Ever wonder
why the Spartan hoplon (shield) had a lambda (L) on it instead of a sigma
(S)? Sparta was the ruling polis, but the area it controlled was Lacedaemonia.
The number of Spartiate (full citizens) was always less than 5% of the
total population of over 200,000 in Lacedaemonia. Though Spartan society
was based on duties owed to the state rather than any notion of individual
rights, it was the only Greek city-state that provided education for girls
similar to that given to boys, and women enjoyed relatively more rights there
than anywhere else in Greece.
