Perioeci

The Perioeci or Perioikoi (Περίοικοι, /peˈri.oj.koj/) were the second-tier citizens of the polis of Sparta until c. 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The perioeci only had political rights in their own city, while the course of the Spartan state exclusively belonged to Spartan citizens, or Spartiates.

The name perioeci roughly means "those dwelling around/nearby", deriving from περί, peri, "around", and οἶκος, oîkos, "dwelling, house". Perioeci and Spartans were collectively called the Lakedaimonians.

They had a central role in the Spartan economy, controlling commerce and business, as well as being responsible for crafts and manufacturing, including producing the weapons and armour of the Spartan army, as the higher-ranking Spartan citizens considered all commercial and money-making activities to be unworthy of them.^[1] The perioeci were also the only people allowed to freely travel outside the Spartan state's borders, which the Spartans were not, unless given permission. Like the Spartiates, the perioeci owned helots and fought in the army.

Other major cities in the Peloponnese likewise controlled perioecic cities, such as Elis and Argos.