The Spartans as Lacedaemonians
The region of the Peloponnese which held the Spartan people was called Lacedaemon (now Laconia) and the Spartans were known as the Lacedaemonians from at least the fifth century B.C. By that time, Lacedaemon was used interchangeably with Sparta when referring to the political entity. What happened before that time?
In the Iliad, the land ruled by Menelaus is referred to as “a hollow” which is “scarred with ravines”, certainly an apt description of the Spartan lands as they look today. But if the setting of the Iliad was the Mycenaean Age, the residence of Menelaus would have been a castle. Where was it? Toynbee speculates that the original “Sparta” may have been at Therapne or Amyklai, nearby towns that date back to the Mycenaean time.