Sparta had a policy of maintaining a strictly military state, which meant that Spartans had to exclude from activities like farming and agriculture to trades and craftwork; such activities that perhaps contributed greatly to the economy. Therefore, the importance of the perioikoi and the helots performing such tasks was stressed upon to ensure that Spartans could continue their military training. Land occupied in Sparta was abundant in natural resources such as iron, bronze and flax that allowed Sparta to easily produce equipment and all land was owned by the government, which also allowed the wealth of Sparta to be contained within the state amongst the citizens.

The occupation of land in Laconia and Messenia gave the government of Sparta an area that provided adequate natural resources that were easily converted into tools and gear that were of vital use to the Spartans, both economically and for military purposes. Agriculture was perhaps the core contributor to the economy as large amounts of agricultural products were created, such as food crops, meat, milk and wool. Iron and bronze was readily available to be extracted and transformed into tools of weaponry and ar

mour and could also be made into trade products, which further enhanced the economy. The profusion of natural resources Spartan land offered allowed Spartans to have self-reliance within the state and meant that the Spartans needed to import very few necessities from outside the economy.

Even though the hard work of both the perioikoi and the helots contributed to the wealth of the Spartan economy, it also served as a weak point and caused the Spartans to eventually come to a vulnerable position from their strong dependence on these two groups. Helots increasingly became rebellious and easily outnumbered the Spartans in population, while the perioikoi had much control over the export/import passing points. The decline of the Spartan economy began in the fifth century due to the fall in the number of Spartiates from constant involvement in war; deteriorating relationships between the Spartiates and the perioikoi and helot rebellions; and the problems associated with land distribution and inheritance causing inequality in divisions of the kleroi.

Kleros is the term given to the allotment of land along with helots to a Spartiate at birth. These were state-owned and could not be divided or sold as they were believed to be evenly distributed amongst the citizens, according to Plutarch, and would return into the possession of the state once the Spartiate died or could be inherited within the family among male members. Still, additional land could have been acquired, which was allowed to be sold and therefore, created a few inequalities in land ownership. Also, Xenophon explains how at the beginning of the sixth century, women started to gain ownership of land and were able to control their inherited land without

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