The History of Ancient Sparta and the Spartans (History of Ancient Greece)
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- In this episode we take a look at the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta and its legendary inhabitants, the Spartans, including its legendary warriors, kings, and peculiar practices that made it both famous (and infamous) in antiquity.
Contents:
00:00 Intro
05:07 Lycurgus and Spartan Institutions / Social Hierarchy
16:37 Spartan Political History Highlights
27:32 Thank You and Patrons
Special thanks to Malay Archer for creating the astounding machinimas that really brought this program to life using the Total War: Rome 2 Divide et Impera, Cyrus the Great campaign and Age of Bronze mod.
Malay Archer
/ mathemedicupdates
Related Videos:
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• Introduction to Ancien...
Ancient Greece during the Archaic Period (750-480 BC)
• Ancient Greece during ...
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#greece #greek #ancientgreece
*Epaminodas of Thebes defeated Cleombrotus I at the Battle of Leuctra, not Agesilaus II (22:02)
Correct, slip of the tongue and my mistake. Let me pin this comment. Thanks!
@@HistorywithCy dude please make vedio's on South Indian history,which is ignored.We have great empires like cholas, who were the most powerful navel force ,who controlled South-east Asia and Rashtrakuta empire, who controlled north india.please reply🙏
@@HistorywithCy sorry for repeating comment
Great video! Just to expand a bit on the later Spartan history, in the early Middle Ages, Sparta was destroyed by the Gothic & Slavic invasions, and the Spartans moved about 6km to the north of the ancient city, where they established Mytzithras (later Mystra), a mountainous castle town, which during the Late Byzantine era, became a despotate (principality) under the Byzantines, with one of the sons of the emperor as despot (prince). Today Mystra is a UNICEF world heritage site. Even after the Ottoman expansion to Greece and the Balkans, the Laconians never succumbed to the Ottomans as they were self-ruled when the whole Balkan peninsula belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Modern Maniots who inhabit the dry and mountainous region of Mani, are considered the descendants of the ancient Spartans, they're similarly fiercely independent, warlike, and continue the tradition of being monarchophile. There's also a region to the east of Laconia, called Tsakonia (possibly a corruption of Exolaconia/Outer-Laconia) whose inhabitants, the Tsakonians, speak (or rather, spoke, as their language is endangered) a dialect which experts consider as the sole descendant of the ancient Doric dialect of Greek, called Tsakonian, mostly unintelligible to the rest of Greeks due to its archaisms and the different path it took as it evolved. Nativlang has a good video on Tsakonian
You missed the part about the Spartans during the Byzantine occupation by the Christians, were fiercely resistant to Christianity and their conquest and conversion happened much later, as late as the 10th century. But I do not blame you because the false narrative by the Christians prevails today.
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@@chrispantazelos2981Does it really matter? Polytheism isn’t any better than Christianity, praying to deities who graped each other or innocent people isn’t something to look up to.
But obviously you wouldn’t happen to have any anti Christian sentiment would you Chris? (funny how your name is even Christian)
Since this video is relatively old, you probably won't see this. I just want to say that you're my favourite history channel and I've been binge watching your videos on ancient Greece as well as Mesopotamia.
Nope, saw it and thanks for kind words, glad that you're enjoying these! More on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!
Your channel is seriously one of the best.
Keep up the good work, my man 👍
Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate them. More on the on the way, stay tuned!
The prophecy was true. History with CY would return to bring forth amazing content and we rejoice. 🙏🏼🙌🏼Great video dude 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼🤩🤩🤩🤩😊😊😊
Indeed he is :)
Thanks my friend, really appreciate the kind words... I'll do my best to fulfill more prophecies by putting out more content more often! Thanks again for stopping by, always appreciate it... stay safe!
@@HistorywithCy It would idd be very nice to see your vids every week again!!
Same here! We rejoice
@@HistorywithCy could you please make vedio's of the the history of South India,which is ignored. Even though we have great empires like the cholas.
