MEGA URGENT! spartan economy is a painnn!! (1 Viewer)

CVHS08.KLE

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hi guys, im stuck with the SPARTAN ECONOMY - (we got the rejected topic T_T") and there is literally no information or sources on the economy - well not much, for the matter. my group (3 people) .. we're suppose to do a 15 min presentation on it, and i find it simply impossible.. espcially when i've exhausted all the sites and encycolpaedias etc. etc. trying to loook for information! i've collated as much as i could, but the information cannot be extended to make 15mins worth of presentation =/

if anyone has any notes or information about the economy of sparta.. please help =/

thankyou =]
 

Faesy

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Are you serious? Who is your teacher? We have heaps on the economy, but here are some basic pointers. It might be too late to save your speechy presentation thing but it will help with the more important hsc.

Economy in Sparta is based on Agriculture. Thats pretty much it.You should mention that the Spartiates themselves were a non-producing class and so they relied heavily on the Helots who were practically in a serfdom. Because they provided all the agricicultural produce that the Spartiates and thier king needed the Sparitiates themselves were free to be in the army only. The heolts farmed the land called Klerioi which was distributed to each Spartiate as he reached a sysstion. Sparta was generally an isolated state as Lykurgus had forbidden them to participate in any kind of trade, however, the Perioki had the monopoly of trade. They traded with other states to make the armour for the Spartans and thier ships and any other equipment needed.
"Agricultural generated wealth" Brennan (i think)

Basically if you cover the fact theat Spartiates are non-producig class and helots farm the land to make all produce. Then mention about the Perioki and thier trading habits with iron bars to also provide for the Spartans you should be about safe. There's a little more than that but i don't have my notes on me, this is from the top of my head so sorry if its a little brief.

Hope that helps.
 

dollabella

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Brennan book Spartan Society has a whole detailed chapter on the economy. Get the book before the HSC its got everything. What are you using if you are not using that ?
 
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This is the answer I gave for a 5-mark question in the half-yearly:

According to Welch, 'agriculture was the basis of the Spartan economy'. State-owned serfs or 'helots' farmed the kleroi and supplied a fixed amount of produce to their masters, which were then passed onto the family and syssition. While there is evidence of coinage being minted in Laconia, the Lykurgan reforms forbade the participation in trade with other city-states, introducing a system of iron bars. Trading activities were instead undertaken by the perioikoi who controlled the port of Gytheum, as well as dealing in agriculture and industry (e.g. the production of armour for the Spartiates). It was a self-sufficient economy, reflective of their insular society.

i think that's about it (in a nutshell), and was enough to gain 5 marks. but since you need to talk for 15 minutes, elaborate on each point with evidence and quotes from historians, both modern day and ancient (i.e. both Plutarch and Xenophon comment on the banning of coinage).

hope that helps!
 

Batman2009

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thanks Faesy ... I'm actually stuck on that topic too ... + trade but I've got that just about downpat ...
 

dollabella

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thanks Faesy ... I'm actually stuck on that topic too ... + trade but I've got that just about downpat ...
The Spartans used coinage - of Aegina and had a ' black' economy. The good students will know this. Plturach invented the iron coinage stuff. No one believes it now. use the Brennan book - go to a library and read it.
 

live.fast

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thanks Faesy ... I'm actually stuck on that topic too ... + trade but I've got that just about downpat ...
If anyone else has questions about the spartan economy - feel free to ask - I didn't have time to respond to this beforehand. I'm also selling my notes for $15, in the link below, if anyone is interested! :D
 

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