WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Like Athens, Sparta had an assembly, but the important decisions were really made by a much smaller group called the Council of Elders. The Council of Elders consisted of two kings and 28 other men. The two kings inherited their position and shared equal powers.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sparta had a special policy maker, the Gerousia, a council consisting of 28 elders over the age of 60, elected for life and usually part of the royal households, and the two kings. High state policy decisions were discussed by this council who could then propose action alternatives to the demos.

Detailed explanation-3: -Sparta’s government was an oligarchy. The people were ruled by a small group of warriors. The Spartans spoke Greek, wrote Greek, thought of themselves as Greeks, but they were very different from the other Greek city-states, and proud of it.

Detailed explanation-4: -The population of Sparta consisted of three main groups: the Spartans, or Spartiates, who were full citizens; the Helots, or serfs/slaves; and the Perioeci, who were neither slaves nor citizens. The Perioeci, whose name means “dwellers-around, ‘’ worked as craftsmen and traders, and made weapons for the Spartans.

Detailed explanation-5: -The residents of Sparta were often called Lacedaemonians.