Great stuff. I find it interesting that there are quite a few similarities between the steppe cultures and ancient Europe. The dual monarchy and origin myth of being raised by wolves/crows are some the most common ones I come across.
Well....I was raised by wolves and am not from the Steppe.
You're amazing my man, haven't even watched the video yet but i know this is something i can sit down and enjoy with some ice cream. You always go in depth and provide the context I've been missing from programs that usually cover this stuff. Thank you!
Thanks my friend, hope you enjoy it and learn something. Speaking of ice cream, if I can just make a recommendation - try Ben and Jerry's Brownie Batter Core...it's awesome!
@@HistorywithCy I'll have to try it!
Philip II was sent to Thebes as a hostage when a youth. He received his diplomatic and military education from Epaminondas, who had revolutionized hoplite warfare. Upon Philip's return to Macedon he turned his petty nation into the most powerful force on the planet in a generation. Epaminondas was a clever fellow. Victor Davis Hanson, "The Wars of the Ancient Greeks" is a great read.
My grandmother is a Spartan and is literally the embodiment of that definition 😂
You were predestined to be different(Romans 8:29), he who has an ear to hear, let him hear(Mark 4:9).
HALLELUYAH!(PRAISE YE YAH!)
Oh cool... thanks for stopping by, appreciate it! Stay safe!
i own a greco turkish friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
That makes her your grandpa now lol jp
😂
I prophe-cy that history with cy will release the greatest Scythian video I have every seen
I did not know of Aesop's Fables. Thank you for the video!
Oh yeah we used to read Aesop in elementary school... that and Brothers Grimm. Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it!
Enjoy your work mate thank you! Cheers.
Thanks, appreciate it! More to come, stay tuned!
Thank you Cy and all the supporters for this wonderful channel.
Cy uploads a new video...
I click like;
Then I watch.
Because I know it's going to be a good one.
Thanks for the vote of confidence man, means a lot! Hope that you enjoy it and more on the way, stay tuned!
Fantastic! Thank you Cy 🙏 I’ve been trawling YT for months looking for any videos on Sparta that are more recent than 2005!!! So excited 👍🏻😁😃
Glad I then that I put this out, hope it helps! More on the way, stay tuned and safe!
So nice to see someone talking about Sparta and not just brushing all the terrible parts about their culture under the rug.
Yeah, have to tell it as it is - good, bad and ugly. Thanks for stopping by, really appreciate it. More on the way, stay tuned!
Who tries to brush them under the rug? Pretty much every depiction is of an extremely tough brutal society
@@TheBacknblack92 Nobody. Maybe that movie?
Who does that?
In Athens not prefect looking infants were placed on a hill to expire.
Thanks a lot for another great video Cy! It's very interesting to hear more about greek history before the classical period!
A little Saturday night treat from Cy!
My pleasure, enjoy! Thanks again for stopping by, always appreciate it, have a great week!
you really deserve more attention, Cy. i absolutely love your videos
Thanks for another great video cy
Thanks for this video! I enjoyed learning about the political system of Sparta from you. Keep up the good work. 👍
Another long video from Cy? This gonna be great :)
Haha yeah it could have been longer, but then it would have been another week or two before I released it. Was glad that I added the machinimas, made it even better! Hope all is well on your end and talk soon!
I saw your video on the total war atilla community page
Great vid Cy, thank you 👍
Thanks you my friend, glad you stopped by... more to come, stay tuned!
Fun fact I just noticed I wasn't subscribed to you yet lol. I'd just come to your channel every now and then to watch your new videos so I didn't even need the subscription, it was a force of habit. Anyway, thanks for the delve into Greek history, the Spartans have always been fascinating for good reason!
Haha no worries, you're already part of the channel with you music! Yeah there's so much more I wanted to add to this... I'll probably do a podcast where I just talk about other aspects of Spartan life and society. Thanks again and more to come...and now you'll be notified as soon as it is!
