Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SPARTA

(Gk. Spartē)

The capital city of Laconia in the Peloponnese of Greece. Founded ca. 1000 b.c.e. by Dorians, it was first known as Lacedaemon. At first a number of independent villages, the Spartans united under two kings and eventually came to supreme power in Greece. They detested luxury and prized service to the state and constant preparation for war. Spartans emphasized courage, selflessness, and rigor (weak newborns being exposed to die, boys being reared severely by the state from seven to 20 years, married men living in military barracks). Sparta bravely supported Athens in the Persian Wars but defeated her as an enemy in the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404). Correspondence between the Jews and Spartans indicates attempts at diplomatic relations (cf. 1 Macc. 12:2-23; 14:16-23; 15:16-22). In 168 the Oniad priest Jason sought asylum in the Jewish community at Sparta following his failed coup (2 Macc. 5:9).

Bibliography. C. B. Avery, ed., The New Century Handbook of Classical Geography (New York, 1972), 314-17; R. J. A. Talbert, ed., Atlas of Classical History (New York, 1985), s.v.

Richard A. Spencer

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SPARTA

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)