OCR A-Level Ancient History H407
Relations Between Greek States and Non-Greek States, 492–404 BC
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
The Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460–c.399 BC
The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC
The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68
The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88–31 BC
The Flavians, AD 68–96
Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43–c.128
The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC
The Spartan navy and the commanders of the later war
- 3 things to know
- Component Group 1
Overview
Recall questions on the Persian subsidies and what they cost Sparta, the office of navarch, Cyzicus and the captured dispatch, Notium and Aegospotami, and the limits of Xenophon's narrative.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What did Sparta concede to Persia in return for its subsidies, and why was that awkward?
Describe the Spartan office of navarch.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Why was Sparta so badly placed to fight a naval war before 412 BC?
Model answer
She was an inland land power with no revenue to build or man ships, her citizens were trained as hoplites rather than seamen, and she depended on allies such as Corinth for a fleet.
- 2
How was the fleet that Sparta built after 412 BC paid for?
Model answer
It was financed by Persia, first through agreements with the satrap Tissaphernes and later, much more generously, by Cyrus the Younger.
- 3
What did Sparta concede to Persia in return for its subsidies, and why was that awkward?
Model answer
The agreements recognised the Persian king's claim to the Greek cities of Asia Minor, which sat badly with Sparta's declared war aim of freeing the Greeks from Athens.
- 4
Describe the Spartan office of navarch.
Model answer
The navarch was the commander of the fleet, appointed by the state for a single year, and the same man could not hold the office twice.
- 5
What does Aristotle say about the power of the navarchy?
Model answer
He calls it almost a second kingship set up alongside the kings, because the man who held it commanded forces and money far from any check at home.
- 6
How did Lysander come to command the fleet again in 405 BC when the navarchy could not be held twice?
Model answer
Lysander was sent out formally as second-in-command to a nominal navarch, so that he held the real command without technically holding the office again.
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