The Spartan Life Was Spartan Indeed

At first examination of Spartan life it may seem quite sparse. Upon a more detailed examination of Spartan life Sparta is found to have a very rich religious and cultural life, serfs to attend to menial tasks and in theory a democratic government.
Sparta was made up of three main social groups. At the top of the group was the Spartans that were a society that was almost entirely geared for war. Below the Spartiates (or Spartans) were the Perioikoi, or "dwellers around or about." The Perioikoi were foreign people who served as a kind of buffer population between the Spartans and the helots. Because of this vital function, they were accorded a great deal of freedom. Most of the trade and commerce carried out in Sparta were performed by the perioikoi. At the bottom were the helots.
The Messenians were turned into agricultural slaves called helots. Their lives are best described as the life of a serf. …