Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia

The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, on the eastern edge of the ancient city near the modern road bridge over the Eurotas, was one of the most important religious sites of Spartan life. What survives today is the rectangular foundation of the temple and the curved tiers of stone seating around it — Roman additions, built when the sanctuary's notorious flogging ritual had become a tourist attraction drawing visitors from across the Empire.

The site is unfenced, free to enter, and almost always empty. Five minutes' walk from the centre of Sparta. Combine with the acropolis on the same morning.

things to do sight
A story
The sanctuary was the site of the *diamastigosis*, a public flogging ritual in which young Spartan boys were whipped while trying to steal cheeses placed on the altar. Plutarch records cases of boys dying under the whip rather than cry out, which the Spartan crowd applauded as proof of their endurance. The ritual continued into Roman times as a spectator sport.