SPARTAN SOCIETY

in the Peloponnesian Peninsula and connected to Central Greece by narrow strip of land called Isthmus of Corinth

location of Sparta

• marble quarried from Mt Taygetus

• iron, lead and clay

• grape vines, fruit trees, barley, wheat

• sheep, goat, pigs

natural resources of Sparta

1. “to the ordinary Greek the town looked more like a cluster of rural villages than a city”- modern historian Fitzhardinge

2. “Laconia has much arable land but it is…surrounded by mountains and difficult for enemies to invade”- 5th century BCE Athenian playwright Euripides

sources for geographical environment

650 BCE

when did Lycurgus develop the Spartan Constitution?

in oral form (The Great Rhetra)

Spartan constitution

• claimed he went to see Oracle of Delphi who delivered Rhetra in form of a prophecy

• told him to “sweep away the existing order and make a complete change of constitution”

Plutarch on Lycurgus

• claimed he brought Rhetra from island of Crete

• “Lycurgus changed all the laws and…they became a well ordered state”

Herodotus on Lycurgus

“Sparta has one of the smallest populations yet has become one of the most powerful and famous of the Greek states…I admire Lycurgus, the man who established the laws under which they flourished”

xenophon on lycurgus

1. “There is no good evidence for Lycurgus as a real person. He was probably a primitive local god”- fitzhhardinge

2. “Lycurgus is a shadow, possibly even a mythological figure”- Forrest

3. “the perpetuation of his name was one of the most successful frauds in history”- andrews

modern lycurgus sources

“the best constitution is a combination of all existing forms…it is made up of a monarchy, oligarchy and democracy”- Aristotle

source about Spartan system of government

one chosen from lineage of Agiads and one from Eurypontids (each a representative of a form of Zeus)

how were the two kings chosen

• supreme commanders of army

• right to declare war

• only one could go to battle while other remained in Sparta

military roles of kings

• chief priests of Zeus

• intermediaries between gods and men

• offered sacrifices to Apollo every month

religious roles of kings

• must be present for adoptions

• managed public roads

• had to swear a monthly oath to abide by the law

judicial roles of kings

• “at all public religious celebrations they are the first to sit down and get twice as much of each dish as anyone else”

• “to them belong the hides of all animals offered in sacrifice”

• “at all public games seats of honour are reserved for them”

privileges of kings (herodotus evidence)

• 5 men elected by ekklesia

• came from each village (oba) of sparta

the Ephorate

• chief magistrates handling civil and criminal cases

• supervised kings on war campaigns

• could depose the king

roles of ephora

• “ephors have the right to inflict punishment at will”- Xenophon

• “frequently men who are extremely poor get onto this board…making them open to bribery”- Aristotle

ephorate evidence

• 28 elders over the age of 60 and the kings

• advisory group for kings

• held office for life, elected by ekklesia

Gerousia

preparing and deliberating on bills which were presented to the ekklesia for voting

roles of Gerousia

• “whenever an elder died, his place should be taken by a man over sixty…whoever was met with the most shouting was the man declared elected”- Plutarch

• “Those who have had a share in this office have been guilty of taking bribes and have been corrupt enough to give away a lot of public property”- Aristotle

Gerousia evidence

• all males over 30

• voted on proposals put forward by Gerousia

• voted on Gerousia and Ephorate

• could be overruled by Gerousia

Ekklesia

1. Spartiates

2. Perioikoi

3. Helots

4. women and inferiors

classes of society

• only full citizens

• members of military or agoge

• no economic role, only military

• never more than 10,000

Spartiates

• autonomous tradesmen living in plains around Sparta

• could be conscripted into army if needed

Perioikoi

1. Bronze figurines and large greek vase found in Kalamata believed to have been made in laconia by perioikoi

2. “With them went 5000 picked Lacedaemonian troops drawn from outlying towns”- Herodotus talking about perioikoi serving in war

perioikoi sources

• state owned slaves assigned to work on a plot of land owned by Spartiates

• could be conscripted into army

helots

coined in 1933 by french historian francois ollier, idealist propaganda of sparta as undefeatable and solely militaristic, perpetuated by xenophon

spartan mirage

• Parthenai (children of unmarried Spartans)

