Somewhere between the Messenian revolt and the Battle of Mantinea, Sparta changed the structure of its military and started to deploy Perioeci to fight along side Spartiates trained in the Agoge. Her hand may have been forced by the loses in the earthquake and closely fought battles such as Tanagra. The thirty year long Peloponnesian War also took its toll as the number of deaths exceeded Sparta’s ability to replace them. As strong as the Spartans were, even they couldn’t win without numbers.
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