Sparta
Sparta
Primary culture
Capital territory
Government
State religion
| Military traditions |
Spartan heritage
+5% Discipline
+2.5% Levy Size Multiplier
−5% National Slave Output
Sparta is a local power in southern Greece, once one of the leading powers of the Hellenic world and famed for its unique military traditions and society. As the leader of the 
Peloponnesian League and the main power in southern Greece, Sparta rose to great prestige during its leadership of the Hellenic League in the Persian Wars and for a time hegemon of all of Greece after the defeat of 
Athens, but by 304 AUC Sparta has been long since reduced to a mere shadow of its former self after its own defeats at the hands of 
Thebes and the subsequent liberation of the helots as the city of 
Messenia. Having recently broken free of Macedonian control in the wake of the collapse of the 
Argead Empire, Sparta is now just one of the many independent city states in Greece that must navigate the web of diplomacy with the many newer and stronger powers with interests in the region, though one that has not forgotten its former glory and seeks to restore its traditional power over the fractured region.
Historically, Sparta would try to reform its highly stratified society and restore the old military traditions in an attempt to revive its old power, ultimately contending unsuccessfully with the 20px Achaean League for control over the Peloponnese and being forcibly integrated into the league after its final defeat in in 188 BC until 20px Achaea's own annexation by 
Rome some 40 years later.
Missions[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Spartan missions
With the 
Magna Graecia DLC, Sparta has a unique set of 4 missions focused on reconquering lost Spartan territory, restoring its traditional hegemony over the Peloponnese, and taking on its old rivals in order to avenge its past defeats. As part of these missions, Sparta can release the great sanctuary of 
Olympia as a special 
feudatory subject, liberate the oppressed cities of 
Thessaly, and go on to restore the old Peloponnesian League as a unique country-specific formable.
Without the Magna Graecia DLC, Sparta will instead have access to the Pan Hellenic Government Greek cultural mission tree, with the more general end goal of uniting Greece and forming the 
Hellenic League instead.
Regardless of whether or not the DLC is enabled, like most Hellenistic culture group countries Sparta can also get access to the Euxine Sea Hellenistic cultural mission tree The Hospitable Sea if it makes conquests in the Asian, Bithynian, or Thracian regions, directing it to expand its influence and dominate the Euxine Sea region. Like all other countries, Sparta also has access to the Generic missions regardless of whether or not the DLC is enabled.
Decisions[edit | edit source]
As a Hellenistic culture group monarchy, Sparta has access to the decision to form the Hellenistic Empire.
Reunite Alexander's Empire
That one power could not possibly come from any dynasty but our own. Only a family that respects the Argead traditions can legitimately claim its legacy.
Potential requirements
|
Allow
|
Effects
| |
Pantheon[edit | edit source]
Sparta starts with the following Hellenic pantheon, if the Magna Graecia content pack is owned (pantheon deities are random otherwise):
- War: Athena Polioukhos
- Economy: Apollo Karneios
- Culture: Hyakinthos
- Fertility: Helen
Population[edit | edit source]
Sparta begins with a 
population of 65 pops at the beginning of the game, divided across its 
6 territories. The vast majority of its pops are Lacedaemonian Hellenic, but there is also a small Hebrew Jewish minority in the city of Sparta.