• Mothakes (non-Spartan boys adopted as playmates)

• Neodamodeis (helots freed for serving Sparta in battle)

• Hypomeiones (Spartiates stripped of citizenship for being cowards)

inferiors

• “Lycurgus devised they should have a crimson cloak and bronze shield…thinking that the former has the least in common with women’s dress and is more warlike”- xenophon

• “Young men are permitted to enter battle with their hair groomed and a cheerful glorious appearance”- xenophon

sources about Spartan soldiers

• “the boys learned to read and write no more than what was necessary”

• “as they grew older they intensified their training and got into the habit of cropping their hair, going barefoot and exercising naked”

Plutarch sources on the agoge

1. government official would inspect 10 day old boy for deformities

2. from 0-7 they lived at home with mother

3. from 7-12 they lived with herd of boys called Agelai at barracks, learned reading, writing, basic military skills

4. 12-18 lived in barracks and trained

5. 18-23 could marry and serve in non front line army

6. 23-30 full time hoplite soldiers

7. 30+ full citizenship

agoge timeline

secret police to prevent helots from revolting (murdered stronger helots in the night)

krypteia

“by night they killed the sturdiest and best of the helots”- Plutarch

krypteia evidence

• mess hall mandated by Lycurgus to build comradeship

• helots had to make food so their Spartiate masters could meet syssitia quotas

• 77L of barley, 3kg of cheese, 39L wine a month

Syssitia

• “they assigned to the helots every shameful task”- myron of priene

• “they received a stipulated number of beatings every year regardless of any wrongdoing”- myron of priene

control of helots evidence

stayed at home with mothers but taught reading, writing, organised team games and singing

education of girls

• “Lycurgus prescribed physical training for the female sex no less than for the male….thinking that if both parents were strong their children would be more robust”- xenophon

• “in other cities girls are expected to imitate the sedentary lifestyle of craftsmen”- xenophon

• women only become pregnant when they are “ripe for it”- plutarch

women’s role quotes

• passing on military valyes to children

• votive offerings to Artemis Orthia brought by barren women or those who had survived childbirth

• managed kleros when men were away

• at end of classical period, aristotle noted they owned two fifths of spartan land

roles of women

““Lycurgus persuaded the citizens to pool all the land and redistribute it afresh. They would all live on equal terms with the same amount of property”-Plutarch

quote supporting kleroi system

“the land has come into possession of a small number…for their lawgiver (Lycurgus) left it open for anyone to transfer land by gift or bequest”- aristotle

quote against kleroi system

Sparta did not have equality of property … there had been at some stage a distribution of land…the land passed out in the redivisions is far more likely to have belonged to outsiders and foreigners than to the great Spartiate landowners.”

•  D. Kelly: “Sparta: Some myths ancient and modern” (1982)

modern quote about kleroi

iron ore in laconia where perioikoi lived, imported copper and tin

how did perioikoi acquire resources to make bronze

1. beating sheets of bronze into vessels e.g. Vix Krater from 500 BCE

2. molten bronze poured into casts to make small objects e.g. votive offerings to Artemis Orthia from 600 BCE

2 methods of making bronze items

image of Apollo at Amyclae and the statue of ‘Athena of the Bronze House’ made of separate sheets of bronze pinned together over a wooden core and hammered

bronzework evidence

• bronze corinthian helmet

• sculpted breastplate

• hoplon shield (wooden with bronze sheet)

• bronze greaves for shins

• short sword of iron of bronze (not often used)

• 3m wooden spear tipped in bronze

bronze armour set for hoplites

kylix cups made on wheel

pottery small vessels

kraters or amphorae hand built

pottery large vessels

Arkesilas cup from 560 BCE (kylix or drinking cup) depicts King Arkesilas II of Cyrene in Africa watching weighing and packing of white substance (tells us perioikoi trading went as far as africa)

pottery evidence

Used clay from banks of Eurotas

Painted with reddish clay rich in iron which turned black in the firing process, making a kind of glaze, fired in dome shaped wooden kiln

pottery process

““For who would rob another of such a coin? it was of great weight and quantity of which was very little worth”- Plutarch

evidence of Lycurgus using iron bars as currency

• barrier against greed

• prioritising nation over money

• could only be used to purchase necessities from perioikoi

why were iron bars used as currency

port of gytheum on peloponnese coast 46km from sparta

main trading port

• vix krater found in a grave in vix france, frieze around rim depicts hoplites and chariots

