What did Lycurgus do?

Lycurgus is credited with the formation of many Spartan institutions integral to the country’s rise to power, but more importantly the complete and undivided allegiance to Sparta from its citizens, which was implemented under his form of government.

What was the role of the krypteia?

Robin Waterfield, 9.10, 9.28-9.29. The krypteia, as discussed previously, was an elite force of lightly-armed soldiers sent to fight the helots using unconventional methods. They would attack both day and night whereas the hoplites would only attack in daylight.

Who were Spartan slaves?

They were the helots, the subjugated and conquered people, the slaves of Sparta. Nobody knows exactly what the term “Helot” actually means. Some say it came from the village called Helos that was conquered by the angry Spartans. Others say that it simply means “a slave” or “a serf”.

Was Lycurgus a real person?

Plutarch described Lycurgus’ journey to Egypt and claimed that the reformer had introduced the poems of Homer to Sparta. In the light of the conflicting opinions about Lycurgus held by writers before 400 bc, some modern scholars have concluded that Lycurgus was not a real person.

Was Lycurgus a good leader?

The life of Lycurgus It seemed that he was highly esteemed by his fellow Spartans. His father and his older brother both predeceased him and he was offered the kingship. He became the rule of the kingdom and was a good and just ruler.

How did the krypteia carry out terror?

The chosen kryptai were then sent out into the countryside armed with daggers with the instructions to kill any helot they encountered travelling the roads and tending to fields they deemed too plentiful. They were specifically told to kill the strongest and to take any food they needed.

What was the Spartan krypteia?

The krypteia was an ancient Spartan institution in which the ablest and most intelligent young men were extracted from their training unit within the agoge (the brutal military school which Spartan males would enter at the age of 7 and leave once they had achieved citizenship around the age of 21) and sent to survive …

What ethnicity were Spartans?

Greeks
The Spartans were a minority of the Lakonian population. The largest class of inhabitants were the helots (in Classical Greek Εἵλωτες / Heílôtes). The helots were originally free Greeks from the areas of Messenia and Lakonia whom the Spartans had defeated in battle and subsequently enslaved.

What were female slaves expected to do in ancient Greece?

Female slaves are known to have been occupied in woolwork and the retail trade; they were also used as wet nurses for infants and known to have worked in craft shops around the agora. Female slaves also worked as prostitutes in brothels and as concubines.