The Spartans Trivia Quiz

Answer: The state

As a high-born Spartan, the welfare of the state is the motivation behind everything you do. If you are male, you will be trained to become a warrior. If you are female, you will produce many healthy children and be an exemplary mother to future warriors and good citizens.

Answer: Spartiates

Spartiates were the élite of Spartan society, and were entitled to all the political and legal rights the state offered. To join this group, you had to be a 'high-born' man who had completed his military training. This group was very small, and it has been estimated that of a population of 225,000, fewer than 10,000 were full citizens. Officially, Spartiates and other Spartan citizens were not permitted to enter any profession except the military.

Next came the perioikoi, who were not Spartan citizens, and were therefore allowed to pursue any profession they chose. The perioikoi were also not bound by laws and traditions which encouraged an austere lifestyle, and discouraged the accumulation of excessive personal wealth. Consequently, the perioikoi were predominantly merchants, craftsman and farmers, as they were the only social class permitted to make a living through business on a significant scale.

At the bottom of the social scale were the helots, who were virtually enslaved. The helots were considered to be the property of the Spartan government, and were tied to the land on which they lived and worked. Compared to other slave-owning Greek states, the Spartans granted many freedoms to the helots, including the right to marry who and when they chose. However, the Spartan government periodically declared war on the helots, who outnumbered them by 10 (or even 20) to 1, to keep them in line. The Spartan class system was extremely rigid, and it was considered impossible to alter your place in the scheme of things.

The Gerousia was a council made up of 28 Spartiates (plus the two kings), who acted in an advisory capacity, as well as presiding at criminal trials. To be appointed to the Gerousia, you had to be at least 60 years old, and be a particularly virtuous person all round.

Answer: The ephorate

Sparta was a dual monarchy, as there were always two kings reigning concurrently. However, the ephorate was the most powerful part of the Spartan government. The ephorate was a group of five men (ephors) who ran the military and the education system. So great was their power that they could even depose the king, if they had enough 'divine proof' to justify it.

The Spartan government was distinctive amongst the other Greek states, in that it had elements of monarchy (two kings), democracy (the assembly) and oligarchy (the council of nobles).

Answer: 7

From the ages of 7 to about 18, noble Spartan boys were trained to be soldiers. The focus was on physical activity, with gymnastics, dance, ball games and exercise being taught. Boys generally lived in groups, and were taught to survive in harsh conditions.

Members of the perioikoi and helot classes were not entitled to this sort of training. Although the perioikoi were required to supply troops in times of war, these men did not undergo the rigorous training that Spartan citizens did.

Answer: Honourable, as long as you don't get caught

Boys were given meagre rations, not only to toughen them up, but also to encourage them to be resourceful. If boys were caught stealing food, they were brutally flogged. The logic was that if the Spartan army invaded a foreign state, its soldiers would instinctively be able to survive by living off the land and pillaging villages.

This practice also meant that the weaker, less cunning (and less criminal) boys were picked off, thereby creating a better, more resilient fighting force.

Answer: All of these

If there was anything that the rest of Greece feared as much as Spartan men, it was Spartan women. Most thought that Spartan women had too much freedom for their own good. Noble Spartan girls were required to receive an education, including activities such as gymnastics, wrestling and discus throwing.

Their training meant they were allowed to participate in sporting events in order to maintain fitness and demonstrate their skill and strengh. Crucially, the fact that men were absent most of the time meant that noblewomen had to run estates and manage their family's wealth.

It is estimated that women owned more than a third of the land in Sparta. This gave them economic power and financial status. Ultimately, Spartan women were expected to look after themselves, and were given the skills and rights to do so.

Answer: At night

For Spartan citizens, marriage meant one thing and one thing only: producing children. To best serve the state, men were warriors and women were mothers, and neither were meant to have time for romance. Married couples saw very little of each other. It was thought that if couples were only allowed to meet secretly at night, it would heighten their desire, and they would have stronger, more robust children.

Men tended to marry in their prime, and interestingly, when they got older they were encouraged to give their wives to younger and stronger men, so that she would continue to produce strong children. Women were also entitled to negotiate with their husbands if they wanted to take a lover. Such arrangements were reason for pride, not shame, as the husband usually claimed the children as his own.

Answer: The ephorate

Each newly 'high born' boy was brought before the ephors, where he was inspected. If he was strong and healthy, he was allowed to return home to be raised. If he was weak or had any deformities, he would be dropped over the cliff called the Apothetae, or Place of Rejection.

Although this was undoubtedly harsh and cruel, it fitted the logic of the Spartan state, which depended on the strength and fitness of its citizens for survival.

Answer: Her name will be written on her headstone

There were only two ways a Spartan could have their name recorded on their headstone; if they died in battle, or died in childbirth. Consequently, it was a very great honour, as you had died in the line of duty, whilst serving the state.

Answer: All of these

At 30, Spartan men became full citizens. This meant that they got to go home, but they were still expected to eat in the common mess with the other men. They could grow their hair to show their new status, and could go shopping for themselves, although they had to shop for younger Spartans as well. Receiving full citizenship also meant that you graduated from the phalanx into the elite hoplites.

I hope you enjoyed my quiz, and have a long and happy (not to mention slightly idealised) Spartan life! :)