Spartan Government in Practice

Hetoemaridas - Gerousia

• There are almost no examples of individual Gerousia members directing decisions within Sparta, largely due to the external nature of our sources
• However, one such example does exist - Hetoemaridas
• He served in the period after the Persian Wars, when Sparta had lost control over the sea to Athens
• This example can be used to demonstrate the importance of the Gerousia and Geronted within the Spartan government

Activity

• What does this incident suggest about the power and influence of the Gerousia within Spartan society
• Diodorus
• A meeting of the gerousia was held at which they discussed war against the Athenians over the hegemony at sea. Similarly, when a meeting of the general assembly was held, the younger men and most of the others were very keen to recover the hegemony, thinking that if they could do so, they would benefit from great wealth - we were told by Herodotus that the kings had the final say over war and that "no one" questions their decisions - is Herodotus wrong? Or did the Kings originally have that power and then it was taken away from them in 5th century due to issues over corruption? (Note, many of the kings in the early 5th century BC - Cleomenes, Demaratus, Pleistoanax, Pausanias, were all indicted on corruption charges)
• Hetoimaridas was "a descendant of Herakles, who was well thought of by his fellow citizens for his character, took it upon himself to suggest that they allow the Athenians to maintain the hegemony, since it would not be in Sparta's interests to fight over the sea. He managed to make good points to support his surprising proposal and unexpectedly won over the gerousia and the people."
• Demonstrates that, as Plutarch and Xenophon told us, the Gerousia have incredible power over decision making, their respect in Sparta gives them political clout and influence - Hetoimaridas alone was able to sway the entire government against war

Pausanias - Regent

• Pausanias served as regent in Sparta at the end of the Persian Wars, since Leonidas' son, Pleistarchus, was too young to rule
• After winning a stunning victory at Plataea in 479 BC, Pausanuas directed the Greek forces in Asia Minor as supreme commander over the Hellenic League
• His heavy-handed approach would lose Sparta her command over the Greeks
• This example can be used to demonstrate the behaviour of Spartan leaders whilst on campaign, as well as the political interplay between the Ephors and the royal family

Activity

Plutarch

Thucydides

• According to both writers what accusations were made against Pausanias in his role as leader of the Greeks following Plataea?
• Plutarch:
• Pausanias was charged with misconduct, treating the other Greeks harshly
• The Spartans were so concerned about Pausanias' behaviour that they stopped sending out other generals - they preferred to have citizens who were self-controlled and had "traditional values" rather than "rule all of Greece"
• Thucydides
• Pausanias' harsh behaviour towards other Greeks had caused offence
• Sending secret messages to Xerxes - medising - he proposed a marriage to Xerxes' daughter and he offered to bring Sparta and all of Greece under his control - and he himself wanted to become the ruler of Hellas
• Pausanias worked with the Helots - he offered them full citizenship and their freedom if they helped him in a coup against the Spartan government
• Dressed like a Persian, attended Persian banquets, walked around with a Persian bodyguard
• Tried to have his own name inscribed on the Serpent Column at Delphi  
• How was Pausanias eventually punished? What does this incident reveal about the power relation between the ephors and the royal family?
• Thucydides
• One of the messengers to Xerxes, fearing for his life, relayed the message to the Ephors
• Some of the Helots also informed the Ephors of Pausanias' intentions
• Even then the Ephors were skeptical - "this was in accordance with their usual practice" "to never act hastily in the case of a Spartan citizen" "except on the basis of absolutely cast-iron evidence" - suggests the Ephors are thorough and don't jump to conclusions when making decisions, restrained in their power
• Pausanias was recalled to Sparta and thrown in prison ("Ephors have the power to imprison the king") but he was confident he could secure his release by bribery - shows there was some corruption within the government
• Ephors decide to convict Pausanias they will need a confession from Pausanias himself
• They laid a trap for Pausanias, he was invited by one of the messengers to a house that had a specially designed secret room, and the Ephors were hidden inside listening for the confession
• Pausanias goes to the meeting, asks about Xerxes' letters and incriminates himself
• The Ephors, with the ecidence, planned to arrest Pausanias near the Agora - shows their power?
• Reminds the other Spartans of the penalty for treason and avoids him escaping. Pausanias was already unpopular and so this gives the Spartans relief/satisfaction by seeing him come to justice, gives Pausanias a right to a fair trial, avoids accusations they were unfair, helps the Spartans understand why he was arrested
• However, when the Ephors plan to arrest him Pausanias realizes what is about to happen (maybe one of the Ephors gave him a secret signal?) and he attempted to run to the Temple of Athena in the centre of the city
• Pausanias tried to seek sanctuary on sacred ground, but the Ephors instead blocked the door
• He was starved out, and then just as he died he was dragged on the Temple steps - shows the Spartans do not questions the Ephors' decisions once they have been made

Archidamus - King: Stheneleidas - Ephor

• King Archidamus II reigned from approximately 476 to 427 BC, in the period after the Persian Wars during Athens' rise to power
• In 432 BC Sparta called a conference of her allies to discuss the growing hostilities between Athens and the Peloponnesian League
• During this debate (the Debate at Sparta) Archidamus and one of the Ephors, Stheneleidas discuss the prospect of a war with Athens in front of the Spartan assembly, and give their opinion on why war should/should not be declared
• This example can be used as a case-study to show how the Spartan assembly, kings and Ephors interacted with each other in practice

Activity

Thucydides

• What is the significance of Stheneleidas' actions during this debate? What does it reveal about the power and influence of the Ephors within the Spartan government?
• "Spartans, cast your vote for the honour of Sparta and for war" - Stheneleidas
• He is addressing the assembly
• shows that they have the final say, NOT the king.
• Stheneleidas then puts the vote to the assembly - they voted by acclamation but the Ephors could not decide which shout was the loudest
• this suggests the opinion among the Spartans was divided
• Stheneleidas then made the Spartans divide themselves into two groups - yes and not - the majority went to the opinion that the treaty had been broken "he wanted them to show their opinions openly and make them more enthusiastic for war"
• The Ephor had taken away the anonymity of the voters by removing acclamation and so the assembly votes for what they imagine would be the most socially-acceptable (they don't want to be seen as cowards)
• Thucydides confirms they vote "by acclamation, not voting"
• confirms that acclamation was used as the primart method of voting, and that acclamation provided anonymity. This incident reveals that the Spartan method of voting and decision making can be easily manipulated
• Shows us that the Assembly has more of a say over Spartan policy than we might imagine, but the speakers and the options presented to the Spartan are very limited - only the governmental bodies (Ephors, Kings, Gerousia) actually propose legislation. Confirms what Plutarch siad

Agis II - King

• Agis II ruled from 427 - 401 BC, taking over from his father Archidamus
• As king he largely conducted the Peloponnesian War with Athens, since his co-regent Pausanias was only very young
• In 418 BC he led the Spartans to victory at Mantinea, considered one of Sparta's greatest victories
• In c 412 BC he occupied Decelea in northern Attica on the advice of Alcibiades, conducting the war for years from this defensive position and contributing to Athens' defeat
• Agis can be used as a case-study to demonstrate the conduct/power of the kings on campaign, as well as the relation between the Ephors/Spartans and their kings

Activity

Thucydides - Agis Punished before Mantinea

• What punishments were enacted against Agis? What does this reveal about the power of the kings within Sparta?
• Ephors suggested at first to punish Agis by fining him 10,000 drachmae and pulling down his house
• Agis promises he will redeem himself by committing noble acts in the field next time
• Ephors change their mind on the first punishments, but they force Agus to be accompanied by 10 Spartans of the officer class, who will act as his advisors and "without their authority he was unable to take the army out of Sparta"
• Thucydides says this was a completely novel reform to the kingship
• Reinforces how much power the Ephors had
• A lack of trust in Agis as king is revealed
• The king does obey the orders of the Ephors
• Shows Ephorate oversaw the king's conduct on campaign, as other sources described
• Shows the Ephorate can change the constitutional powers of the kings when needed

Thucydides - Agis conducting the war from Decelea

• What does Thucydides demonstrate about the power the kings held whilst on campaign?
• "Indeed it would be true to say that the allies paid more attention to him [Agis] than the government in Sparta, since he had his army with him and could make himself felt wherever he went"
• Agis WAS the government in Sparta for a timebeing
• "he had the power to send troops wherever he wished, to raise fresh forces, to levy money"
• Agis has realised that whilst he remains in the field he is unaccountable to the Ephors
• Proves to us what we already knew - the kings have absolute authority on campaign, but are closely scrutinised and can be punished when they return home
• Agis has exploited this loophole

Brasidas - Ephor

• Brasidas was a general through the first phases of the Peloponnesian War (431-421 BC)
• His first achievement was to rescue the Perioikic town of Methone, for which he earned a laurel wreath in Sparta
• The following year he was elected as eponymous Ephor in Sparta, likely due to his popularity among the younger Spartans
• His campaign to Thrace in 424 BC marked a turning point in the war, and his unorthodox tactics and bold character brought him great renown throughout the Greek world
• He was honoured for his achievements at Amphipolis (where he died) by being buried within the city with full honours, named a new founder of the city and celebrated with annual festivities
• In Sparta, he was honoured with annual athletic contests and a cenotaph was erected in his honour next to Leonidas and Pausanias
• Brasidas can be used to demonstrate an ideal Spartan general, and the potential career path of an exceptional Spartan

