Sparta (TRIH ep 82)
480 BCE · Resource
In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss Sparta: its origins, social structure, myths, and lasting reputation. Holland outlines Spartan geography, the conquest of Messenia, the establishment of helotage, and the Lycurgan-inspired militarised constitution that produced the agoge and the Krypteia. They cover Spartan institutions (two kings, ephors, gerousia), the role and treatment of helots, female education and freedoms, and famous individuals including Cleomenes, Leonidas an...
On these timelines: The Rest Is History (podcast), Resources: Combined
Around 480 BCE
- Mahabharata (400 BCE)
- Ramayana (500 BCE)
- Persian invasions of Greece (499 BCE)
- Gautama Buddha (563 BCE)
- Achaemenid Persian Empire (550 BCE)
- Confucius (551 BCE)
- Aristotle (384 BCE)
- Peloponnesian War (431 BCE)
- Plato (428 BCE)
- Roman Republic founded (509 BCE)