Another ancient Greece video! Keep it up, great content!
Great video, lots of cool details included!!
Really great video 😌 very good for the overall view of Spartan politics through history
Please make video about Ancient Athens.
I can’t wait till you channel blows up.
Another great one, thanks Cy
Thanks, appreciate the kind words and support!
I am really loving your content man! I found you about a year ago. I watched your videos for a little while, and the I stopped watching them. But recently, I have started to watch your videos again.
there was a statue found in Sparta that had an inscription that identified Warlike Aprodite with Ištar / Astarte from the east
Interesting... do you have a link, would love to check it out. Thanks!
Warlike Aphrodite has been found in Sparta, but it was a Roman statue. She's also been found in southern Italy.
There's no inscription, but modern scholars associate her with Astarte, because Aphrodite typically sucks at warfare, but "Warlike Aphrodite" carries a spear, dresses like Mars, and has a "Get some!" expression on her face.
Yes!! Red, from overly sarcastic productions made a great video on that!! You should watch the Aphrodite video!
@@histguy101 overly sarcastic productions makes a very good point on why that is in their Aphrodite video. You should watch it.
@@Alusnovalotus It may also be that Peloponnesians and Syracusans and such loathed Athens and didn't want to use their mascot, and so created their own war goddess.
Perfect 👍🏽
Thank you!
Great video, Cy!🙌👍
Thanks man, appreciate it!
Amazing video as always!!
Thanks, appreciate the kind words!
Aha! You have some machinimas in this episode. Great!
Haha yeah, snuck a couple of them in when I could. Thanks for stopping by and watching, appreciate it!
Thank You for not glossing over the treatment of people which is still done to much in our modern times of ignoring genocide all over the world. These facts of ancient times must be revealed as has what is occuring in our modern times. Blessings to You for all you do :)
Fun fact: Gerousia literally means "place of old men" as the spartans in it were elderly men
Yeah I read that somewhere... thanks for the info, appreciate it! More on the way, stay tuned!
And in Modern Greek we call Senate Γερουσία (Gerousía) and Senator is Γερουσιαστής (Gerousiastés). The US Senate is Γερουσία to us.
Ιt's a shame that your videos get so few views. I hope you don't quit!
haha no worries, no plans of quitting, hoping to actually put out more videos, more frequently this summer. Thanks for the support, appreciate it!
@@HistorywithCy COOL to know
This guy’s videos are great to watch, even if you know every bit of content he’s going to explain… Cementing knowledge is just as helpful everyone!
Great video!
Thank you!
Nice work!
Thank you!
Loved it! Keep it up!
Thanks, will do, no plans of stopping!
Im balls deep into this channel right now! Great content for ancient civilizations.
Fantastic video and on a favourite subject of mine.
Thanks my friend, glad you liked it and appreciate you stopping by... stay safe!
Excellent, Thank you .
great video loved it
Thanks, appreciate the kind words, stay safe!
Besides the actual Greek history, its so interesting to hear the Greek words, places, names etc, and correlate them to modern English words
LOVE THIS SERIES!
Very informative and revealing how much more these ancients depended on war instead of cooperation. In the end nobody is the victor as long as their main tool was/is the sword.
Great job.
best history channel ever
Thanks the kind words my friend, really appreciate them! More on the way, stay safe!
Cy, while enjoying this again today, I had an idea.
You mentioned Aesop's Fables as something commonly known in Plato's time. That got me thinking
There's a lot of literature 'the West' knows little about.
Could there be episodes about the classical basics of modernity?
A list keeps building in my mind.
I wonder about the source of Aesop's Fables or Persian love poems. What was the first peace agreement ever pressed into clay? Why is a replica of it (or is it real?) on display at the UN?
What was the story of Homeric story-telling itself about, and how might it have functioned in their culture, (being developed in that so-called Dark Age between the 'Bronze Age Collapse' and the building of the Great Parthenon in Athens?)
