Sparta , Laconia

<body stylesrc="Sparti_introduction.htm" bgcolor="#FFFFCC" background="_themes/canvas/cnvbkgnd.jpg" text="#000066" link="#663399" vlink="#006699" alink="#339999">  <p><img border="0" src="leonidas-logo21a.gif" WIDTH="591" HEIGHT="85"></p> <p><strong><font face="Times New Roman" color="#008000"><a name="Sparta - Introduction"><big>Sparta - Introduction</big></a></font><font face="Times New Roman" color="#FF0000"><br> <img src="Blue.gif" alt="Blue.gif (2752 bytes)" WIDTH="590" HEIGHT="8"></font></strong></p> <div align="left"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" width="603" cellspacing="4"> <tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width="143" bgcolor="#008080" align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="136" bgcolor="#DBC14A"> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#008080"><strong><font color="#FFFF00"><small>The City</small></font></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="3"><a href="Sparti_introduction.htm">I</a></font><a href="Sparti_introduction.htm"><font size="2">ntroduction</font></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="Sparti_useful_infomation.htm">Useful Information</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_fotos.htm">Pictures</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#008080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman" color="#FFFF00"><small>Dorian Sparta</small></font></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_h_1.htm">Overview</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="Sparti_ancient_city.htm">Acropolis of Sparta</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_Artemis_orthia.htm">Sanctuary of Artemis</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="Sparti_ancient_theater.htm">Ancient Theater</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_Leonidaion.htm">Sanctuary of Leonidas</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_Apollo_sact.htm">Sanctuary of Apollo</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#008080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman" color="#FFFF00"><small>Archaic Sparta</small></font></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_menelaion.htm">Menelaion</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_Tomb_of%20_vafio.htm">Tomb of Vaphio</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#008080"><strong><font face="Times New Roman" color="#FFFF00"><small>The Museum</small></font></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="Sparti_museum.htm">Introduction</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="sparti_museum_Exhibitions.htm">Exhibitions</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font size="2"><a href="Sparti_Museum_Mosaics.htm">The Mocaics</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> </table> <p>   </p> <p>  </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </td> <td width="4" rowspan="3">.</td> <td width="422"><font face="Arial" size="2"><img src="sparta_view.jpg" alt="sparta_view.jpg (40284 bytes)" WIDTH="435" HEIGHT="304"></font><p><font face="Arial" size="2">Only a few cities have played a more important role in the formation of Hellenic History than Sparta. Sparta, whose population,although small, didn't keep it from becoming the first military power of its time. A city that had beautiful Helen, a symbol of eternal female beauty, as Queen an and also the city that brought up Leonidas, the incarnation of the universal ideal of patriotism.<br> In the pages of the very rich Hellenic mythology, a very special position is held by the founders of Sparta and those who wrote the prologue of its later glorious history. It is from these pages that gods and heroes will give their names to the valley of Lacedaemon, Eurotas river, mountain Taygetos and Sparta itself.<br> During the Mycenaen period, beyond the fast that art flourished, evident from the golden cups of Vaphion kept today in the Museum of Athens, Sparta gave the poetic cause of the Trojan War, through the abduction of beautiful Helen by Paris. The Dorian period of the city is a period which brings Sparta to the top of the Hellenic history for giving, not only its artistic creations, but the unique way of plain expression of dense meanings and concepts, <<Laconism>>, and also the Spartan ideal through the application of personal self-restraint and self sacrifice for the sake of one's country.<br> <img src="lycurgus.gif" alt="lycurgus.gif (21761 bytes)" align="left" WIDTH="155" HEIGHT="250">Sparta, Lycurgus, and Leonidas are names that since have traveled beyond the Hellenic borders and have been naturalized in Universal History. Today they area synonyms of the concepts of bravery, respect for legislation, self-disciple and patriotism. The admiration of foreigners for this <<legendary city>> of Greece is evident by the thousand of visitors who continually arrive at this place for a <<pilgrimage>> but also by the fact that 12 cities founded both in America and Europe from 1840 to 1924 selected and bear the name of <<Sparta>> with pride.<br> The theatre in Acropolis, the baths and mainly the mosaic floors from houses of the rulers and the rich, still preserved excellently, remind us even today of the roman period of Sparta. There is a considerable number of these mosaics in storerooms or exhibited in the Museum of the city depicting mythological presentations, Muses, Poets, etc.<br> During the 4th Crusade thee inhabitants of the small at that time, Sparta, which during that Christian period of time had been renamed <<Lacaedemonia>>, abandon the valley and settle on the hill below the shadow of the Castle. They will remain there for approximately 200 years creating the miracle of <<Byzantine Mystras>> and another 400 years enslaved by the Turks.<br> In 1834 by order of King Othon, today's city was built on the ruins of ancient Sparta using the plans of Bavarian Urban planner STAUFFERT. The board boulevards, the parks, the public buildings and the unique politeness and hospitality of its people make modern Sparta one of the most beautiful cities in Greece and its inhabitants proud that their destiny chose them to live at a place that bore <<most manly of the men>> and on the soil which <<the most woman of the women>> once walked.</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="275" valign="top"><a href="Sparti_introduction.htm#Sparta - Introduction"><big><big><big><em><strong>Back to the Top</strong></em></big></big></big></a></td> </tr> </table> </div> <p> </p> <table border="1" cellspacing="0" width="589" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#E5E5E5" bordercolordark="#006699" bordercolorlight="#339999"> <tr> <td align="center"><a href="index.html" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Home</em></font></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="news.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>What's new</em></font></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="toc.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Contents</em></font></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="guest_book_front_page.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Guestbook</em></font></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="search.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Search</em></font></a></td> <td align="center"><a href="Organizations.htm" target="_top"><em>Organizations</em></a></td> </tr> </table><table border="1" cellspacing="0" width="589" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#E5E5E5" height="21" bordercolordark="#006699" bordercolorlight="#339999"> <tr> <td align="center" height="19"><a href="xartisnew.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Map</em></font></a></td> <td align="center" height="19"><a href="places.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Attractions</em></font></a></td> <td align="center" height="19"><a href="Laconian_events.htm"><font size="3"><em>Events</em></font></a></td> <td align="center" height="19"><font size="3"><em><a href="gen_info_literature/Info_literature.htm">Literature</a></em></font></td> <td align="center" height="19"><a href="links.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>Links</em></font></a></td> <td align="center" height="19"><a href="About_us.htm" target="_top"><font size="3"><em>About Us</em></font></a></td> </tr> </table><table border="1" cellspacing="0" width="589" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#E5E5E5" bordercolordark="#006699" bordercolorlight="#339999"> <tr> <td align="center"><a href="newmemb.htm" target="_top"><font size="4"><strong>Yes !! I want to become a member</strong></font></a></td> <td align="center"><font size="4"><strong><p align="center"><a href="chat.htm">Chat Room  </a></strong></font></td> </tr> </table> <hr align="left"> <p><strong><font color="#008000">Drop your e-mail here <img src="WB01512_.gif" alt="WB01512_.gif (115 bytes)" WIDTH="45" HEIGHT="19"> </font></strong><a href="mailto:webmaster@laconia.org"><big>webmaster@laconia.org</big> </a></p>  </body>