| Lacedaemon | ||||||||||||
| Σπάρτα / Λακεδαίμων | ||||||||||||
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Territory of ancient Sparta
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| Capital | Sparta | |||||||||||
| Languages | Doric Greek | |||||||||||
| Religion | Greek polytheism | |||||||||||
| Government | Oligarchy | |||||||||||
| King | See list | |||||||||||
| Legislature | Gerousia | |||||||||||
| Historical era | Classical antiquity | |||||||||||
| • | Foundation | 900s BC | ||||||||||
| • | Messenian War | 685–668 BC | ||||||||||
| • | Battle of Thermopylae | 480 BC | ||||||||||
| • | Peloponnesian War | 431–404 BC | ||||||||||
| • | Battle of Mantinea | 362 BC | ||||||||||
| • | Annexed by Achaea | 192 BC | ||||||||||
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Coordinates: 37°4′55″N 22°25′25″E / 37.08194°N 22.42361°E
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Lambda was used by the Spartan army as a symbol of Lacedaemon
Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, Spártā; Attic Greek: , Spártē) was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece. In antiquity the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (/ˌlæsəˈdiːmən/; , Lakedaímōn), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.