I've heard that Sparta was a relatively egalitarian society as far as the citizens were concerned - men and women has equal rights and everyone had a vote, fine and dandy.
But then I read up a little on the factors of citizenship, and it seems like a pretty exclusive deal - you had to both be able to trace your lineage to the founders of the city and go through the agoge to qualify for citizenship, and then make enough corn to sustain your status.
But then, what about the Spartans who didn't go through the agoge, and for that matter women and immigrants? Was it an Animal Farm "some animals are more equal than others" type of thing or was it more of a technical distinction?
You have to remember that Spartan society was a very stratified social hierarchy. At the top was the Homoioi, those men who had gone through the agoge and earned their citizenship and could therefore elect the Ephors and Gerousia. Homoioi translates as "those who are alike", indicating that, other than the 2 kings, Spartan citizens were among equals. However, the Homoioi were a military aristocracy.
Below them sat the Perioeci, "Those who dwell around", who were freemen but not citizens. They formed the the craftsman class, and could own land and fight as hoplites, but could not vote. Spartan women enjoyed quite a bit more freedom than most other Greek women. They could own and inherit land, for instance. They could not vote either, but the women generally ran the estates and handled the money, since the men were devoted to military pursuits, and therefore could wield some level of power (Aristotle condemns the Spartans for the influence of their women in Politics, 2.1269b).
At the bottom of the pyramid were the Helots. These were slaves/serfs who worked the lands owned (conquered) by the Spartans, and enabled the Homoioi to practice their dedicated military lifestyle. They considerably outnumbered the Spartan Homoioi, and fear of the Helots revolting was a major factor in Spartan foreign and domestic policy. The Ephors would annually declare war on the Helots so they could be killed more or less at will, as part of a terror campaign to keep them subdued.
Foreigners could pass through the agoge, but these trophimoi were usually the sons of leaders in other Greeks states, sent to Sparta for the training. There were also the nothoi, which appear to be the bastard sons of Spartans and Helots, who could be sponsored and enter the agoge. Greek city-states guarded their citizenship jealously, but it appears that both trophimoi and nothoi could be granted citizenship after the agoge if they performed well.
So, Spartan society was theoretically egalitarian within a very small segment of the society. Otherwise they had a pretty rigid caste system.