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The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC

The organisation of the Spartan army and who fought in it

  • 3 things to know
  • Component Group 1

Overview

Recall questions on the enomotia, pentekostys and lochos, the chain of command from king to polemarchs, the hippeis and the Skiritai, perioikoi and helots in the army, calling out the age-classes, the pipers and pre-battle sacrifices, how religion could delay campaigns, Xenophon's view of Spartan professionalism, and the secrecy over army size.

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Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Evaluation

Why did the Spartan chain of command give their army an advantage over other Greek armies?

Key term

Why did the Spartans advance into battle to the sound of pipes?

Key term

Describe the structure of the Spartan army as Thucydides sets it out at Mantinea.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the structure of the Spartan army as Thucydides sets it out at Mantinea.

    Model answer

    The smallest unit was the enomotia, drawn up about four across and eight deep; four enomotiai made a pentekostys, four pentekostyes a lochos, and seven lochoi stood in the line.

  2. 2

    Name the officers who commanded the Spartan army from the top down.

    Model answer

    The king commanded in the field, with polemarchs under him, then the commander of each lochos, of each pentekostys and of each enomotia.

  3. 3

    Why did the Spartan chain of command give their army an advantage over other Greek armies?

    Model answer

    Orders passed from the king through several ranks of officers to small units, so the whole line could change formation or wheel while under way, which citizen militias drawn up in a single block could not do.

  4. 4

    Describe the hippeis and their role.

    Model answer

    They were three hundred picked young Spartiates chosen each year as the king's guard, who fought on foot beside him despite the cavalry name.

  5. 5

    Describe the Skiritai and their place in the Spartan battle line.

    Model answer

    They were troops from Skiritis on Sparta's northern border who formed a separate unit and held the extreme left of the Spartan battle line.

  6. 6

    What did the perioikoi contribute to the Spartan army?

    Model answer

    They provided hoplites in growing numbers, and by the 420s BC they were brigaded in the same units as Spartiates rather than serving separately.

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