Sparta, Greece

Lacedaemon
Σπάρτα / Λακεδαίμων
900s–192 BC
Lambda was used by the Spartan army as a symbol of Lacedaemon
Territory of ancient Sparta
Capital		Sparta
Languages		Doric Greek
Religion		Greek polytheism
Government		Diarchy 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
Preceded by Succeeded by Greek Dark Ages Achaean League Roman Republic

Coordinates: 37°4′55″N 22°25′25″E / 37.08194°N 22.42361°E / 37.08194; 22.42361

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 (, 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.

Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars. Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious, though at a great cost of lives lost. Sparta's defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Sparta's prominent role in Greece. However, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. It then underwent a long period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages, when many Spartans moved to live in Mystras. Modern Sparta is the capital of the Greek regional unit of Laconia and a center for the processing of goods such as citrus and olives.