People / group
Mothax
The mothakes (singular mothax, a Doric Greek word meaning "stepbrother") were a sociopolitical class in ancient Sparta, prominent particularly during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE). They were mostly the sons of Spartiate fathers and helot mothers, or the children of impoverished Spartiates. Free but not citizens, they were brought up alongside Spartan boys as their foster brothers, usually at the expense of wealthy families; since they could not contribute to the syssitia, the citizens' common messes, they could not hold equal status, but they were allowed to fight alongside the perioeci. Some rose to prominence, among them Gylippus, Lysander and Callicratidas.
See also
Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mothax. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mothax
- MLA
- “Mothax.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mothax. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Mothax.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mothax.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mothax’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/mothax (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