The Isthmus of Corinth is a narrow bit of land which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with mainland Greece. It is near to the city of Corinth. The narrow Corinthian Canal cuts through the isthmus, connecting the Aegean Sea to the Gulf of Corinth.
Tripoli
Tripoli is a city in Libya. It is the capital of the country. More than three million people live in the metropolitan area.
It was originally a Phoenician colony. Later it became in turn part of Greek Cyrenaica, a Roman colony, a pirate port, and the capital of the Italian empire in North Africa.
Argos
Argos is a city in south Greece, the capital of Argos-Mycenae Municipality. It is in the Argolis prefecture, which is on the Peloponnese peninsula. It is named after the child of Zeus and Niobe in Greek mythology. It is the biggest city in Argolida prefecture but the capital of prefecture is Nauplion. Argos is very historical city. The first residents arrived more than 7,000 years ago. It is considered the oldest city in Greece from ancient Greek writers.
The city houses numerous archaeological monuments. Agriculture is an important sector of the local economy.
Sparta
Sparta is a city in Greece. It is the capital of the Laconia prefecture. It is in the south of Peloponnese peninsula. During antiquity, it was extremely powerful. Today, it is a small city. 16,726 people lived there according to the 2001 census.
The word "Spartan" is used to describe somebody who lives a simple life or somebody who suffered a lot without crying or showing that they suffered. It can also mean a life of simplicity, without anything fancy or costly.
Sparta is in the mountainous region of Laconia. This is in the south-east of the Peloponnese. Ancient Sparta was built on the banks of the Evrotas River. The river flows through a valley with mountains on each side. To the west is the Taygetus Range (highest point 2407 m) and to the east is the Parnon Range (highest point 1935 m). Because the ancient Spartans had such good natural defenses, they did not need city walls.
In Ancient Greece, Sparta was a city-state with a very strong army and a government that was well led. Sparta was known as one of the strongest city-states in Greece. Only the strongest survived in Sparta, male or female. The Spartans killed weak children. If they believed that a baby was too weak, they left it out to die of exposure beside a slope on Mount Taygetus. This place was called the "Apothetae", which meant 'the place of rejection'.
Sparta had a government with checks and balances. The executive branch was led by two kings. The legislative branch was led by the citizens. and the judicial branch was controlled by the elders. There was also a committee of five men who were in charge of the education process that young boys and girls went through. Boys and girls were taken from their parents at the age of 7. Boys went to live in barracks with other boys their age. Girls went to school to learn gymnastics, wrestling, and other activities, all for one absolute purpose, that is to become healthy mothers for future generation soldiers.
"Laconophilia" is love or liking of Sparta and of the Spartan culture. Sparta was often admired when it ruled. Long ago, "Many of the noblest and best of the Athenians always considered (thought) the Spartan state nearly as an ideal theory realised in practice". Many Greek philosophers, especially Platonists, would often describe Sparta as a good state, strong, brave, and free.
Sparta was also seen as a model of social purity by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.
Adolf Hitler thought Sparta was very good. He said in 1928 that Germany should be like them by making smaller "the number allowed to live". The Spartans had created "the first racialist state".
Young Spartans boys were taken from their homes at the age of seven to begin a military life. The Spartans became soldiers at age 20, citizens at age 30, and retired at age 60. Men trained hard to become warriors of the Spartan army. Women were encouraged to keep healthy so that they could produce healthy, fit babies to grow up to be strong. Spartans saw little moral value in the concept of childbirth; unless the child was fit to become a Spartan, he would die.
Spartan men married when they were 30 years old. Plutarch writes of the strange custom of the Spartans for their wedding night:
The custom was to capture women for marriage...The...'bridesmaid' took charge of the captured girl. She first shaved her head...then dressed her in a man's cloak and sandals, and laid her down alone on a mattress in the dark. The bridegroom...first had dinner...then would slip in...lift her and carry her to the bed. The husband kept on visiting his wife in secret for some time after the marriage. Only Spartans did these customs. Some people think that the cutting off of the wife's hair was a ceremony that showed she was going into a new life.
Sparta conquered the people of Messenia and Lakonia (the surrounding countryside) at around 680560 BC. These people became known as the "helots". They were "not" slaves: they were serfs. They had a lower position in society, like serfs in mediaeval Europe.
Helots spent their lives farming their Spartan masters "kleros" (land granted to Spartan citizens). The Spartan poet Tyrtaios says helots were allowed to marry and keep half the fruits of their labor. At most times, the helots outnumbered their Spartan masters 10 to 1. They rebelled often, but they were never able to overthrow their oppressors.
Once a Spartan reached the age of 20, he or she would then become a "homoios". A homoios was a member of the ruling class (a citizen). Both men and women were citizens. Sparta was an unusual society for women's rights, because women were considered to be equal.
The Spartan army used the phalanx formation. This contributed to the many battles Sparta won. Their most famous loss is the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans held off a large Persian army for a week.
Olympia
Olympia ( "Olympía") was a place in ancient Greece. It was in Elis, which is now called Ilia; and is in the east of the city Pyrgos. It was the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, the most famous games in history. The Olympic Games were held every four years throughout Classical Antiquity, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. The first Olympic Games were in honour of Zeus.
Olympia was a sanctuary, consisting of various buildings. These included a hippodrome, Palaestra, Gymnasium and several temples. The Olympic Games began here in 776 BC. They were founded by king Pelopas. They happened every four years, in the summers. All the ancient Greek towns competed. The winners of the Olympic games were important people. The Olympic games were abolished by emperor of Byzantium Theodosius I, in 394 AD.
During ancient history, Olympia was a powerful and rich town. It ruled over the west of Peloponnese. Olympia kept its strength and during Roman period. During the Middle Ages it was an unimportant city.
The Gymnasium at Olympia was a large, open air, quadrangle surrounded on all four sides by colonnades of the Doric order. Only the southern and eastern sides survive. They date to the second century BC. The River Kladeos has destroyed the western side. The gymnasium was used by runners and pentathlon athletes for training. Athletes trained in the nude. In bad weather, training took place under the eastern colonnade (210.51 meters) and the other three colonnades. Little of the gymnasium has been excavated. About 200 BC, a portico of the Corinthian order was built to join the gymnasium and the palaestra.
The Hippodrome was the site of horse and chariot races at Olympia, Greece. It was 1,153 meters long. It was south of the stadium, but none of it survives. It was washed away by the Alpheios River.
Pyrgos