• giglio shipwreck found in 1960s off coast of italy from 600 BCE, contained laconian pottery e.g. perfume containers, mugs, bowls

evidence for trade

• combined artemis with older minor spartan god orthia

• patron of childbirth

• thousands of lead and ivory votive offerings found in temple

artemis orthia

• spartans were weak seafarers and region was frequented by earthquakes seen as punishment from poseidon

• temple to poseidon at cape taeneron

poseidon

• god of light, music and order

• worshipped at all 3 major religious festivals

• temple to apollo at amyclae

apollo

• zeus uranius god of skies

• zeus lakedaimonius patron of lakedaimon

• kings were chief priests of these 2 forms

zeus

abstract idea associated with military ethos, kleroi etc. projected onto him to give them legitimacy

importance of lycurgus as a legend

• castor and pollux

• marble relief from 6th century highlights athletic physiques

• represented young men, athletics, horsemanship and warfare

importance of dioscuri as a legend

• reinforcing military values

• gave legitimacy to military order

• predicted luck for year ahead, appeasing gods, preventing natural disasters

purpose of religious festivals

• 3 days over summer

• apollo accidentally killed his lover with a magic discus and his body is buried under temple at amyclae (location of festival)

• day 1 funeral meal, day 2 ritual mourning, day 3 festivities to celebrate apollo

hyakinthia festival

• held in midsummer with athletic displays, musical performances

• main event was naked war dancing

• commemorating military loss at battle of hysiae in 669 BCE

• reinforcing importance of military for spartan boys

• “the most solemn of all laconian festivals”- pausanias

gymnopaedia festival

• 9 day harvest festival

• karnos was a ram god from early sparta combined to make apollo karneois god of good omens

• foot race where young spartiate ran ahead and chased by unmarried spartiates, if they caught him it was a good omen for year ahead

• spartans couldn’t fight in these 9 days

• “The Spartans did not wish to break their law…they said they could not take the field until the moon was full”- herodotus

karneia festival

in greek world death was seen to bring evil spirits and bad omens, lyrcurgus fought superstition by framing death as glorious and aspirational

Lycurgus made an excellent regulation; he prevented all superstition by allowing the dead to be buried in the city…familiarising the youth this sight so they were not scared by the idea of death”- Plutarch

attitudes toward death

• buried within city gates

• only warriors who died in battle or women who died in childbirth were given graves marked by amphorae

• others in unmarked graves around city

burial practices

laconian amphora grave marker from 7th century BCE depicts hunting and military scenes, grave of spartan soldier

grave marker evidence

• only kings got public funerals

• women walked through streets beating cauldrons

• one man and one woman had to dress for mourning for 10 days

• spartiates, perioikoi and helots would strike their head against wall in public display of mourning

funerary customs for kings

• ““When one of the kings die, not only Spartans but a certain number of the country people from every part of Laconia are forced to attend the funeral”-Herodotus, The Histories

• “If a king dies in battle, then they make a statue of him and placing it on a couch…carry it to the grave”- also Herodotus

• After the burial for the space of 10 days there is no assembly nor do they elect magistrates but continue mourning the whole time” - Herodotus again

king funeral evidence

• bronze sculptures e.g. vix krater and 500 BCE statue of girl exercising

• painted vases e.g. arkesilas cup, kadmos and the dragon kylix from 550-540 BCE showing hoplite soldier

• bone and ivory carvings e.g. 600 BCE carvings of soldiers from temple of Artemis Orthia

art

• amyklaion (temple of apollo) built in 6th century BCE and had a lot of resources invested in it, shrine to apollo and hyakinthos, bronze statue of apollo surrounded by colonnades

• menelaion (supposed burial site of menelaus king of sparta and helen) from 700 BCE, close to ruins of mycenaean mansion, votive statuette

