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