The history of Sparta was the great exception to the political evolution of city-states. Despite the fact that the Spartans were ultimately all Greek, Sparta never managed to move in the direction of democratic government. Instead, his rule has evolved into something more akin to a modern dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices, they might have avoided their own downfall and might even have become stronger. The Spartans were originally Dorians who arrived in Laconia as an invading army. Although they had conquered all of Laconia by the end of the 9th century, they were still not satisfied. To the west of the Taygetus Mountains was the fertile plain of Messenia. The Spartans were determined to conquer and succeeded in their goal of dominating the Messenians. The Spartans took the land of the Messenians, killed and expelled their leaders, and turned the general population into slaves called helots. Almost all features of Spartan life derived from the Messenian wars. Unfortunately when they enslaved their enemies, they unknowingly and foolishly enslaved themselves. “They lived the remaining centuries of their history in mortal fear of insurrection. This fear explains their conservatism, their stubborn resistance to change, for fear that any innovation will result in a fatal weakening of the system. opportunity. The Spartan government was dedicated to maintaining what Sparta had already gained and accomplished. In fact they chose to isolate themselves completely from the rest of Greece for fear that dangerous ideas would arrive in...... middle of paper...... nt has evolved into something more akin to a modern dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices, they might have avoided their own downfall and might even have become stronger. Bibliography Burton F. Beers. World history, models of civilization. (New Jersey 1984), 102-104.SGF Brandon. Milestones of History, Ancient Empires, (New York 1973,) 84.William Barclay, Letters to Sparta, (London 1975). 9:14-18 Clement M. Eylera. Evidence for Plato's Educational Philosophy in the Demonstrative School George Peabody, tandfonline.com, 2009. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01619564609536025?journalCode=hpje20S. G. F. Brandon. Milestones of History, Ancient Empires, (New York 1973,) 84.Lerner. Western civilizations. Norton & Company. (London 1988), 111-113.