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