Sparta

Greek city-state of the southern Peloponnese. Sparta's power rested on its hoplite forces and on the exploitation of the plain of Messenia. By the end of the 6th century BC, it was the region's dominant power and in 431 BC challenged Athens in the Peloponnesian War. With Persian support, Sparta won (404 BC), but declining manpower and poor diplomacy minimized its advantages. Defeated at Leuctra by Thebes in 371 BC, Sparta never recovered. Its rigid institutions and brutal military training, with the state-supervised upbringing of all male children, were unique in the Greek world.