I could go on, like very early Mesopotamian steles, Enheduanna 's poetry, oh hey Sappho's too lol you know ...
Different writing materials and methods ... See Useful Charts on the history of writing.
Marcus Aurelius wrote, Claudius Caesar has something remaining?
The philosophers, playwrites, prayer makers, remember Enheduanna. From Gilgamesh to the Brothers Grimm, and that really branches off many ways.
🤷🏼👵❤️ Woolgathering ✌️
Most underrated history channel on YT. You deserve more subs
Sparta's walls were the shelds of her hoplites; her boarders the tips of their spears.
Always happy to see a new video! Oh Sparta, what an interesting nation. A shame they didn’t really leave much behind, especially a first hand Spartan account.
Thanks, glad to finally put one out after a couple weeks. Yeah, I guess they were more focused on being great warriors and weren't as bookish a society as say Athens, hence they didn't write too much about themselves. As always, thanks so much for stopping by, really appreciate it... stay safe!
But they did leave behind something. A way of living , much of it adopted by people all around the world until today.
@@earthspeed no one follow any thing frome Sparta except fascist
@@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl Half of the world then are probably fascists. You probably did not understand or do not know much about the way spartan way of life and the era of the time. Peace!
@@earthspeed half the world believes in ruling an enslaved population through terrorism eugenics indcrnating children through all types of abuse to be loyal to the state and not making any art
Near the beginning it is implied that this region of the peninsula started to be inhabited around four thousand BCE. But this means one is only looking at the area after the migration/influence of near-eastern farmer populations. Humans have long inhabited this part of the world, Neanderthals, then modern humans, and of the latter different groups over tens of thousands of years. Untangling these deep roots is challenging, but I think it is important to understand these things to help avoid the eventual nationalism/ethnocentricity that can creep into discussions like these (see for example comments posted an hour earlier than mine, by Meryert Utegali and Yaru Qadishi).
We need more Cy in theses trying times!
Came here from history time. Amazing tip
The “High as a Kite” Oracles of Delphi!!
I have come to accept a theory that is also supported by Invicta in his video on the Spartan Myth.
The theory is that the Spartans were a leisure class society that enjoyed the rich man's life while the Periokoi were the steam engine of industry, specialized craft, and Spartan culture.
The Helots were essentially as you have described them.
You actually made a very good point when you used Plutarch's quote that things could be seen going into Sparta and not coming out.
That is exactly what I believe as I really do not believe that Sparta's culture was really so stoic. I imagine they were just as colorful as the rest of Ancient Greece, it's just nobody outside Sparta saw that color due to the conservativeness of Spartan society i.e. their lack of wanting to connect with the rest of Greece on a cultural level.
Much like communist civilizations we have seen and see today. No one on the outside really knows for sure what goes on inside due to the highly conservative nature of their societies. If communist nations today can still hide so much with all the technology we have, then imagine how much Sparta could have hidden back then.
They would've theoretically been able to completely shape how the outside world sees every aspect of Spartan society with the outsiders being none the wiser. As are we....
I didn't realize how much the ancient civilizations and time periods were/are interwoven. I've always thought there was a large territorial gap between all these places and peoples. In school everything was presented as distance to "name of place" from the US. The other place wasn't generally on the American continents.
Thanks
Thank YOU! More on the way, stay tuned!
ove your videos bud!
"Be bold, but not too bold" is one of the lessons of the fox and the boy.
Rome 2 soundtrack = eargasm
Ah yes, the most famous Greeks but also the most misunderstood.
For sure! Thanks for stopping by, really appreciate it... stay safe!
@@HistorywithCy you too, you too.
They were Dardanian...doesn't existed Greeks that time
@@guritarasi8732 albanian moment 😂
04:21. But I thought Sparta purposefully used leather straps as currency to avoid becoming too envious of gold.
