Book excerpt: The image of Sparta has long been of an egalitarian, military society. Yet property and wealth played a critical role in her history. The success of Sparta's classical society rested upon a compromise between rich and poor citizens. Privilege and display were combined with ingenious techniques of outward uniformity and of sharing between rich and poor. Later, increasing inequality led to plutocracy and the decline of Spartan power. Using a combination of historical, archaeological and sociological methods, Stephen Hodkinson challenges traditional views of Spartan separateness from general Greek culture.