Activity

Thucydides

Plutarch

• How does Brasidas' conduct differ with other Spartan commanders who came into contact with non-Spartans in the field?
• Thucydides
• Brasidas is known to be "upright and moderate" to thos ewho are non-Spartan gaining an "excellent reputation" which is different to the rest of the Spartans as he is regarded the "first" to sent out of his way
• The "gallantry of Brasidas" was one of the key factors in creating a "pro-Spartan" feeling among Athens' allies - and his excellent reputation left behind a conviction that "the rest of them were like him"
• Plutarch
• With the death of Brasidas, many non-Spartans went to go see his mother Argileonis. They themselves praise him with the comment that "no one else was like him", this showing that the other Spartans were not considered to be held on the same regard as him. His mother however disagrees with the claim that "Sparta has many better men than he"

Lysander - Mothakes

• Lysander was a Mothakes - though a Spartan he was not brought up in his father's household
• However, he overcame the social restrictions and eventually became Nauarchos (admiral) during the closing stages of the Peloponnesian War
• His victory at Aegospotami in 405 BC ended the war, and brought Lysander great renown both in Sparta and the wider Greek world
• Lysander is another example of the potential power of non-royal Spartans, particularly within the military

Activity

Plutarch

• How did Lysander retain his control as Nauarchos despite Spartan law?
• After his replacement as general, his successor Callicratides died in combat
• Sparta's allies then zealously asked Sparta for his recal. Lysander had planted some grand notions in their heads "the idea of aristocratic houses o 10, and counter-revolutionary bodies they would set up" and that these aristocratic clubs would rule in place of the democracies - "claimed that as soon as the Athenians were subdued they could overthrow the government and become absolute rulers in their own countries"
• To get around this, the Spartans sent out another admiral to stand as Naurachos and Lysander would remain second in command, but in reality he would take over as leader
• What differences in character can be seen between Lysander and Callicratides, his replacement?
• Callicratides is honoured by Plutarch as an upright and virtuous general, but as a slightly more old-fashioned and austere Spartan
• "They admired his virtue, much as they might do the beauty of some hero's statue, but they missed Lysander's whole-hearted support and looked in vain for the latter's keen partiality for the interest of his own friends"
• "Lysander by comparison with Callicratides seemed an equivocal and unprincipled character, and a man who disguised most of his actions in war with varius forms of deceit"
• "as long as Lysander remained in authority their extravagant hopes would be fulfilled"
• "which had a certain Doric simplicity and candour about it"
• How does Brasidas' conduct differ with other Spartan commanders who came into contact with non-Spartans in the field?

Thucydides

• How does Brasidas' conduct differ with other Spartan commanders who came into contact with non-Spartans in the field
• Thucydides
• Brasidas is known to be 'upright and moderate' to those who are non-Spartan gaining an 'excellent reputation' which is different to the resto of the Spartans as he is regarded the 'first' to sent out of his way
• The 'gallantry of Brasidas' was one of the key factors in creating a "pro-Spartan" feeling among Athens' allies - and his excellent reputation left behind a conviction that "the rest of them were like him"

The Apella/Assembly

 Membership

• This was the most democratic organ of the Spartan government
• All adult male Spartiartes over thirty were eligible to sit in the assembly
• Those who had lost their citizenship rights could not attend

Functions

• They met once a month at the full moon, in the open air, under the chairmanship of the Ephor
• Unlike the Athenian assembly, the Spartan assembly did not debate, discuss or amend proposals
• The members listened to a proposal made by the Gerousia, delivered by the presiding Ephor
• They would them either vote for or against the proposal

Spartan Ideal

• A Spartan was trained to obey and conform - NOT to take sides In public debates
• Lycurgus - was said to have outlawed rhetoric teachers
• This ethos is said to have given rise to the term Laconic - a word used to describe someone who talks very little

Limitations

• There was one undemocratic aspect of the Apella
• If the Ephors disapproved of a motion passed by the assembly they could refuse to proclaim it

Source Activity

Plutarch

• The Apella met in the open "for in his opinion these were not conducive to sound deliberations, but were harmful, they made them silly and gave them mindless notions" ' suggests Lycurgus was concerned that the assembly could be easily distracted and not very intelligent ' they lack importance as a result - and also suggests they were not important because they had no government building to meet in. Describing them as being childish, and saying it's pointless for them to meet
• "if the people should make a crooked choice, the elders and kings should set it aside" - suggests the assembly lack the power of the other government because the choice seems to be made for them by the other positions in government
• "Lycurgus permitted no-one else to make a proposal except the the kings and elders, and the authority to decide upon did matter to the people" - suggests they do have some importance as they do have the final say in decision making, but because they cannot propose laws themselves they lack the decision making capabilities that assemblies in other states would have. Shows the lack of trust that Lycurgus placed with the assembly
• After Lycurgus the assembly began to change and annul laws, so the kings Polydorus and Theopompus supplemented the Rhetra with this addition that the elders and kinds could set aside the decision of the assembly - suggesting they used to have more power under the Lycurgan reform but that power was diminished - "the people will vote with a straight rhetra"
• They met under the full moon, which isn't a regular occurence
• The fact that Lycurgus tries to avoid them being distracted suggests their views and decisions may be more important than the sources are suggesting
• Quotes Aristotle as a source
• Quotes Tyrtaeus on the Spartan Rhetra - Spartan source around the time of Lycurgus' reforms
• Increases the value of Plutarch's account because he is using contemporary sources to support his points - including a Spartan source
• He is using Aristotle's critical account - Plutarch not being a contemporary source means his views are shaped by the earlier writings

Spartan Government: The Gerousia: Body of Elders

 Origins

• The Gerousia was the oligarchic element of the constitution as written in the Politeia of the Spartans by Xenophon
• According to Plutarch, it came as part of Lycurgus' attempt to safeguard the state by 'allaying and qualifying the fiery genius of the royal office'
• It was more likely the result of a conflict between the kings and nobles about the time of the first Messenian War

Membership

• There were 28 members plus the 2 kings (30 in total)
• Membership was restricted to Spartans over sixty years of age, who were therefore no longer liable for military service
• It was a body of elders who held their office for life - and it was regarded as a reward for merit

Highly Honoured Position

• Members were elected by the Spartiates in the assembly
• It is not certain whether the candidates were from noble families or whether 'the best families' mentioned by Aristotle meant those of wealth and renown
• Membership of the council was highly honourable and a much sought-after office
• Plutarch states that they had to be 'the best and most deserving men past sixty years old'

Selection Process

• Selection was done by acclamation (shouting and clapping) and Plutarch describes in some detail the procedures for this
• The candidates were brought in one by one - their order of appearance being decided by lot
• In an adjoining room, selected people listened to the loudness of the shouting for each candidate
• The results were recorded in order
• Once the successful candidate was declared, he was taken in triumphant procession around the city to all the temples - he attended a special banquet and he was honoured in verse and song
• Aristotle disapproved of this method and called it 'childish'

Functions: Preparing Bills

• The Gerousia was a probouleutic body - this meant it prepared and deliberated on bills to be presented to assembly for voting
• If it was not happy with the assembly's vote on an issue it could decline to accept it, by adjourning - in which case the bill would not be passed

Functions: Criminal Court

• The gerontes (members of the gerousia), kings and ephors acted as a court of justice for criminal cases
• They tried cases of murder and treason, and imposed penalties ranging from death to banishment and fines
• This select body of elders exerted a great influence in political affairs

Source Activity

Aristotle

Plutarch

Xenophon

• List the functions of the Gerousia that the sources discuss
• What does each source state about the election process of the Gerontes?
• What qualities did the members of the Gerousia have according to each source? What position do the sources imply they had within Spartan government/society? (i.e are they respected?)
• Plutarch
• Roles/Responsibilities
• "with control over death and loss of citizen rights, and the most important matters generally"
• "sweeping authority in the state"
• Election Process
• Assembly was gathered to vote, some men were placed in a room as independent observers, candidates are selected by lot and presented before the assembly who cheer their preferred candidate, the observers listen to the shouts and note which they think is the loudest, and the loudest shout is the winner - trying to ensure anonymity among the candidates, and the election is fair
• After the candidate is selected he is paraded to all the sanctuaries of the gods followed bt young men and women who sang their praise. They were then taken to their mess and given double portions as a sign of the city's respect. The Gerousia member would then gift his extra portion to the woman who he held in the highest esteem. presenting it as a mark of distinction - she is then also praised by the women
• Qualities of the Gerousia, position in Sparta
• Chosen "not as the swiftest of swift, or the strongest of the strong, but the best and wisest of the good and wise" - military prowess is no longer relevant, but intelligence and character are prized above all
• "merits regarded as most outstanding"
• "lifelong reward for his merits"
• Xenophon
• Roles/Responsibilites
• "supreme judges in capitol cases in which they produce more respect for old age" - punished those who commit fraud, theft or harm towards those in their communities
• Election
• "by placing the election towards the end of life he ensured that they continued to exercise virtue into old age"
• "he did not take into account physical infirmity or poverty"
• "The contest of the Gerousia is correctly regarded as the most important a man can enter" - because the contest is about "nobility of character" rather than physical strength
• Aristotle
• Roles/Responsibilities
• "lifelong supreme power to decide important cases"
• "exempt from scrutiny even from the ephors" - Aristotle condemns this unaccountability
• Election Process
• "the way in which the choice is made is childish" - referring to acclamation (the shouting and clapping)
• Qualities/Characteristics
• "It is known that even the lawgiver himself has no confidence in them as good men"
• He suggests they are corrupt because they are open to "bribes" and "favouritism"
• It is questionable whether people so advanced in old age should be given lifelong appointments "the mind grows old no less than the body"
• Evaluation: The soures are vague about the specifics of their power. Why?
• Because political bodies like the Gerousia were quite common in the Greek world. The sources do not feel the need to describe their power in detail

