Sparta

Sparta (Lacedaemon), a city-state in the Peloponnese, developed a unique military society under the laws attributed to Lycurgus. Its agoge training system produced Greece's most formidable warriors. Sparta led Greek resistance at Thermopylae (480 BCE) and defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War (404 BCE). Its power collapsed after Thebes defeated it at Leuctra (371 BCE) under Epaminondas.

• Existed: 900 BCE – 371 BCE
• Type: Entity
• Government: Mixed constitution: dual hereditary kings + Gerousia (28 elders) + 5 Ephors + Apella (assembly of Spartiates)
• Capital: Sparta (Lacedaemon)