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Section II (Ancient Societies): Spartan Society to the Battle of Leuctra 371 BC
Quick questions on Spartan decline from Pausanias to Leuctra (371 BC): HSC Ancient History
8short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the Peloponnesian War (431 to 404 BC)?Show answer
The 27-year war between the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League and the Athenian-led Delian League. Three phases.
What is the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC)?Show answer
The decisive battle of the period. Cleombrotus I, the Agiad king, invaded Boeotia with around 11,000 troops. Epaminondas met him at Leuctra in southwest Boeotia with around 7,000 Thebans.
What is archidamian War?Show answer
Named for the Spartan king Archidamus II. Annual Spartan invasions of Attica produced no decisive result; Athens's naval supremacy kept her supplied. The plague at Athens (430 to 426 BC) killed Pericles and around 25 per cent of the population.
What is sicilian Expedition?Show answer
Athens launched a major invasion of Sicily. After initial promise, the expedition collapsed catastrophically. Around 40,000 Athenians and allies were killed or enslaved (Thucydides 6 to 7).
What is ionian War?Show answer
Sparta, with Persian funding (the Treaty of Miletus, 412 BC), built a fleet. The Spartan admiral Lysander, supported by Cyrus the Younger, defeated the Athenian navy at Aegospotami (405 BC). Athens surrendered in 404 BC.
What is oliganthropia?Show answer
Aristotle (Politics 1270a) treats the decline of Spartiate numbers as the structural cause. From around 8,000 at Thermopylae (480 BC), the citizen body declined to around 1,500 to 2,000 by Leuctra. Land consolidation in fewer families and the strict qualification requirements (failure of the syssition contribution meant loss of citizenship) drove the decline.
What is the Helot threat?Show answer
Internal policing absorbed military and political energy. The Helot revolt of the 460s BC showed the depth of the threat. After Leuctra, the loss of Messenia removed Sparta's economic foundation.
What is diplomatic isolation?Show answer
Sparta's high-handed conduct after 404 BC alienated allies and produced the coalitions that defeated her.