Spartan Government System: The Ephorate

 Origins

• The Ephorate was a board of five ephors who were the chief magistrates and administrative officials in Sparta
• The word 'Ephor' means 'overseer'
• The origin of the office is unknown and controversy on the subject has continued among historians, who have put forward several theories

Historian Theories

• The ephors were originally priests and astrologers
• The ephors were created by the kings to carry on government while they were away at war
• The ephors were originally connected with the five villages and may have been chiefs who became advisers to the kings

Power in the 7th Century (BC)

• It was not until the 7th century that the ephorate won their great political power
• This slowly increased until they had taken over the main powers of the kings
• They had formidable powers as representatives of the people

Election Process

• Any Spartan over the age of thirty could stand for the office
• Elected by the assembly annually by acclamation - exchanging oaths with the king each month
• Took office at the full moon - after the autumnal equinox
• Upon appointment they would issue a proclamation to all citizens to shave their moustaches and obey the laws

Monthly Oaths

• The monthly oath was taken to uphold the office of the kings as long as they behaved in accordance with the laws
• They shared some of the powers with the kings and they were also empowered to depose them

Main Functions: Represented the Principle of Law

• The Ephorate had eight main functions:
• Checks on the kings (overseers)
• Dealing with foreign policy
• Dealing with army
• Control over magistrates
• Supervision over training
• Krypteia
• Dealings with the Gerousia (apparently 7 and 8)

No.1 - Checks on the kings

• As representatives of the people and a democratic element they were expected to:
• Keep a check on the kings - at home and abroad accompanying them on campaign
• Summon the kings before them for misdemeanours

No.2 Foreign Powers

• They dealt with foreign embassies
• According to Xenophon - before foreign representatives could enter Sparta they had to halt at the border and wait the permission of the ephors
• Once in Sparta, envoys made their proposals or demands to the ephors - who would then decide of they should go before the assembly

No.3 Dealing with the Army

• If war was declared, the ephors decided which age classes should go
• They issued orders mobilising the army
• They gave instructions to the generals and recalled them if they failed

No.4 Controlling Magistrates

• Their power over lesser magistrates was great
• At the end of a magistrate's year in office he gave an account of himself to the ephors - who decided if any punishment was in order

No.5 Supervised Training

• Had total control over training and discipline of the young
• Any misconduct was reported to the ephors and Spartan youths were given a regular physical examination
• The ephors also chose the three captains of the elite corps of the Spartan army

No.6 Krypteia

• The Krypteia (secret police organisation) was under orders from the ephors
• It has been portrayed as a tyrannical and vicious weapon - used to murder helots indiscriminately
• Plutarch and Aristotle both make mention of the role played by the Krypteia and the removal of the helot population
• This was a unique feature to Sparta, never adopted by other Greek States

Plutarch and the Krypteia

"The magistrates dispatched privately some of the ablest of the young men into the country from time to time armed only with their daggers... in the daytime they hid in out-of-the-way places and there law close, but in the night issued out into the highways, and killed all the helots they could light upon"

Aristotle and the Krypteia

"Upon entering office the ephors used to declare war on the helots - so that they could be massacred without offending the gods"

- In other words declaring them public enemies allowed them to be killed with impunity

Krypteia Membership

• More probably a body of eighteen to twenty year old youths - at the disposal of the ephors for special service
• Membership formed part of the training of the youths in that they:
• Served for two years
• Provided a useful method for removing undesirables - specifically helots

No 7&8 - Dealing with the Gerousia

• The ephors summoned and presided over sessions of the Gerousia and the Assembly and initiated legislation
• With the Gerousia - they acted as a court of criminal justice and carried out punishments
• They were criminal judges in cases involving perioikoi and they constituted the supreme civil court

Limitations of the Ephorate

• Answerable to the public body
• Despite the ephors' great powers - they were subject to certain restrictions
• They were elected for one year only
• When they became private citizens once again they could be called to account for their actions in an audit by their successor
• They could not be re-elected
• Thus, they were both democratic and oligarchic

Eponymous Nature

• One Ephor was always "eponymous" - his name was used at Sparta to signify the year. E.g: Thucydides treats the treaty of 421BC as follows:
• "This peace shall take beginning from the 24th of the month Artemisium, Pleistolas being ephor at Sparta, and the 5th of Elaphebolium, after the acount of Athens. Alcaeus being archon" 5.19

Activity

Xenophon, 4, 8, 11, 13, 15

Aristotle, "Ephors"

Plutarch, Lycurgus, 7

• Xenophon
• "Like tyrants or presidents (referees) at the games they punish an offender as soon as the offence is detected" - he uses the word tyrant but not in a negative sense. He is comparing them to referees at a game, ensuring the game is fair
• They call up the age groups for campaign
• They have the "right to inflict punishments at will", to "require immediate payment of fines" and "to depose magistrates during their term of office"
• They had to be present at any sacrifices to Zeus - they take no part unless the king invites them
• They were the only ones to sit when the kings were in attendance and took a monthly oath to the city of Sparta alongside the kings - that the ephors swear to allow the kings to rule, so long as the kings abide by the rules
• "Needless to say by watching each man's conduct they exercise a restraining hand on all"
• The Spartans realised that obedience is vital to the city, in the army and the home - when called upon by the ephors the Spartans would run
• During the education process any boys who fought amongst themselves would have to appear before the ephors
• Ephors would routinely inspect the boys to check their progress
• Attended meetings of the Gerousia
• They picked the hippegretai, who then chose 100 men themselves, and once approved they became the Hippeis - the king's bodyguard
• Aristotle
• "excessive, virtually that of a tyrant"
• "Even the Spartan Kings were forced to curry favour from them, and this has caused further damage to the constitution, for an aristocracy turned into a democracy"
• Democratic in the sense that any Spartan over the age of 30 can stand for the ephorate, and are voted in by the people
• Tyrannical - because they overstep the jurisdiction assigned to them
• Because they are selected from among the entire population they are "open to bribes"
• "Independently control most of the important business"
• The ephor being open to the people "kept them quiet" and "whether this is due to the lawgiver or good fortune is unclear, but suits the circumstances very well"
• Two ephors accompanied the kings on campaign - "the king's greatest enemy"
• "Supreme power of jurisdiction"
• Plutarch
• After Lycurgus' reforms, the Spartans realised that Oligarchy was the most dominant form of government in Sparta and imposed the ephorate as a curb on the undiluted oligarchy
• Plutarch implies that the ephorate is a democratic process
• Introduced 130 years after Lycurgus during the reign on Theopompus
• How and why do Xenophon and Aristotle differ in their opinions of the Ephorate
• Both say essentially the same thing about the Ephors. Both call them tyrants and both say the Ephors had incredible sway and influence over Spartan policy
• Xenophon
• Describes the Ephorate in a positive light ("they had a restraining hand over all" and they were like referees at the Olympics calling out any misgivings)
• Xenophon lived and wrote at the end of the Peloponnesian War in the late 5th century BC
• Many of Athens; intellectuals at this time were laconophiles
• On his campaigns as a mercenary commander, Xenophon endeared himself to the Spartan King Agesilaus and later moved to Olympia in the Peloponnese to serve as a Spartan ambassador
• There is strong evidence to suggest that his sons went through the agoge
• Aristotle
• Says their power was excessive. They were open to corruption and bribery and they gave the common people an undue influence over political matters
• Aristotle was not an Athenian, but he moved to Athens and studied under Plato in the 4th Century BC
• At this stage, Sparta had crumbled under internal disorders, as well as a succession of military defeats
• The rose-tinted view of Sparta had been shattered and Aristotle made a clear break from his intellectual predecessors by viewing Sparta through a critical lens

Spartan Kings: Dual Kingship

Overview

• The executive office was divided between two men [Basileis]
• The two kings were both:
• Co-operative and competitive with one another
• Equal in authority
• Served as a mutual check on the power of the monarchy
• Sparta was never without a leader - and therefore avoided what the Greeks called "anarchy" absence of leadership or of the government

The Agiad and Eurypontid Royal Families

• Coalition of two distinct tribes - each with its own chief or king - sometime in the 9th century BC
• One tribe lived around Sparta - its kings belonging to the clan of the Agiads
• The second tribe was probably from Southern Laconia - where the Eurypontids were the leading clan
• When the two houses decided to join politically - the kings were given equal powers under the constitution
• Gradually over time the kings' powers were restricted

Functions: Military

• The kings were supreme commanders of the army - only one was selected to lead a campaign the other was to stay in Sparta supervising domestic issues
• According to Herodotus this law originated about 507 BC - when Cleomenes and Demaratus were joint commanders of an expedition against Athens. There was a difference of opinion between the two commanders, and:
• "this divergence of policy gave rise to new law in Sparta. Previously both kings had gone out with the army, but this was now made illegal and it was further provided that one had to remain in the capital"

Military Cont

• The kings normally had the right to declare war - but never did so - and in the field they had the absolute right of deciding life and death
• Two ephors accompanied the king and kept close supervision on his leadership during the war
• If a campaign was a failure the king could be recalled to Sparta and heavily punished
• The king was also accompanied by a bodyguard of 100 picked men, and inclusion in this guard was the greatest honour

