Geographical Location of Sparta:

• General locaton in Greece 
• Name of river valley , nature of Laconian land (Sparta and in general) and how it was replenished
• Names of surrounding mountain ranges, where they are in relation to Sparta, what they seperated Sparta from in each direction
• Signficance of these mountains to Sparta and implications on defensive precautions taken by Sparta
• Implications for Spartan trade
• defensive implications of physical position of method of trade
• Implications of nature/ size of Spartan land (time frame for action taken)

• Sth Estrn Peloponnese (blob of Greece) in Lakonia (<== mostly mounatinous terrain) In the valley of the Eurotas river (small but very fertile river plain replenished by flodding by Eurotas in spring with the influx of water and deposit of mud from melting sonw in the Arcadian mountains)
• Bordered to the East by the Parnon mountain ranges, to the West by the Taygetus mountain ranges and to the North by the Arcadian mountains (seperated from Agolid to the East, Messenia to the West and Arcadia to the North) (mountain ranges therefore provided naturalbarrier to invasioin)
• Since there was no easy path over these surrounding Mountain ranges into Sparta,Sparta did not have a completed defensive wall until the 2nd century B.C.
• Surrounding mountains also necessitated trade via sea (ie the southern Spartan port of Gytheon)
• Port of Gytheon was located 43 kilometres south of the city so the polis was also protected form invasion by sea (by it's distance from gytheon)
• Although the alluvial plains in the Eurotas river valley provided Sparta with fertile land for agriculture, as Sparta's population gre this land became insufficient to provide enough food for the growing Spartan Populous, this lead the Spartans out of neccesity to provide food for it's citizens to conquer their Western Neighbour messenia (for their fertile plains) and incorporate it into Spartan territory ( c. 740-770 B.C. and hold onto it for over three C's) 

Further features of the Spartan geographical setting

• Features of the Eurotas river
• Significane/ nature of it's uses (or inability to be used as a) transport route
• names of two systems that could be reached by travel along the river (which direction) and where they lead

• The Eurotas river flowed between two high banks
• Often became a raging torrent in the spring with the addition of water from melting snow on the Arcadian mountains to the North up river from Sparta
• Flooding of alluvial plain provided fertile land for Spartan agriculture
• In the south the Eurotas riverpasses through a narrow gorge and over a series of falls for 40km . These falls meant that the Eurotas was not navigable from Sparta to the port of Gytheon and protected Sparta from enemy forces invading via the river
• The Eurotas river provided an important route to other ports of the Poloponnese by following the river to it's source in the central Peloponnese and following links to other river systems eg.:
  • the Alpheus led to Olympia
  • Pamissas flowed down into Messenia

Sources for Geographical location of Sparta:

• Ancient

Ancient

• Strabo (c. 63 B.C - A.D 24)
  • worte detailed description of Sparta's geographical location and landscape (Geographia written early in the 1st century A.D.) extensive culmination of geographical knowledge of the time and included very useful information on Sparta's geographical location and landscape
• Pausanius (2nd C A.D.)
  • Wrote " Description of Greece" which contained accurate geographical information on Sparta information incorporated into a "tourist's guide to visiting Sparta

Spartan resources

• Food
• Livestock (and what produce was made from them)
• the basic elements of the ancient Greek diet (as derived from Sparta's resources)
• (general location for production of specific resources)
• Mineral
• 4 other naturally harvested resource (2 from mountains (which mountain)) (2 from sea (where))

• Barley was grown as a staple grain grown on the laconian plain (wheat and oats were also grown)
• Also grown on Spartan land were figs
• while uplands provided suitable slpopes for grazing sheep and goats and growing grapes and olives
• Other livestock farmed in ancient Sparta were cattle, Horses and pigs
• Sparta also kept numerous bee hives for producing honey and Spartan honey was famous
• these resources translated into the basic elements of the ancient Greek diet : bread, wine and olive oil. (aswell as being used as a key part of the Spartan's diet Olive Oil was also burnt for lighting) and also products form livestock: wool, skins, cheese and occasionally meat (occasionally because slaughter of livestock limited production of milk, cheese and wool).
• Laconia also posessed mineral resources: Gold, Silver, and Ironand Spartan quarries produce limestone and marble
• Shellfish from the Laconian gulf were also hervested to produce the ruddy purple dye used by the Spartans to dye their soldier's cloaks ( called murex dye and made it less easy to see blood of fellow or enemy soldier on battle cloaks)
• Also hervested from Gytheon in the Laconian gulf were fish and seafood
• Another resource that the landscape yeilded to the Spartans was timber from the forests of the Taygetus mountain ranges. These mountain rangese also provided animals such as wild boar

Sources for Spartan resources

• Ancient
• Modern

Ancient

• Strabo refers to quarries producing Limestone and Marble