<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article contains special characters . Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article contains special characters . Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . </Td> </Tr> <P> Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, Spártā; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, Spártē) was a prominent city - state in ancient Greece . In antiquity the city - state was known as Lacedaemon (Λακεδαίμων, Lakedaímōn), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south - eastern Peloponnese . Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land - power in ancient Greece . </P> <P> Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco - Persian Wars . Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious, though at a great cost of lives lost . Sparta's defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Sparta's prominent role in Greece . However, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC . It then underwent a long period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages, when many Spartans moved to live in Mystras . Modern Sparta is the capital of the Greek regional unit of Laconia and a center for the processing of goods such as citrus and olives . </P>

In the greek civilisation sparta was well known for