Yeah actually the Spartan constitution forbade coinage so they used iron rods amongst themselves within the city of Sparta. However, they probably stored vast quantities of gold, perhaps not for circulation amongst the population, but for purposes or as a means of exchange outside of Sparta. Thanks for stopping by, really appreciate it! I might do a podcast this summer where I can go into more details...stay tuned!
One thing I always had to laugh about is that IF the Spartans believed in the Iliad in that Agamemnon & Menalaeus were brothers that they would see the Mycenae were related in some way
Spartan reply "If"... **Baller** 🤣
You just saved my grade for an assignment, thanks lol
In English... and in Spanish too "Spartan" means something devoy of luxury, basically harsh and austere. I'm sure in other languages it's the same.
23:51
"If."
*Mic drop*
Nice work! Perioikoi is pronounced pe-ri-i-ki (oi=i) Greetings from Laconia
Greetings my friend, thanks for stopping by, appreciate it! Yeah I need to improve my Greek pronunciation. Even the professors here at university anglicize Greek and Latin words to an extent when pronouncing them, so it's hard to sometimes find the right pronunciation. Thanks for the tip, appreciate it! More to come, stay tuned!
He pronounced it fine. Ancient Greek language wasnt pronounced the same as modern Greek language. 'Oi' wasnt pronounced as ''i'. This only started after the conquests of Alexander and the Hellenistic period. Gradually the 'koine' dialect came to be pronounced the same as modern Greek. In the ancient attic, doric etc dialects 'oi' did not sound 'i'. 'Ai' did not sound as 'ε' as it dies now. Make some proper research on the subject and you will realize this. No offence intended. I'm also Greek and hadn't realized this until i made my own proper research. Prononcuations of words and letters change with the passing of hundreds or even thousands of years. Even most words change meaning as you very well know... 'Ta panta rei kai ouden menei'...
Hey Vangelis. Yes modern sound different. I know the ancient oi or ei was not the flat modern I but though not 2 syllable either o+I. It was an I with sound towards to o, if I can say. I am not expert but this is what professors used to say.
@@LaconianL Yes, his prononcuation is also not the exact same as in ancient times of course, but its closer than the one you initialy wrote to correct him, which is the modern prononcuation. All good. Have a nice day.
Anglicized pronunciation is appropriate for proper nouns when speaking English. Every language pronounces these words differently.
...just sayin
23:13, What about Megalopolis?
NIce.
Molon Labe.
why didn't you mention the great earthquake and loss of life? or the mounted tribesmen who lived in the mountains and were their cavalry.
Herodotus said the spartans were Macedonians (Greeks) who migrated down like you said in 1100-1200BC.
Macedonians+Spartans=Dorian Greeks
@@ellinmakedon1216 yes that’s right
Not exactly like that but yes, they were the same people.
(Dorians)
20:58 check king's peace date
Sparta is well attested to 2000 bce. It developed later reforms in the later 1100 to 1000 bce era.
You were predestined to be different(Romans 8:29), he who has an ear to hear, let him hear(Mark 4:9).
HALLELUYAH!(PRAISE YE YAH!)
Sparta has a long history indeed...
@@theexile1155 go away Godless Demonic TROAL.
It seems like the enfranchised upper castes retreated into and over time reinforced a unitary martial culture to preserve its dominance over its proportionally larger serf population. This created a martial culture that led the spartans towards outward expansion, for which they had both the internal cohesion & military capability to do so successfully. This expansion of their territory brought an expansion of the serf population, and the material wealth that emerged from their dominance must have increased massively. This increase in risk & reward reinforced the original dilemma between the Spartans and its lower class.
Can u make a video about slavery in sparta and greece
18:40 timestamp to come back to
Happy Hellenic noises :)
good shit
❤
Thank you!
