Crypteia
Sign in to saveAlso known as Krypteia
thumb|Messenia (ancient region)|Messenia, homeland of Sparta's helot population, from [[Mount Ithome.]] The Crypteia, also referred to as Krypteia or Krupteia (Greek: κρυπτεία krupteía from κρυπτός kruptós, "hidden, secret"; members were κρύπται kryptai), was an ancient Spartan state institution. The kryptai either principally sought out and killed helots across Laconia and Messenia as part of a policy of terrorising and intimidating the enslaved population, or they principally did a form of military training, or they principally endured hardships as an initiation ordeal, or the Crypteia serve
~13 min read
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Overview
- History and function
- Military affiliation
- Ritualistic activity
- Classical sources
- 5th century BC
- 4th century BC
- 2nd century BC
- 1st century AD
- Modern reception
- In popular culture
- Spartan Race
- Golden Dawn
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
thumb|Messenia (ancient region)|Messenia, homeland of Sparta's helot population, from [[Mount Ithome.]] The Crypteia, also referred to as Krypteia or Krupteia (Greek: κρυπτεία krupteía from κρυπτός kruptós, "hidden, secret"; members were κρύπται kryptai), was an ancient Spartan state institution. The kryptai either principally sought out and killed helots across Laconia and Messenia as part of a policy of terrorising and intimidating the enslaved population, or they principally did a form of military training, or they principally endured hardships as an initiation ordeal, or the Crypteia served a combination of all these purposes, possibly varying over time. The Krypteia was an element of the Spartan state's child-rearing system for upper-class males.
Modern historians often translate "Krypteia" as "secret police" or "secret service", but its precise structure is debated.