Functions: Religions

• Intermediaries between the gods and men - held their office as long as the gods were pleased
• If anything went wrong the king was to blame - every ninth year the ephors looked in the skies for a sign of the gods' approval or disapproval
• The kings were chief priests of Zeus Lacedaemonios and Zeus Uranios - the gods of their respective families
• Every month they offered solemn sacrifices to Apollo for the city
• "On the first and seventh days of every month each king is given a full grown animal to offer in sacrifice in the temple of Apollo, also a bushel of barley meal and a Laconian quart of wine"
• Before leaving for a campaign the king sacrificed to Zeus - if the omens were favourable the army could proceed to the frontier - where more sacrifices were performed for Zeus and Athena
• Fire from these sacrifices was carried with the king and army throughout the entire campaign
• Kings appointed two Pythioi - to consult the Oracle at Delphi and to present them with the Pythia's directions
• The pythioi were responsible for the safe keeping of all the oracles

Functions: Judicial

• Kings had limited judicial duties:
• Decided on marriages for orphaned heiresses
• Had control over all matters concerning highways; and
• The adoption of children

The Kings: Activity - Responsibilities and Duties

• Religious
• Herodotus
• The Kings were the heads of two priesthoods, Zeus Lakedaimonios and Zeus Uranos
• They could each choose two pythioi who consulted the oracle at Delphi and sat with the king at meals
• The kings take charge of the oracles received from Delphi
• Xenophon
• The kings could choose their sacrificial victims and were offered a pig from every litter
• Aristotle
• Military
• Herodotus
• Had the right of making war against whatsoever land they please. When they go on expeditions the kings shall go out first and return last - no man should hinder this decision
• "Absolute authority" on campaign
• Xenophon
• The King should lead the army on any foreign campaign
• When there's no battle expected the king marches from the front, when the enemy are met the king serves between two regiments
• The regimental commanders eat with the king, so that, since they are always present, they may take a larger part in any necessary deliberations
• Aristotle
• Constitutional (Political)
• Herodotus
• Kings were permanent members of the Gerousia (28 elected and the two kings)
• If the kings were not able to attend the meetings of the Gerousia then a Gerontes (member of the Gerousia) who was closest in relation to the king would vote in his stead - they would have an extra vote to count for the king's vote
• We can infer that the King's votes in the Gerousia were equal to the other members'
• In charge of roads
• Xenophon
• Each king had enough land that they had enough to sustain themselves, but not so much that they were rich
• "they do not greatly exceed the position of a private citizen" - Lycurgus did not want to encourage "a tyrannical attitude" in their kings
• On campaign two ephors accompany the king - watched each man's conduct and exercised a restraining hand on all
• Aristotle
• "They regarded disagreement between the two kings as making stability in the state"
• Offers wider perspectives if they have opposing viewpoints
• It avoids a tyranny that could be established were the kings to work together
• Because even Lycurgus "does not believe it possible to produce kings of the first quality" they restrict their powers
• This is why they used to send their "personal enemies" as ambassadors referring to the ephors
• Judicial (Legal)
• Herodotus
• The Kings decides whether a maiden inherited her father's land, also decided on who she was betrothed to if this had not already been decided
• If a Spartan wishes to adopt another Spartan it is voted upon by the Kings and the Gerousia
• Xenophon
• When on campaign the king solely focuses on military issues - lawsuits are referred to the hellanodikai (judges), applications for money to the treasures, and any booty is handed over to the auctioneers
• Aristotle
• Other Privileges and Perks
• Herodotus
• When a king dies a horse announces the death, women go about striking their copper kettles, a man and woman from each household must go into mourning. No political meetings for ten days. Thousands of Perioikoi and Helots would be forced to attend the funeral. The Spartans had a tradition of praising that king as the "best they ever had"
• At all sporting events they have special seating reserved for them
• 100 picked bodyguards attend the king on campaign
• Xenophon
• When a king dies, they are honoured not as men, but as heroes
• When on campaign the king and his entourage are maintained at public expense - the members of his mess, doctors, prophets, musicians, the commanders of the army and any volunteers
• The king had his own mess
• Aristotle

Spartan Government

 Spartan Branches of Government

• Dual Kingship
• The Gerousia
• The Ephorate
• The Assembly

View of the Government

• Philosophers and observers praised the Spartan form of government
• Disagreement came when trying to figure out what to call it - Oligarchic/Democratic
• Unlike some Greek states Sparta retained the hereditary kingship

Political Terms

• Oligarchy:
• A form of government where political power effectively rest with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military powers or occult spiritual hegemony
• Democracy:
• A form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system
• Tyranny:
• One who has taken power by their own means as opposed to hereditary or constitutional power

Difficulty in Classification

• Aristotle:
• Could not decide if it was a democracy or a tyranny
• Plato:
• Described it as a happy mixture of democracy and oligarchy
• Cicero:
• Called it a 'mixed constitution'

Oligarchic Form of Government

• No doubt the Spartan government was an oligarchic one. Why?
• The number of enfranchised Spartans was very small and this privileged body of Spartan peers ruled a huge population of perioikoi and helots
• Sparta always favoured oligarchic rule - particularly in allied states

Oligarchy mixed with Democracy

• Democratic aspects:
• The institution of the assembly
• The institution of the Ephorate
• Democratic, but who for?
• The system was democratic if you were a full Spartiate. If you were not a full citizen then democratic rights were practically nil

Spartan Constitution

• Spartiates
• Fairly well-balanced constitution - one which avoided some of the weaknesses of the radical form of democracy found in Athens
• "for four-hundred years and more, until the end of the Peloponnesian War, the Lakedaemonians have had the same constitution, through which they have been able to bring about change in other states" - Thucydides 1.18

The Helots and Spartans Source Work

 Plutarch, Lycurgus, 28

• "Krypteia, assuming this really was one of Lycurgus' innovations...killed any helot whom they caught"
• "Killing the helots who stood out for their physique and strength"
• "By day they would disperse to obscure spots in order to hide and rest. At nigh they made their way to the roads and killed any helots who they came across"
• Plutarch doubts that they were a Lycurgan invention, suggesting they may have been introduced later when Spartan and helot tensions were at an all time high. Their main purpose was to instil fear into the helots, acting as a deterrent
• "Thucydides tells us how those helots who had been singled out by the Spartiates for their bravery were first crowned as if they had been granted freedom, and made a round of the sanctuaries of the gods; but then a little late they all vanished - over 2000 of them"
• This took place after the Spartans' loss at Pylos and Sphacteria in 425 BC (Plutarch is referring to Thucydides 4.80) - suggesting the helots could be particularly rebellious in times of crisis in Sparta, and that the Spartans could pre-emptively murder helots to deter revolts
• "Aristotle makes the further notable point that immediately upon taking up office the ephors would declare war on the helots, so that they could be killed without pollution"
• By declaring war, they turn the helots into enemy combatants rather than murder victims, the Spartans considered themselves in perpetual war with the helots
• "Spartiates' treatment of the helots was callous and brutal"
• "They would force them, for instance, to drink quantities of unmixed wine and then they would bring them into messes to show the young men what drunkenness was like"
• "They would also order them to perform songs and dances which were vulgar and ludicrous, while excluding the, from ones fit for free men"
• "There is nothing to match even the freedom of the free-men at Sparta or the slavery of the slave"
• The constant mistreatment and degrading of the helots dehumanised them in the eyes of the Spartans, helping them justify their harsh treatment

Aristotle, The Helots

• Helots offered Spartan freedoms from essential tasks
• Helots were "on the lookout for any mischance that might befall their masters"
• Sparta's hostile neighbours often invited helots to revolt (think Athens in the Peloponnesian War)
• The Spartans mistrusted them and deliberately subjected them to harsh treatment to keep them subdued
• Aristotle believes if the Spartans had been less brutal in their treatment then the helots would not be so rebellious
• They had a relationship which can ultimately be defined as uneasy

Thucydides, 1.128

• The Spartans suffered from the "Curse of Tenarus"
• "Spartans had in the past raised up some helot suppliants from the Altar of Poseidon, and had taken them away and killed them"
• The Spartans believed the earthquake in 464 BC was because of their mistreatment and killing of these helots at the altar of Poseidon
• Shows even the Spartans had moral questions about their mistreatment of the helots

Aelian, D31

• "Kallikratidas and Gylippos and Lysander were called mothakes at Lakedaimon"
• Some of the slaves of the wealthy were, by the fathers, "sent along with their sons to train alongside them in the gymnasia" and "to mingle in the boys' agoge". These were termed the mothakes, and those boys would eventually be given Lakonian citizenship
• Aelian is likely misunderstanding that mothakes could also be boys whose fathers could not pay their mess dues, and were likely the ones given citizenship, not the helots. Lysander and Gyllipus were not former helots!

Phylarcos, D30

• "The mothakes are foster-brothers of the Lakedaimonians. For each of the boy-citizens, as their individual circumstances allow, have one, or two, or in some cases more foster-brothers. So the mothakes are free, though not actually Lakedaimonians, but still share exactly the same education. They say that Lysander who fought the Athenians as sea was one of these, though he became a citizen through his courage
• Similar to Aelian, Phylarcos is misunderstanding that mothakes could also be Spartan boys who's fathers could not pay their mess dues and so were sponsored by another family. Lysander is an example of this type of mothakes, not the helots who were adopted as "foster-brothers"

Strabo, D35

• "For the Lakedaimonians held them as state-slaves in a particular way, assigning certain settlements for them and particular duties"
• State owned slaves, as opposed to privately owned as elsewhere in the ancient world

Kritias, D40

• "Right of killing first" - seem to be treated almost as animals
• "Most enslaved and most free are in Lakedaimon" - Contrast of Spartiates with helots to emphasise their mistreatment
• "because of mistrust towards these helots a Spartiate at home takes out the handle of his shield. Not being able to do this on campaign because of the frequent need for rapid action, he goes about always carrying his spear since this would make him superior to his helot who might revolt but with only a shield"
• "They have also devised locks which they think would be too strong for any helot attempt"
• Whole relationship is based on a mutual mistrust and living in constant fear of each other

Myron of Priene, D41

• "Lakedaimonians treated the helots with the upmost arrogance: they imposed on the helots every demeaning task leading to their complete humiliation"
• "the helots received a set number of beatings irrespective of any wrongdoing"
• "if any of them should overstep how they thought a slave should appear, they set death as the penalty"

Plato, D42

• "In addition there is the so-called krypteia, which is amazingly physically demanding as regards endurance: in winter they go without shoes or blankets; they look after themselves without servants, and spend night and day wandering about the countryside"
• Plato doesn't actually specify the Krypteia was a killing exercise like Herakleides Lembos or Plutarch does, and he is contemporary, unlike the other two, which makes this very confusing. Is he telling us of a Krypteia before they introduced the helot killing? Was it more secretive in the 5th century BC?

