Lesson plan

Sparta

Sparta was a prominent ancient Greek polis in Laconia. In classical antiquity, the state was known as Lacedaemon ( ), while Sparta referred to its capital, a group of villages in the valley of the Evrotas River in Laconia, in southeastern Peloponnese. During the 7th century BC, it rose to become the most prominent land military power in the Greek world, a status it retained until its defeat at Leuctra in 371 BC. In the 6th century BC Sparta founded the Peloponnesian League, establishing its hegemony over most of Peloponnese. During the second Persian invasion of Greece, Sparta was recognised as the leading land force of the Hellenic alliance that also included the rising maritime power of Athens. The Spartan army was crucial in the battles of Thermopylae and Plataea under the leadership of Leonidas and Pausanias respectively. Sparta led the Peloponnesian League against the Athenian Empire during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), from which it emerged victorious after Lysander's victory at the naval Battle of Aegospotami. A short period of Spartan hegemony followed, when Spartan armies under Agesilaus II led a series of campaigns in western Anatolian satrapies of the Achaemenid empire to protect the Ionian cities.…

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Article summary

Sparta was a prominent ancient Greek polis in Laconia. In classical antiquity, the state was known as Lacedaemon ( ), while Sparta referred to its capital, a group of villages in the valley of the Evrotas River in Laconia, in southeastern Peloponnese. During the 7th century BC, it rose to become the most prominent land military power in the Greek world, a status it retained until its defeat at Leuctra in 371 BC. In the 6th century BC Sparta founded the Peloponnesian League, establishing its hegemony over most of Peloponnese. During the second Persian invasion of Greece, Sparta was recognised as the leading land force of the Hellenic alliance that also included the rising maritime power of Athens. The Spartan army was crucial in the battles of Thermopylae and Plataea under the leadership of Leonidas and Pausanias respectively. Sparta led the Peloponnesian League against the Athenian Empire during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), from which it emerged victorious after Lysander's victory at the naval Battle of Aegospotami. A short period of Spartan hegemony followed, when Spartan armies under Agesilaus II led a series of campaigns in western Anatolian satrapies of the Achaemenid empire to protect the Ionian cities.…

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1872 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of foundation: 1834 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1872". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of foundation is "1834". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378830382

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.