• sanctuary of artemis orthia near Eurotas river, thousands votive offerings buried there, two successive temples 8th and 6th centuries BCE, location of cheese stealing festival

significant architecture

• wrote in 7th century BCE

• choral poetry for women to perform

• in ‘maiden songs’ refers to “honey voiced maidens”

• “may our chorus be pleasing to all of zeus’ house and to thee o lord apollo”

alcman

• wrote in 7th century BCE

• military focused poetry

• “it is a beautiful thing when a good man dies for his fatherland”

• sung in agoge and marching before battle

• “Now is the time for each to cover his body, ankle to neck, behind the hollow belly of his shield”-

tyrtaeus

• philosopher with athenian bias

• didn’t like how sparta was based on military ideals instead of democracy

• “the spartans brutalise their children…they go about it completely the wrong way”

• condemns ‘greed and lxuruy’ and the fact that women owned land

aristotle

• athenian army general with athenian bias

• “those…would find it difficult to believe that the power of Sparta had deserved its reputation”

• focuses on conflict between sparta and athens, not spartan institutions

thucydides

• travelled extensively, born in halicarnassus

• wasnt spartan never visited, the histories written through word of mouth

• critical of government but praises military, tells us about roles of women, dual kingship etc

• “fighting singly they are as good as any but fighting together they are the best soldiers in the world”- Herodotus

  
  

herodotus

• lived in sparta for many years

• praised rhetra and agoge

• believed spartan supremacy was inevitable, maybe trying to justify defection from athens to sparta

• ascribed everythin to lyrcurgus

• “Lycurgus…brought his fatherland to the pinnacle of prosperity”

xenophon

• born asia minor 1st century CE

• visited laconia 400 years after fall of sparta

• valuable info about geography, fitzhardinge warns that his account of the messenian wars are inaccurate

• wrote ‘description of greece’

pausanias

• AD 50 lived in greece, held priesthood at delphi

• documented lives of roman and greekleaders

• wrote life of lyrcugus, tells us about daily life

• mostly moral accounts praises lycurgus

plutarch

• first to play field sports naked and apply olive oil to body

• running, discus, javelin, jumping, wrestling

• in 8th century BCE half of olympic winners were spartan

• Girls did foot races in honour of Helen and Hera for the prize of an olive crown and a portion of meat

• pausanias mentions dromos (racetrack) where spartan youth practiced

• shrine to dioscuri invoked as ‘starting gods’

athletics

• Either on horseback or on foot with dogs and helots with nets, usually used javelins and spears

  
  

  Hunted deer and hare, Lakonian hounds valued for hunting

  
  

  Killing a boar was a mark of social distinction and a rite of passage into manhood

• 6th century BCE Laconian kylix depicting hunting scene 

  
  

  Xenophon wrote that hunting improved health, eyesight and hearing and trained men for war by accustoming them to the hardships of the wild

  
  

  
  

hunting

• competitive display of wealth due to price of horse and accesories

Women rode chariots in the Hyakinthia and bred and trained horses for the Panhellenic competition

Pausanias mentions shrine to horse breeding Poseidon

equestrian sports

• cockfighting (aggressife birds symbol of masculinity, fought to death, compared to hoplites bc of helmet, sacrified after)

• boar fighting (immature wild boars bred in captivity, pitted against each other and to contest adolescents)

• Banquets; festive meal known as symposion associated with religious significance, sparta prohibited drunkenness at banquets

other leisure activities

phauinikos (red cloak worn to and from battle)

hoplite clothing outside battle

red chiton (draped garment)

everyday clothing for spartans

version of chiton called peplos with slits up side

women’s clothing

• marriage by capture- man symbolically abducts woman, shave her head and dress her in men’s clothing and sandals

• married couple lived apart with man at barracks and marriage was kept secret until child was produced

• dowry was piece of land organised between father of bride and groom

marriage customs

“She first shaved her head to the scalp then dressed in a man’s cloak and sandals…after spending only a short time with her, he would depart discreetly”-Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus

marriage customs evidence

eras of art

lakonian i- 7th century BCE, geometric designs drawn from other parts of greece
lakonian ii- 6th century BCE, friezes depicting animals and birds
lakonian iii- later 6th century BCE, mythological scenes