Herakleides Lembos, "School of Aristotle", D43

• "It is said that Lykourgos also introduced the krypteia. In accordance with this institution even now they out by day and conceal themselves, but by night they use weapons to kill as many of the helots as is expedient"

Helots and Perioikoi: The Effect on Sparta

 Oliganthropia = a decline of population

(480 BC) Herodotus 7.234 - Damaratus informs Xerxes after Thermopylae

"O king," said Damaratus, "the Lacedaemonians altogether are many in number, and their cities are many. But what you would know, I will tell you: there is in Lacedaemon a city called Sparta, a city of about 8,000 men"

Thucydides 5.68 - tries to calculate their number based on the combatants at Mantinea

"Such were the order and the forces of the two combatants. The Lacedaemonian army looked the largest, though as to putting down the numbers of either host, or of the contingents composing it, I could no do so with any accuracy. Owing to the secrecy of their government the number of the Lacedaemonians was not known, and men are so apt to brag about the forces of their country that the estimate of their opponents was not trusted. The following calculation, however, makes it possible to estimate the numbers of the Lacedaemonians present upon this occasion. There were seven companies in the field without countin the Sciritae (perioikoi), who numbered six hundred men: in each company there were four Pentecostyes, and in the Pentecosty fout Enomoties. The first rank of the Enomoty was composed of four soldiers: as to the depth, although they had not been all drawn up alike, but as each captain chose, they were generally ranged eight deep: the first rank along the whole line, exclusive of the Sciritae, consisted of four hundred and forty-eight men."

Perioikoi Activity

Read through the "Unit 8: The Perioikoi" section of the Spartan Society Booklet

1. Look at the map of the Perioikoi sites and of the roads into and out of Laconia, what crucial passes did the Perioikoi control?
• Tegea, guarded the Kleissoura pass
2. What duties did the Perioikoi have to perform for the Spartans? What benefits did they receive in return?
• Commanded all passes into Laconia, including waterways
• Contributed half the forces to the Spartan army - sometimes even to the chain of command
• Managed most of the trade and craft in Laconia - since the Spartans felt those tasks were beneath them
• Possiby constructed the armour for the Spartans
• High chance that they contributed to keeping the Helot population at bay
3. How closely could the Spartans watch over the Perioikic communities? What incentives might they offer Perioikoi to make sure they remained loyal?
• The Spartans governed them with a hands off approach
• Their communities were autonomous - they conducted their own domestic affairs and elected their own leaders
• Their only restriction was that they were unable to decide their own foreign policies
• Some Perioikoi could make lucrative economic gains through trading on behalf of the Spartans
• Shared some religious ceremonies with the Spartans - Promaekeia
4. What was the main harbour of Sparta?
• Gytheion on the southern coast of Laconia

Military Use of the Perioikoi and Helots

• The Battle of Pylos - "After the Peloponnesians pulled back from Attika, the Spartiates themselves and the perioikoi who lived closest went immediately to help at Pylos" - Thuc 4.8
• The Battle of Mantinea - "On this occasion the left wing was held by the skiritai, who always have this privilege (unique in the Lakedaemonian army) of operating on their own as a unit" - Thuc 5.67
• The Battle of Plataea - "Ten Thousand Lakedaemonians held the right wing: of them, five thousand were Spartiates, who were guarded by thirty-five thousand Helots - seven serving each man" - Herodotus 9.28
• The Battle of Mantinea - "This finally spurred them into action, and they mustered all their forces - Lakedaimonians and Helots alike - to go to their aid with the largest force they had ever assembled" - Thuc, 5.64
• Brasidas' Northern Campaign - "On this occasion too they were willing enough to send out about 700 of them as hoplites with Brasidas, though the rest of the army was mercenaries from the Peloponnese"

The Effect of the Perioikoi and Helots on Sparta's Foreign Policy

• Difficult to judge based on the limited available evidence we have
• No sources internal to Sparta that can be used to gauge how far the Helots and Perioikoi were troublesome for the Spartans on a regular basis
• However, we do have two key moments where we are able to judge this affect, when the insurrections were so bad that they influenced the outside world:
• The Spartan Earthquake of 464 BC
• The Conspiracy of the Inferior, Cinadon, in the 380s BC

Helots and Perioikoi in Revolt

Spartan Earthquake, 464 BC

Thucydides, 1.101-3

Diodorus Sicilus, E63

1. What factors caused the revolt?
• Thucydides
• Spartans were in the process of preparing to attack Athens when an earthquake struck
• Helots in Messenia and some perioikoi who lived near Mount Ithome revolted and occupied the mountains
• Diodorus
• Helots revolted after the earthquake
• Earthquake killed around 20,000 Lakedaemonians and the city of Sparta was badly damaged
• The Helots took advantage of the high number of dead to revolt
2. How were the Spartans able to subdue the revolt?
• Thucydides
• The Spartans asked Athens for assistance, but the Spartans feared the Athenians might empathise with the helots and help the revolt, so they dismissed them
• Helots and Spartans came to an agreement ' the Helots would leave the Peloponnese in exchange for their freedom
• Diodorus
• Archidamus took quick action ' grabbed his armour and led the Spartiates out of the city and into the countryside
3. Based on the account, how serious a threat was this revolt for the Spartans?
• 
  

Conspiracy of Cinadon, 380s BC

Xenophone, Hellenica

1. What factors caused the revolt?
• Cinadon was an inferior in the late 380s BC
• His motive was "to be inferior to none in Sparta"
• He took his conspirators to the Agora and pointed out the massive disparity between the few dozen Spartans vs 4,000 others
2. How were the Spartans able to subdue the revolt?
• The plot was brough to the attention of the ephors, who were greatly alarmed
• The ephors drew Cinadon out of the city for fear of an uprising, and arrested him in the countryside
• He was tortured until he revealed the names of his co-conspirators
• The conspirators were rounded up, and dragged through Sparta under lashes and spears
3. Based on the account, how serious a threat was this revolt for the Spartans?
• Though the conspiracy was small, the Helots and Perioikoi would "gladly eat them (Spartans) raw"

Spartan Society: The Spartiates

 "Agesilaus ordered the allies to sit down with each other all mixed-up, and the Spartans on their own by themselves. Then he told the potters to stand up, then the blacksmiths, carpenters, builders and each other craft. And so all the allies stood up except a few, but none of the Spartans, for they were not allowed to work in or learn a manual trade" - Plutarch, Agesilaus, 26

Spartan Citizenship

• Both mother and father had to be Spartan citizens
• The child was inspected for any ailments/deformities (the weak were killed)
• Agoge - men had to go through this training school from 7-30 years old
• After training - had to be accepted into a syssitia - like a fraternity - had to be unanimously accepted

Characteristics of Spartan Society

Spartan society can broadly be defined by a unique set of codes and characteristics that all Spartans were expected to adhere to:

1. Equality between the Homoioi (meaning peers or equals)
2. Frugality and an austere lifestyle, shunning material pleasures
3. Leisure and bonding between the Homoioi, enjoying the privileges of a citizen
4. Conformity and Obedience to the state and its laws
5. Discipline and Self-Sacrifice on behalf of Sparta, the state is more important than the individual
6. Independence a an individual in Sparta

The Interactions of Spartan Society

• Spartan society was predominantly a public one
• More specifically it was one in which social bonding equality and friendly competition was promoted enthusiastically in the forms of:
• Music
• Singing and Dancing
• Ritualised Hardship
• Organised Games and Fights
• Public Messes

Music

• The Spartans harboured an enjoyment of music
• Dancing to the flute or the lyre was done by both sexes alike; however most of these dances represented/simulated:
• Battles
• Military Drill
• Wrestling
• Wild Animal Hunts
• Religious Aspects
• Plutarch states that their songs:
• "had a life and spirit in them that enflamed and possessed men's minds with an enthusiasm and ardour for action"

Singing and Dancing

• Choral and dancing competitions were held annually
• Festival of Gymnopaediae - all male Spartans competed - whole battalions of soldiers both old and young sang for their prowess and courage, and of deeds yet to be performed

Ritualised Hardship

• Notorious endurance contest - flogging the youths at the altar of Artemis Orthia
• Frequently boys died during this ceremony - but a statue of honour was erected to the boy who endured the longest
• It may have tied in with initiation and the shedding of blood as a bond between man and god

Organised Games and Fights

• Once a year two teams - representing Lycurgus and Heracles - were chosen to face each other in combat
• They met on an island in a river; having first sacrificed a pup and watched a fight between two boars
• Aim of the fight - drive the opposing team into the river
• There were no rules - kicking, eye-gouging and biting were allowed
• Annual ball game - teams of fifteen - sole object possession of the ball at the end of the game by any method

The Public Messes

• The public meals have been called by a variety of names:
• Syssitia or Syssition
• Phiditia or Phitidion
• Plutarch - stated that the meals were devised by Lycurgus to strike a blow at luxury
• Xenophon - maintained that Lycurgus invented them, by bringing people out in the open, in order to prevent poor behaviour and failure to obey orders

Unique or Not?

