Ancient Sparta faced a devastating population collapse. From ~8,000 citizens during the Persian Wars (c. 480 BC), only ~1,000 remained by 371 BC. Historians called it oliganthropia.
Spartan population collapse from 8,000 to 1,000 citizens
GreeceGeneral
Key facts
- Spartan male citizens numbered about 8,000 during the Persian Wars (c. 480 BC)
- By 371 BC, only 1,000 male Spartan citizens remained
- The problem was called oliganthropia (population decline)
- The 464 BC earthquake sparked a helot revolt that took years to suppress
- Economic factors were the main culprit: growth of large estates meant a wealthy minority at the expense of the rest
- Spartan citizens ate in communal dining halls, each contributing produce from their estate
- More Spartans became too poor to feed their messmates and lost citizen status
- The helot system required thousands to accompany every Spartan army, creating constant revolt risk
Site mentioned
Sources
Demographic Fluctuation and Institutional Response in Spartaescholarship.org
The Spartiate population declined from 8000 in the early fifth century to less than 1000 in the mid-fourth, and caused Sparta's political fortunes to drop ...
Sparta and the Collapse of Greece - History News Networkhistorynewsnetwork.org
In my book The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece, I argue that the war did not truly end until 371 BC, when the ...
Battle of Thermopylae - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
By 480 BC, a decade after the Persian defeat at Marathon, Xerxes had amassed a massive land and naval force, and subsequently set out to conquer all of Greece.
Sparta: The Fall of the Empire - HistoryNethistorynet.com
The decisive defeat of the Spartan hoplite army by the armed forces of Thebes at the battle of Leuctra in 371 B.C. ended an epoch in Greek ...
The rise and fall of ancient Sparta - History Skillshistoryskills.com
Discover the rise and fall of ancient Sparta, from its warrior culture and agoge training to its military dominance, decline, and eventual conquest by Rome.
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