Social Structure of Sparta
Spartan society was split into three sections: Spartiates, the Perioeci and the Helots. The Spartiate was any citizen of Sparta born or adopted into a Spartan family. Members of the Spartiate could hold part in and vote in the Assembly, own land and pay community fees, and were full time soldiers with income coming from their estates.
The Perioeci were known as the “dwellers around”, because that is exactly what they were, they lived in villages surrounding the borders of Sparta. The villages of the perioeci were a major contribution to Sparta’s economic growth as they were trader, crafts people, fishers and ship builders. All male perioeci were expected to serve along-side the Spartan men in times of war, and all the best sailors were put into the Spartan navy. The Helots were a large group of enslaved Laconians within Sparta. It is said that the Helots out-numbered the Spartiati twenty-to-one, with there being approximately being 9,000 Spartiati and 180,000 helots. The helots had originally been the Laconians who, when the Spartans first arrived, intent on concurring Laconia, were put into slavery and became property of the state. The helots worked as domestic, agricultural and military slaves. |