perioikoi means the ancient inhabitants of Laconia who were free residents of the mountains and the beaches of Laconia. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
perioikoi is pronounced /ˌpɛɹiˈɔɪkɔɪ/.
Why “perioikoi” is a great word
The free inhabitants of the outlying towns and territories of Laconia in ancient Greece, who were personally free but lacked the full political rights of Spartan citizens. The term is a transliteration of the Ancient Greek Περίοικοι, from περί (perí, "around") + οἶκος (oîkos, "house, dwelling"), literally meaning "dwellers-around." Unlike the Spartiates, who commanded the state from its militarized core, or the Helots, who were bound as serfs to the soil, the perioikoi occupied the ambiguous middle ground—free, yet subject; local, yet peripheral. They were the sinew that connected Sparta's iron spine to its outer limbs: the smiths forging hoplite armor, the merchants trading in coastal ports, the steady auxiliary troops forming the flanks of the phalanx. To be a periokos was to live forever in the penumbra of a sun that gave no warmth.
Etymology
Transliteration of Ancient Greek Περίοικοι (Períoikoi).
noun
- The ancient inhabitants of Laconia who were free residents of the mountains and the beaches of Laconia.
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