The population type breakdown is listed below:
3 Nobles
20 Citizens
25 Freemen
17 Slaves
Unique investments[edit | edit source]
- See also: Province investment
With the Magna Graecia DLC, Sparta gets two unique province investments for the military and religious slots, replacing the standard province investments:
Free Helots (Civic): 
+1.50% Population Capacity, 
+2% Integrated Culture Happiness, and 
+4% Local Freemen Output
Commission Heroic Frieze (Religious): 
+4% Supply Limit and 
+3% Local Citizen Output
Unique deities[edit | edit source]
- Main article: Hellenic#Spartan deities
These deities are available to Sparta or countries that were formed from Sparta, as long as it is Hellenic, or polytheistic and has enough Hellenic pops / controls the deity's holy site, and require the Magna Graecia content pack (Artemis Orthia is unlocked in the unique Spartan mission tree Spartan Restoration):
| Deity | Category | Rarity | Passive effect | Omen effect | Apotheosis effect | Holy site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athena Polioukhos | War | Very Rare |  −2.50% Legion Maintenance Cost
|
 +5% Discipline
|
Gain  0.50 Military Experience, multiplied by the deity’s  Martial, with a minimum of +2 and a maximum of +5
|
— |
| Hyakinthos | Culture | Very Rare |  +7.50% Oratory Tech Investment
|
+7% Integrated Culture Happiness
|
Gain +2.50 Oratory Advances progress multiplied by the deity’s  Charisma, with a minimum of +5 and a maximum of +25
|
— |
| Apollo Karneios | Economy | Very Rare |  +5% National Citizen Happiness
|
 +12% National Commerce Income
|
If the deity has more than  8 finesse, gain  1 Free Province InvestmentOtherwise, the culture with the most pops gets  +8% Culture Happiness and  +10% Culture Slave Output
|
— |
| Artemis Orthia | Fertility | Very Rare | +10% Population Capacity
|
 +15% Global Monthly Food Modifier
|
 +0.15% Local Population Growth in the capital province for five years
|
— |
| Helen | Fertility | Very Rare | +10% Global Monthly Food Modifier
|
 +0.10 Monthly Ruler Popularity Gain
|
1 Slave appears in the capital; 2 if the deity’s Finesse is at least 6; 4 if the deity’s Finesse is at least 9
|
— |
Strategy[edit | edit source]
 |
Please help with verifying or updating this section. It was last verified for version 1.4. |
Sparta gets strong, military-focused modifiers from its heritage and missions, with a permanent discipline bonus of +20% - not including any deity or technology modifiers - after all 4 mission trees are finished. Combined with the relatively high level of technology that typically comes from starting as a small state and conquering the city-rich provinces of Greece, this means that a fully resurgent Sparta can easily defeat significantly larger armies and, if played intelligently, take on much larger and nominally stronger powers. Therefore Spartan success hinges largely on how effectively the nation can expand in the early game when the Diadochi states are still a significant threat, and whether or not Sparta can manage to unite the Peloponnese and build up enough of a power base to sustain a sufficiently strong army.
Securing strong alliances is the most important part of the early game. The best ally to try to get is the 
Antigonid Kingdom, who is very strong with their many feudatories and has a strong navy that can be used to easily access Greece; however, as the Antigonid Kingdom starts out of diplomatic range, at the beginning of the game there is little that can be done to encourage this other than leaving a diplomatic slot open and hoping that the Antigonids offer an alliance, which they nonetheless will often do after they go to war with 
Macedon. If 
Egypt and 
Seleukid Empire declare war as they often will after a few months, it can be very advantageous to send an army to pillage their core areas while they are busy engaged with the Antigonids - the largely undefended Nile Delta is very suitable for this as long as the Egyptian navy can be avoided, being full of high-pop cities and territories with virtually no forts. Sparta can easily take dozens of slaves and pillage over a thousand 
gold from sacking their cities, providing a very substantial boost that goes a long way towards completely the infrastructure part of the The Second Peloponnesian League mission tree. Assuming that the Antigonid Kingdom wins or is not defeated too badly in its wars, which is usually the case, they will be easily able to take on Macedon and any allies they may have, making the Laconic If achievement fairly straightforward as long as their truce expires in time to start another war.
Sparta's mission tree will direct it towards conquering Messenia and 
Lepreon first, who can usually be conquered with ease with given Sparta's military-focused heritage and high martial king. Defeating the Arcadians and Achaeans is usually somewhat trickier given that they will usually band together in a defensive league of some sort, though once Laconia has been fully conquered Sparta can usually sustain enough of an army to beat them; a combination of picking off isolated armies, attacking when they are otherwise distracted in another war (a very common occurrence in early game Greece), and/or calling in allies will usually ensure victory is usually enough to do the trick. Once the Peloponnese has been united, it is definitely worth taking the time to go through the infrastructure branch of the The Second Peloponnesian League mission tree, which gives a number of rather powerful bonuses - including to 
population output - to all the main cities of the area.
Other than Attica and Boeotia, who need to be annexed to progress down the Ancient Rivals mission tree, Sparta can choose whether or to annex or vassalize the remaining Greek states as feudatories. Annexation will increase Sparta's power base and wealth directly though taking underdeveloped lands can reduce the country's research ratio, while each feudatory will be able to provide many more allied troops that the territory would if directly annexed, even if each individual army is significantly weaker than Spartan ones - the large number of small Greek states means that making a veritable vassal swarm supporting the main Spartan armies is very feasible. The Thessalian city states that can be released in the Ancient Rivals mission tree are particularly good candidates for this, as their high opinion and low strength immediately after being released means that they will tend to peacefully accept vassalization almost immediately. Either way, once Greece and Macedonia have been conquered or subjugated Sparta should be able to take on virtually almost any enemy and emerge victorious.
Achievements[edit | edit source]
