevated status and educated, a rare occurrence in the ancient world. Women controlled property and were free to engage in social commerce.