• The two views held by the sources are in fact incorrect
• Such meals were not unique to Sparta alone and were in fact of ancient origin
• They were basically military messes with approximately fifteen members [half a company]
• Later they lost their military character

Citizenship Dependent on Membership

• Membership of the mess was a prerequisite for Spartan citizenship:
• "Each of the mess-mates took in his hand a bit of soft bread, and when a servant came along with a bowl upon his head, then they cast it into this without a words, like a ballot, leaving it round as it was if he approved of the candidate, but if he disapproved, squeezing it tight in his hand first. The spoiled bread represented the same as a spoiled ballot. And if just one such is found in the bowl, the candidate is not admitted to the mess, because they wish all its members to be congenial to each other" - Plutarch, Lycurgus, 12

Compulsory Attendance

• The meals were held [possibly in tents] in a large, open space by the side of the Hyacinthine Way
• Attendance was compulsory every day among Spartan peers
• The evening meal was always eaten there
• The only acceptable excuse for nonattendance were
• Sickness
• Hunting expeditions
• Public sacrifices

Contributions

• Each peer was bound to make a monthly contribution of grain, fruit and wine from the produce of his Kleros
• The messes also enabled young Spartans to:
• Listen to conversations of their elders; and
• Learn of the honourable deeds performed by Spartans for their state
• Furthermore - the public nature of the meals put a restraint on indecent language, bad conduct and drunkenness

Spartan Society: Activity

1. Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus, points 8-10, 12, 24
2. Xenophon, Constitution of the Spartans, points 5,7
3. Kritias: Fragment D60

Find as many examples of the following

• Equality between Spartans
• Frugality and Austerity
• Discipline, Conformity and Obedience
• Leisure, Bonding and Comradery

Equality Between Spartans

• Plutarch - Lycurgus ordered all Spartiates to pull all their land together and redistribute it. 9,000 plots for the Spartans, 30,000 for the perioeci - not mentioned by any fifth century source. Plutarch erroneous here. He's referring to a third century king called Agis who wanted to redistribute the land. Agis claimed that Lycurgus had done the same before. This is why only sources dated after his rule mentioned it
• Each kleros provided enough to sustain each Spartiate and their family
• With their equal landholdings they would seek to be first "only in merit"
• Plutarch + Xenophon - he outlawed currency and replace it with iron bars
• Plutarch - deliberately weakened to be worthless (vinegar was poured on the iron)
• Xenophon - Searches were made for hidden currency
• Greed dissipated
• Plutarch - each member of a mess hall contributed equal portions from their kleros, which was then redistributed equally
• Kritias - in the mess halls all Spartans drank from the same cup
• Plutarch - even the kings had to follow the rules - example of Agis

Frugality and Austerity

• Plutarch - Lycurgus decided that "just this amount of food would suffice for their fitness and health, and they would need nothing more"
• Xenophon - food was proportional to the work put in
• Plutarch - "possessions won no advantage because there was no public outlet for their wealth"
• No merchants, no pimps or prostitutes, or teachers of rhetoric
• Removed all craftsmen who were considered useless
• Kritias - Contrasts the moderate behaviour of the restrained Spartans in the mess hall vs the indulgent Athenians
• Plutarch and Xenophon - Spartans were forbidden from carrying torches, which encouraged them not to drink excessively and helped them to learn to navigate through the dark
• Plutarch - Made helping one's companions more honourable than money driven
• Plutarch - mess halls the "finest reform" and an "attack on luxury"

Discipline, Conformity and Obedience

• Plutarch - example of King Agis being punished for not attending messes - shows that even the kings had to obey the law
• Xenophon - "living at home led to considerable neglect of duty" - so by instituting public messes they could check for disobedience"
• Plutarch - Unanimous voting decisions for mess-hall entry forced the Spartans to conform
• Xenophon - Age groups were mixed - which allowed younger Spartans to learn from the old and vice versa, and soothed generational divides and conflicts
• Plutarch - "they viewed themselves as part of their community rather than as individuals" + "they lived a prescribed lifestyle and devoted themselves to communal concerns"

Leisure, Bonding and Comradery

• Plutarch - The Spartans were encouraged to take and give out jokes in equal measures. Plutarch says that the ability to take criticism is a very Spartan quality
• Plutarch - Women were encouraged to take part in athletics such as javelin and discus throwing
• Plutarch - they spent most of their time choral dancing, taking part in festivals and feasts, hunting expeditions, physical exercise and conversation
• Kritias - Contrasts the Athenian symposia with the Spartan syssitia, emphasises the Spartan peers bonding
• Plutarch - Sexual relationships were open. Lovers' quarrels elsewhere became friendly rivalries
• Plutarch - in the mess halls witnessed "political discussions" and "the kind of entertainment appropriate for free men"
• Kritias - In Sparta the free are the most free, and the slaves are the most enslaved

Inferiors: Activity

• Xenophon, Constitution of the Spartans, 9
• Plutarch, Lycurgus, 15
• Thucydides, 5.34
• Herodotus, 7.229-232 (right at the back of the reader after the Thermopylae section)

Make a list of the various ways an inferior was treated in Sparta, making sure to refer to which specific source refers to which specific bit of info

• Xenophon:
• Tresantes ("Tremblers") - Outcasts from their mess halls, disgraceful to be paired with them in athletic competitions
• Forced to live without their wives, and still subject to the same punishments as unwedded bachelors
• Were not allowed to display happiness in public
• If a younger person entered the room they would be forced to give up their seats
• They would be resigned to the most ignominious position in the chorus
•  Plutarch:
• Men who remained unwedded past their prime were forced to parade naked in the Agora, in the middle of winter. They had to sing a degrading song about how their punishment was just
• Barred from the Gymnopaedia - an important festival in Sparta
• Anecdote of the distinguished general who a younger Spartan refused to give up his seat for "because you have no son who will give their seat to me"
• Thucydides
• Neodamodes - The Helots who had fought with Brasidas were freed and could live where they liked
• Tresantes - Spartans who surrendered at Sphacteria in 425BC were deprived of citizenship and barred from political and economic rights. However, their rights were eventually restored
• a) is the punishment not as severe as Xenophon claims?
• b) could the Spartans no longer punish Tresantes as harshly due to their declining numbers?
• Herodotus
• Aristodemus and Pantites - the two survivors of Thermopylae - 480-479 BC
• Both were excused from battle because of an eye infection
• Pantites ran back to the battle and died with the 300, but Aristodemus loitered to delay joining and returned home alone after
• If both had returned to Sparta, they would have been excused, but because one ran back to the battle and one didn't, Aristodemus was punished as a tresantes
• No Spartan would speak to him; he was reproached as a social outcast
• Ostracised from Spartan life
• Nicknamed Aristodemus the coward
• However, he redeemed himself at Plataea by charging alone into the fray, but the Spartans called him reckless. Jealousy?
• Shows that inferiors still served in the army
• By charging he would've broken the formation, endangering his comrades

Criticisms of Spartan Society

Read the following sections of Aristotle's "Criticisms of the Spartan Constitution" in the Politics

• Property
• The land passed into few hands, and others naturally lost out
• Though the land could sustain 30,000 infantry, the real number was 1,000
• Monetary transactions were outlawed, but property and possessions were allowed to be gifted to one another
• Women could also inherit property. By Aristotle's period 2/5 of all land was owned by heiresses
• Common Meals
• Each Spartan was meant to contribute equal portions to their mess, but because of the wealth disparity, many could not make their contributions
• Contributions were necessary for Spartan citizenship, so many were barred from becoming full citizens
• Anything but democratic
• Should have been run at public expense
• Further Criticisms
• The Spartans were so focused on war that they did not know how to live in leisure
• No money in the treasury for public expenditure because there was no money
• It is a state where everyone is poor, but greedy
• Naval command had become another kingship

Outline the criticisms Aristotle makes of Spartan society, how it was organised and the arrangements put in place

Sources

5th Century:

• Herodotus, Thucydides, Socrates, Plato, Xenophon, Kritias - the latter four were Laconophiles

4th Century:

• Aristotle

2nd Century:

• Diodorus, Polybius

1st Century AD:

• Plutarch

Plato, Xenophon and Kritias were students of Socrates. Plato, in turn, taught Aristotle

Different Groups Within Spartan Society

 Spartiates

• Original Dorian conquerors of Laconia - the Spartiates never numbered more than 10,000
• Privileged social class, holding all political power
• All equal under the law and all subjected to the same training and discipline
• Forbidden to engage in farming, trade and industry. These were done by Helots and Perioeci
• There were rich and poor Spartiates, but there is some controversy over the existence of a nobility
• Full time soldiers owing total obedience to the state
• The state supported them by giving them an allotment of public land (Kleros) and of Helots
• Lived by a high code of honour that involved courage, loyalty, endurance and obedience

Women

• Emancipated - mingled freely with men and shared their sports, but were excluded from holding public office and did not have the right to vote
• Did not spin or weave - regarded these tasks as fit only for slaves
• Trained to be fit companions, and mothers of warriors and heroes
• Known for natural beauty, strength and grace - forbidden from wearing jewelry, cosmetics and perfume
• Grew up in physical freedom, but modest and careful of health
• Very wealthy, as numbers of men declined in the 5th century, two-fifths of the land came into their hands