8:25 -- RE: Lycurgus; while I feel your historic concern for placing Lycurgus in a timeline, it seems to me that the key fact of his placement is not the exact year (or even a range of years) but rather *his* recognition of Iron as a key technological development, and thus a cultural necessity. Lycurgus is therefore credited with making "ruined iron" into *the* currency of the Spartans, at least in theory.
With that being said, it seems clear from the whole of the historical record that the Spartans did not fanatically pursue Lycurgus' wishes with respect to spurning gold and silver wealth; but where does the Greek Iron Age truly begin? Possibly, with Sparta.
RE: Ruined Iron; needs a video just for itself, in my opinion. Generally, "ruined iron" is described as being iron which had been made red-hot before being quenched with vinegar, rendering a brittle iron useless for the purpose of making weapons.
*west of the Eurotas, not east (1:13). Good videos though!
Correct... man, I need to stop making these so late at night. Thanks for catching that, really appreciate it!
how have we not covered the spartans?!
KEvron
Haha there are still a lot of groups that I haven't covered yet, including Athenians and Corinthians - have plans for both. Thanks for stopping by, really appreciate it... more on the way, stay tuned and safe!
There's been archeological excavations in Kaiadas, which is the place where Spartans supposedly killed their deform babies. Not a single bone of a child had been found. But plenty of adults. This shows that Kaiadas was a place for executing criminals, and there's no evidence that they were killing their children.
These excavations happened for some years now, and it's surprising that many people still choose to stick to that narrative. To the point where you can even tell there is a purpose behind it.
Imagine living as a Helot in Spartan territory, that has to be hell on earth
Yeah, glad that they eventually got their independence. Thanks for watching!
👍👍👍
Thanks man, appreciate it!
I could not watch: one ad (or several) every two minutes or so. Crazy! I love your channel but I can't watch like that.
Yeah sorry about that... YT is random with ads, I feel sometimes they put a lot of them to encourage viewers to buy their premium, ad-free service. Who knows. Thanks though for stopping by, appreciate it!
@@HistorywithCy - YW, I mentioned in case you had some control on the matter. Cheers.
20 minutes and 7 ad breaks?
Helots for president!
you said 486 for the Kings Peace, did you mean 386?
Yeah, 387/86 BC is the year. A slip on my part. Thanks for catching it!
@@HistorywithCy my pleasure, knew ya had just brought the time line into the 300s
Most overhyped frat house in history wooooooooo!!! Great video tho
Haha that's a good way of putting it. Thanks for stopping by, really appreciate it!
@@HistorywithCy this video earned you a "huh, somehow I'm not subscribed yet. Let's change this!"
About modern Sparta. Nobody lived in Sparta since the 4. century when Alarich the Goth conquered the city (he would later conquer Rome as well). Sparta was repopulated much, much later. So it has very little to do with the ancient city.
The Spartan have documentations of going south, the city has been revived mate let’s not act as every civilization other then the Brits and French ceased to exist.
What do you know about Illyria?
Not as much as I'd like!
we know the the illyrians were heavily influenced by the ancient greeks and romans..😊
The Persians were actually much more enlightened rulers...most of the population probably would have been better off being ruled by them
Hmmm, interesting point. I've always wondered that. I'm not sure much would have changed though since the Persians, especially the further a satrap/province was away from the core regions, would have likely let the local rulers do as they pleased, as long as they paid tribute and supplied soldiers for the Great King's campaigns. Maybe Cyrus the Great would have freed the helots since that would have been in line with his character, but I doubt Artaxerxes II or III, had they been in Greece, would have done much. Would be an interesting alternate history scenario to explore and have some fun with! Thanks for stopping by, really appreciate it... more on the way, stay safe!
But we read teh greeks writing aboy them (and others). Not so surprising thee Greeks really perfers ... Greeks.
Thank Gods, Greeks don't appreciate "Pesians or Anatolian enlightened rulers''.
They prefer democracy, liberty, science and civils wars.
I don't think so
They had their chance and failed