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You might think that the current social structure is fair, but sometimes you think about what the social structure for ancient communities was like. One ancient community, Sparta, is worth learning about!
For the social structure of Sparta there were a lot of things on a lot of different levels. The kings and the council of elders were at the very top of the list. Of course, the kings ruled the city. It’s obvious the people in this class were free and were citizens. The council of elders are meant to help the kings control their responsibilities and job. The council of elders are a group of retired aristocrats. These ranks are very honorable, of course. The aristocrats were right under the kings and the council of elders, as the second highest class. The aristocrats were also known as “Spartiates”. The people in this class were free and were citizens. The aristocrats were soldiers, and Spartan soldiers are very honorable! That’s why they were the second topmost of the social structure. When an aristocrat turns 60 years old, they retire to the council of elders. The class below the aristocrats is the Perioeci Class. A person in the Perioeci Class was known as a “Perioikoi”. The Perioeci Class were free, but were noncitizens. Like most noncitizen classes, most of the people who made up this class weren’t honorable to their community or were punished in some way. In the Perioeci Class, these people were part of a community whom were conquered by Sparta. The people who made up this class were artisans, craftsmen, and farmers. Sometimes, a perioikoi could have a chance to try and serve for the military! In other words, they had an opportunity to be a part of the aristocrats! The last social class at the very bottom were helots, or slaves. Helots were not free and were noncitizens. Like most noncitizen classes, most of the people who made up this class weren’t honorable to their community or were punished in some way. In the helot rank, these people were people who broke the laws and spoke against the Spartan tradition. Helots who were found trying to encourage someone to break the rules will be murdered! That’s brutal! So to sum it all up, the kings and the council of elders were on the very top, then the aristocrats (AKA spartiates), then the Perioeci Class, and finally the helots (or slaves). In the Spartan social structure it was possible to “move up.” In other words, you could rank up in society, so a lower class could move to a higher class. One way you could move up for example, is if you hit the age of 60 as an aristocrat, you would retire and become part of the council of elders. The council of elders is one class higher than aristocrats. Fun Facts
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