Perioeci

"Dwellers around" or "Those on the periphery" - Perioeci were not unique to Sparta

• Dorian in origin - lived in approximately 100 scattered communities in the area controlled by Sparta
• Their villages served as a wall or "buffer zone" against escaping Helots
• Autonomous (self-governing) in their own communities - had local citizenship; owed allegiance to Sparta
• Had no say in formulating Spartan policy
• Were not permitted to marry Spartiates
• Chief contribution to the Spartans was economic - engaged in trade and industry
• Spartan Kings' revenue came from their estates in the lands of the perioeci
• All adult male perioeci were expected to serve as hoplites alongside Spartiates, although not involved in training
• If involved in a case with a Spartiate, were brought before the ephors for trial

Inferiors

Neither slaves nor citizens

• Partheniai
• Illegitimate offspring of Helot mothers and Spartiate fathers
• Neodamodes
• Helots, who for some courageous act or service to the state were given freedom
• Mothoces
• Sons of helots often 'adopted' as playmates of Spartan boys - shared training
• Tresantes
• Spartan peers - cowards who lost citizenship - not necessarily permanently

Helots

• Pre-Dorian inhabitants conquered by Spartans - some Messenians may have been part-Dorian
• State-owned serfs lived with families on lands of Spartiates - could not move without government permission
• Main duty was to supply a fixed amount of produce annually to Spartan masters - free to make a profit once upkeep of Spartans paid for
• Politically and legally had no rights whatsoever - only the state could free them or dispose of them
• Often acted as servants to Spartan soldiers during war - also served as light-armed skirmishers in battle
• Constant threat to Spartan security - were discontented and rebellious; outnumbered the Spartiates approximately 20:1
• Often treated harshly - from time to time killed by the Krypteia to keep them under control; always under suspicion
• A few freed for bravery or service to the state, but had no civic rights - termed neodamodes - however, it was dangerous to show too much bravery

Lyrcurgus: Man or Myth?

 Spartan Society

Spartan society consisted mainly of five different groups:

• Spartiates:
• The main group of the Spartan society. The men who guarded and defended the society
• Spartan Women:
• Equal to the Spartan men and the mothers of warriors
• Perioeci:
• The dwellers on the periphery of Spartan society
• Inferiors:
• The four groups in Spartan society who for some reason were outcasts
• Helots:
• The slave population for the Spartiates, they were feared by the Spartan community due to their rebellious nature

Lycurgus: The questions that should be asked...

1. Who was Lycurgus?
2. Why is he important to Spartan society?
3. What role did he play for the development of Spartan society?
4. Why do historians find Lycurgus problematic?
5. What do the sources say about Lycurgus?
6. How far can we trust the sources on Lycurgus' existence

The Man

So who was Lycurgus?

• (700 BC?-630 BC) he was [supposedly] the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, who established the military-oriented reformation of Spartan society in accordance with the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi
• All his reforms were directed towards the three Spartan virtues: equality (among citizens), military fitness and austerity

Historian Views

• He is referred to by ancient historians Herodotus, Xenophon, and Plutarch
• It is not clear if this Lycurgus was an actual historical figure; however, many ancient historians believed that Lycurgus was responsible for the communalistic and militaristic reforms which transformed Spartan society
• The most major of his reforms was known as The Great Rhetra. Ancient historians place him in the first half of the 7th century BC

The Great Rhetra

I.

Oh! thou great Lycurgus, that coms't

to my beautiful dwelling, Dear to

Jove, and to all who sit in the halls

of Olympus, Whether to hail thee a 

god I know not, or only a mortal,

But my hope is strong that thou a

god wilt prove, Lycurgus.

II.

Cravest thou Arcady? Bold is thy

craving. I shall not content it.

Many the men that in Arcady

dwell, where food is the acorn.

They will never allow thee. It is not

I that am ungenerous, I will give

thee to dance in Tegea, with noisy

foot-fall. And with the measuring

line mete out the glorious

campaign.

III.

Level and smooth is the plain where

Arcadian Tegea standeth; There two

winds are ever, by strong necessity

blowing, Counter-stroke answers

stroke, and evil lies upon evil. There

all-teeming Earth doth harbour the

son of Atrides; Bring thou him to

thy city, and then be Tegea's master.

IV.

These oracles they from Apollo

heard, And brought from Pytho

home the perfect word; The heaven-

appointed kings, who love the land,

Shall foremost in the nation's council

stand; The elders next o them; the

commons last; Let a straight Rhetra

among all be passed

Plutarch points out in his biography of Lycurgus that:

"One can say absolutely nothing on Lycurgus the Lawgiver which is not prone to controversy: his origin, his travels, his death, and finally the development of his laws and constitution give rise to very different historical accounts"

Lycurgus activity:

1. What claims are made regarding the time period for when Lycurgus lived by
1. Aristotle
• Same time as Iphitus and was his partner in instituting the Olympic truce
2. Eratosthenes and Apollodorus
• He lived a great many years before the First Olympiad
3. Timaeus
• Two Lycurguses at different times who were confused as the same. The older one might have lived close to Homer's time
4. Xenophon
• In the time of the Heraclids (first kings)
2. Who does the poet Simonides state as the father of Lycurgus?
• Prytanis
3. What occurred under the rule of Sous?
• Helots first became slaves and Sparta expanded in to new territory
4. How did the kingly line of Eurypontids come about?
• Named as such after Sous' son, Eurypon, who courted popularity and ingratiated himself with the masses, thereby being the first to relax the "excessively autocratic character of the kingship"
5. How did Sparta come to be a society "gripped by lawlessness and disorder"?
• Ingratiating himself with the masses led to a "bolder attitude on the part of the people" - some succeeding kings were detested for ruling the people by force, while others were "merely tolerated" because their role was either partisan or feeble
6. How, according to Plutarch, did Lycurgus' father die?
• Died from being struck by a chef's cleaver while trying to break up a fight
7. What is the Spartan word for the guardians of kings without fathers?
• Prodikoi
8. How did Lycurgus mislead the wife of Polydectes?
• She was pregnant with the late king's baby, and she told Lycurgus that she would abort the baby on the condition that he would marry her. He told her he would dispose of the child as soon as it was born. He sent observers and guards to be present at the birth and ordered them to bring the child straight to him if it was a boy. When the boy was brought to him, he presented the baby to the magistrates he was dining with and declared him as the king
9. What was the name of the newly born King of Sparta?
• Charilaus
10. Who made the accusation against Lycurgus and why?
• The king's mother felt injured by Lycurgus. Once, her brother Leonidas accused Lycurgus of wanting to become king. By his slander, Leonidas laid the ground for accusing Lycurgus of a plot, should any harm come to the king
11. Where did Lycurgus travel to and what did he learn at each place?
• Crete - where he studied the forms of government and took note of the laws he admired, with the intention of bringing them home and putting them to use
• Asia - he went to compare the frugal, tough way of life in Crete with the extravagance and luxury of Ionia, and to observe the contrast in the ways of life and government. Ionia is also where he allegedly first encountered the poems of Homer
• Egypt - he learned of the Egyptian separation of the warrior class from the others - he carried this over to Sparta
12. Who were the Gymnosophists?
• Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the point of regarding food and clothing as detrimental to purity of thought
13. Why were the kings NOT reluctant to see Lycurgus return?
• They hoped that with his presence they would receive less offence from the people
14. What was the first intention of Lycurgus upon his return to Sparta?
• To sweep away the existing order and to make a complete change of constitution
15. What were the words of the Oracle?
• The oracle called Lycurgus "dear to the Gods" and "a god rather than a man" - he had asked for a Good Order, and she declared that the gods granted this and promised that his constitution would be by far the finest of all
16. When Plutarch makes mention of "God" by the Oracle, who is he referring to?
• Lycurgus
17. Who was Arthmiades?
• Arthmiades is generally named as the one who was particularly associated with Lycurgus in all his operations, and who collaborated with him in formulating legislation
18. Why did King Charilaus seek refuge in the Bronze house?
• King Charilaus thought that the whole action was being concerted against him
19. According to Plato, what was Lycurgus' first innovation? What was it a combination of? What was it intended to fix?
• The institution of the Elders. Its combination with the king's arrogant rule, and the right to an equal vote on the most important matters, produced security and at the same time sound sense
• It was intended to fix the instability of the state, as at one moment it would incline towards kings and virtual tyranny, and at another towards the people and democracy
20. Why, according to Aristotle, were the 28 elders introduced? What is Plutarch's theory on this?
• This number of Elders was instituted because two of Lycurgus' thirty leading associates panicked and abandoned the enterprise
• The total should be thirty when the two kings are included

What the Sources Say...

Theory 1:

• A war veteran - who, with the support of his comrades, managed to become regent or tutor to the Spartan King Charilaus

Theory 2:

• In his beginnings, many of his laws were opposed, particularly by the wealthier men. They collected in a body against Lycurgus, and came to throwing stones, so that he was forced to flee and make sanctuary

Story to link to Theory 2:

He outran all but one, a young man who was known for his haste and ill mannered temperament, named Alcander. When Lycurgus stopped running and turned to see if he was followed, Alcander came up close and hit him in the face with a stick, causing great distress to Lycurgus' eye

Upon showing his damaged face to the protesters, they felt great shame and served Alcander to be punished at Lycurgus' will in order to make amends. Alcander's sentence was to serve as Lycurgus' servant and through that period of time, upon learning the greatness of Lycurgus and his dedication to the people, Alcander eventually became one of Lycurgus' biggest supporters

Institutions

Lycurgus is credited with the formation of many Spartan institutions integral to the country's rise to power

1. He created the sussita/syssitia, the practice that required all Spartan men to eat together in common mess halls
2. His most important addition to Spartan culture was the development of the agoge. The infamous practice took all healthy seven year old boys from the care of their mothers and placed them in a rigorous military regiment
3. More dubiously, Lycurgus is prescribed with forbidding the use of any tools other than an axe and saw in the building of a house

Establishments

Among the reforms attributed to Lycurgus are:

1. The establishment of the gerousia and assembly;
2. The substitution of iron money for gold and silver coinage;
3. The requirement of eating in commons and living (for men under the age of thirty) in rough-hewn barracks;
4. The destruction of the city walls to promote martial skill;
5. Re-dividing Spartan land and forcing it to be worked by Helots; and
6. The system of government that divided power between the King, the Spartan citizenry, the Gerousia, and the Ephors, all in order to establish within his people a free-mind, self-dependence, and temperance

So Legend Says...

According to the legend found in Plutarch's Lives and other sources, when Lycurgus became confident in his reforms, he announced that he would go to the Oracle at Delphi to make a sacrifice to Apollo

However, before leaving for Delphi, he called an assembly of the people of Sparta and made everyone, including the kings and senate, take an oath binding them to observe his laws until he returned. He made the journey to Delphi and consulted the oracle, which told him that his laws were excellent and would make his people famous

He then disappeared from history

One explanation was that being satisfied by this he starved himself to death instead of returning home, forcing the citizens of Sparta to keep his laws indefinitely.

Bertrand Russell states that he is a mythical person of Arcadian origin - his name meaning "He who brings into being the works of a wolf"

Year 2: Introduction to the Greek State: Sparta

 The Greek Polis

• Self governing autonomous society

Features

1. The acropolis - stronghold of community life
2. The town and city were built around the acropolis
3. The villages and countryside
4. The people of the city and countryside
5. The political, cultural, religious and economic life

Structure of Population

• Citizens [adult males] 43,000
• Women and children - 129,000
• Metics [foreign craftsmen] 28,000
• Slaves - 115,000

Citizenship Restrictions

• Adult males - varied depending on the city i.e: Athens = 18yrs; Sparta 30yrs
• Usually both parents had to be born in the city; sometimes only one was necessary

Obligations and Responsibility

• Every citizen was expected to take his political responsibility seriously and to take pride in the affairs of the polis
• This evoked strong feelings of patriotism
• Difficulties - joint union of the Hellenes

1. Geographical location
2. A need to be free and independent
3. Relations marked by commercial jealousies and rivalries, shifting alliances and interstate wars

Forms of Government

1. Monarchy [governance by kings]
2. Aristocracy [group of nobles]
3. Timocracy [group who owed their political power to wealth]

Overthrown Governments

• On many occasions the oligarchies were overthrown and a tyrant would seize control for a short time
• A tyrant would bring with him many benefits before being overthrown himself and replaced by another form of government, either:
• Oligarchy [where a select elite dew control political power] or
• Democracy [where all citizens have the right to vote, to make laws and be elected to official positions]

Sparta: Prehistory

• Sparta is heavily attested in the mythological canon
• Supposedly the first settlement was made by Lacedaemon, a son of Zeus and the nymph Taygete. He married Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas
• These names would then be co-opted by the Spartans - the city would be Sparta, the country Lacedaemon, the fertile river that flowed through the city Eurotas and the impassable mountains that protected the city Taygetos
• Sparta is central to the Trojan Wars. Helen of Troy was originally Helen of Sparta, and it was the Spartan King Menelaus who together with his brother Agamemnon led the Greeks to war
• The Dorian Invasions of the 11th Century BC brought down the Mycenaean civilisation, and with it Sparta slipped into the Dark Ages alongside the rest of Greece
• Herodotus and other classical scholars claim this had been prophesised, as the son of Heracles (Heraclidae) would return to claim their rightful lands
• The next major events attested in Sparta were their invasions of Messenia, and the enslavement of the Messenian population, who became the Helots
• Around the same time, tradition attests that a legendary lawgiver, Lycurgus, brought a sweeping new set of regulations to the Spartan way of life
• The Spartans collectively prescribed themselves to Lyrcurgus' regulations, focused on military training and personal excellence
• Sparta was born

The Poleis of Sparta [Lakedaemonia]

• Sparta itself was not a traditional city but was a collection of 5 villages:
1. Limnai
2. Pitana
3. Kynosaura
4. Mesoa
5. Amyklai
• The city was skirted by Mt Taygetos to the West and Mt Parnon to the East
• The river Eurotas flowed through the valley, providing rich, agricultural land

"Suppose the city of Sparta to be deserted, and nothing left but the temples and the ground-plan, distant ages would be very unwilling to believe that the power of the Lacedaemonians was at all equal to their fame. Their city is not built continuously and has no splendid temples or other edifices; it rather resembles a group of villages, like the ancient towns of Hellas, and would therefore make a poor show" - Thucydides 1.10

DVD Questions

1. What two things are the Spartans famous for?
• Frugality and fighting
2. What was the aim of the Spartan way of life?
• To create the perfect state
3. What was Sparta the first Greek city to do?
• To define the rights and duties of its citizens
4. What city did Agamemnon rule over?
• Mycenae
5. What percentage of land in Greece cannot be farmed?
• 70%
6. What mountains lied to the west of Sparta?
• Taygetos Mountains
7. What temple was built to honour "the legendary king and his wayward wife"?
• Menelaion, in honour of Menelaus and Helen
8. What did the city states of Greece in this period all have in common?
• They were governed by a set of mutually agreed laws and customs
9. How many kings did Sparta have?
• Two
10.  Who were the kings of Sparta supposedly descended from?
• Heracles
11. What does the word "Periocoi" mean?
• Those who live around
12. What does the word "Helot" translate into?
• Captives
13. How was slavery different in Sparta different than elsewhere in Greece?
• The Spartans enslaved other Greeks
14. Who was Tyrtaeus?
• A Spartan soldier and poet
15. Who served as the hoplites in Ancient Greece?
• The citizens
16. Why was hoplite warfare a "team effort"?
• The Phalanx, co-ordination, discipline and trust were vital
17. When were the Messenians finally enslaved by the Spartans?
• 650 BC
18. What was the aim of the Spartans after they had conquered Messenia? What would they model their society on?
• To create a utopia, modelled on the Hoplit

Sources for Ancient Sparta

• One key issue when studying Ancient Sparta is that they did not have a tradition of recording their history
• There are scant fragmentary papyrys from the 6th century of Spartan poets such as Tyrtaeus and Alcman, but that's about it
• Archaeology of Ancient Sparta has also only recently been conducted in any systematic fashion, and what we have found is minimal (there is a reason for that, but we'll get to that later)
• We are therefore left with one option: to use the wealth of written evidence about Sparta from their main rivals: Athens

Plutarch

• One chief source for Sparta is the historian/biographer/philosopher Plutarch
• He wrote a "biography" of Sparta's legendary lawgiver, Lycurgus, that transcends into a broad sociological study of Classical Sparta
• Plutarch was not a contemporary, wring around 120 AD, 500 years after the fall of Classical Sparta
• At this stage, Sparta was a popular tourist destination, where Romans would visit the city to see "Spartans" re-enact traditions from their glorious past - Plutarch himself says he visited Sparta as a tourist
• By this time Sparta had received wide academic study from other Greeks and the Romans, and Plutarch was able to draw upon this tradition to write his work. We know he used contemporary writers such as Xenophon, Thucydides, Aristotle and Plato

Xenophon

• Xenophon lived and wrote at the end of the Peloponnesian War in the late 5th century BC
• He was an Athenian and a student of Socrates, alongside Plato and Alcibiades
• Many of Athens' intellectuals at this stage were laconophiles - literally "Spartan Lovers" - they interpreted the failures of the Athenian democratic system through contrasting them with the seeming impervious system of the Spartans
• Following the Peloponnesian War, Xenophon served as a commander of a mercenary company known as the "Ten Thousand", who accompanied Cyrus the Younger in a civil war against  his brother, Artaxerxes II
• On his campaigns Xenophon endeared himself to the Spartan King Agesilaus and he later moved to Olympia in the Peloponnese to serve as a Spartan ambassador
• He almost definitely visited Sparta, and there is strong evidence his sons went through the agoge, Sparta's harsh educational programme
• His work, the "Politaea of the Spartans" is a systematic appraisal of most aspects of Sparta's society

Aristotle

• Aristotle was not an Athenian, but he was born in Stagira in Northern Greece
• However, he moved to Athens and studied under Plato in the 4th century BC
• At this stage, Sparta had crumbled under her own internal disorders, as well as a succession of military defeats
• The rose-tinted view of many laconophiles in Athens had therefore been shattered, and Aristotle made a clear break from his intellectual predecessors by viewing Sparta through a critical lens
• His work is a series of lecture notes that he delivered to his students

Other Sources

• Thucydides and Herodotus - both contemporaries to Classical Sparta who provide invaluable details
• Plato and Critias - two other students of Aristotle who made important philosophical notes on the Spartans
• Polybius - a second century BC Greek historian who interprets Sparta through a constitutional framework
• Tyrtaeus and Alcman - the two Spartan writers who offer us a sliver of a glimpse into the real Sparta
• Aristophanes - whose plays provide stereotype Spartans that show us how other Greeks viewed the Spartans
• Archaeology - to corroborate everything