Sparta CORE: 1 Flashcards
Identify the geographical setting of Sparta.
• 200m above sea level
• Northern end of the alluvial plain of Laconia
• West Taygetus Mountain Range
• East Parnon Mountain Range
• North ^ Arcadian Mountains
• Eurotas River flowed through provided water
• Small Lakonian plain (14km x 5km) enabled Spartans to grow food and other crops
barley, figs, olives, cultivated orchards and vineyards, grazed sheep and goats
Identify natural features of Sparta.
• Impressive mountains Strabo Geography: “difficult of access for enemies” provides natural defensive barrier
Mount Taygetus: 2407 metres
Mount Parnon: 1839 metres
• Eurotas River separated Sparta from Argigolid in East and Messenia in West
• Impact of Sparta’s location on it’s development and lifestyle:
• Isolation
• Defensive barrier
• Trade impacts naval power (only one bay)
• Hunting couldn’t get resources from elsewhere
• Travel elsewhere only way through Eurotas river
Resources of Ancient Sparta?
o Stone
• HERZ - Classical Marble: Geochemistry, Technology, Trade
o Marble – quarried from Mt Taygetus
- Limestone
- Porphyry – a hard green stone
- Minerals and Ores
- Iron
- Copper and tin imported for bronze making
- Lead and clay
- Animals/Food
- Sheep and goats for wool, meat and dairy products
- Pigs meat and black broth (soup made from pig’s blood)
- Chickens eggs
- Bees honey
- Hare and wild boar hunted in wild areas
- Thucydides: “simple but plentiful supply of food”
- Plants
- Crops barley, figs, olives, wheat, grapes
- Cultivated orchids and grapes grown
- Source: CARTLEDGE “Five vine growing districts”
Significant sites of Sparta.
The temple of Artemis Orthia
The temple of Athena of the Bronze House
The Menelaion
The Amyklaion
Detail the temple of Artemis Orthia.
Written Evidence: Pausanias, A Guide to Greece pp 56-58
Archaeological Evidence:
• British School of Archaeology discovered foundations
• 17m x 60m
• shows signs of repair and alterations – 3rd century
• Uncovered: terracotta’s, ivory and bronze carvings, bronzes and lead figurines
• Bone relief of Orthia, c. 650 BC
Detail the temple of Athena of the Bronze House
Written Evidence: Pausanias, A Guide to Greece pp 58-59 Archaeological Evidence: Found: • Traces of older stone structure • Archaic bronzes • Badly corroded bronze plates and nails • Bust of Spartan hoplite
Detail the Menelaion.
Written Evidence: Pausanias, A Guide to Greece, p. 69
Archaeological Evidence:
• Thought to belong to prehistoric settlement at Therapne
• Votive offerings suggest place of worship
Detail the Amyklaion
Written Evidence: Pausanias, A Guide to Greece, p. 66-67
Archaeological Evidence:
– Found:
o Traces of enclosure wall
o Houses colossal statue of Apollo
o Coins shows like statue or worship
o Bronze tripods, thank offerings to Apollo for victory in war
The issue of Lycurgus?
Lycurgus
– Issue historical or mythical figure?
– Lawgiver
– Responsible for setting up most of Sparta’s political and social institutions
What do the ancient sources say about the law giver Lycurgus?
– Aristotle, Herodotus & Xenophon:
– Historical figure
– Handed down the Great Rhetra (laws of Sparta) after consulting the Delphic Oracle
– Plutarch
• Lack of precise evidence
• Lycurgus was king for 8 months
• When he returned from his travels around Crete and Asia, his “immediate intention was to sweep away the existing order and to make a complete change in the constitution”
Moder written sources and their knowledge on Lycurgus?
– W G Forrest
• “possibly even a mythological figure”
– A Andrews
• “If there was a real Lycurgus, we know nothing of him”
Whats the Great Rhetra?
– Changes and reforms introduced by Lycurgus
– Plutarch believed was a statement from the Delphic Oracle brought back by Lycurgus and presented to the Spartans
– Problem with Delphic Oracle when did it become so influential that its statements became law?
– Important: foundation of Spartan constitution
– Changes and reforms:
Eunomia (good order)
Detail the economic system of the great rhetra.
– Helot – Perioikoi – Labour freed Spartiates to become full-time soldiers – Citizens did not work - discouraged from pursuing luxury
Detail the political system of the great rhetra.
o Mixed Constitution • Assembly • Ephorate • Dual kingship • Gerousia
Detail the social system of the great rhetra.
o State ethos taught and maintained through:
• Agoge
• Sysstia
• Hoplite training and service
Roles and privileges of the two kings, and what the ancient sources have to say about it.
- Herodotus Histories: lists rights and privileges
* Plutarch: religious, judicial, political and military power
Roles and privileges of the kings?
o One from Agiad family | One from Eurypontid family • Chief priests of the state • Kept oracles from Delphi • War leaders: only one at a time • Given special meats from sacrifices • Given double rations in mess • Had limited judicial powers • Members of the gerousia • Had a voice in foreign affairs debates • Supervised by the ephors • Could be put on trial and deposed • E.g. Leonidas and Pausanias
Elements of Government?
Ephorate, Gerousia, Ekklesia
Whats the ephorate?
- 5 annually elected officials
- Chief administers and executives (magistrates) of the State
- Democratically elected by citizens in ekklesia
- Supervised the kings during war campaigns appeared to have more power than the kings
- Influential in deciding foreign policy and met foreign representatives
- Wide-ranging police powers over daily lives of citizens and helots
- Presided over meetings of the ekklesia
- Worked closely with the gerousia and attended court cases
- Swore oath each month to uphold powers of kings if kings acted lawfully
Whats the Gerousia?
- Aka the Council of Elders
- Included: the gerontes (28 men over 60) and 2 kings
- Elected for life by ekklesia
- Wide judicial power in serious criminal cases (e.g. death, exile)
- Could put the kings on trial
- Proposed laws and worded legislation to be approved or rejected by ekklesia
Whats the Ekklesia?
- All male citizens who were +30
- Met outdoors, once a month
- Voting Thucydides, History shouting yes/no or physically divide into Yes or No groups
- Could not debate issues, change wording of proposals or propose new laws or policies
- Elected 5 ephors each year and elected men to fill vacancies in gerousia
- Appointed generals and admirals (naval officers
What makes up the social structure?
Spartiates
Perioeci
Helts
Inferiors
What are Spartiates?
- Male citizens
- Homoioi: peers, equals
- Ruling elite of Sparta
- Inequality people who were wealthier than others
- Endured the agoge
- Contributed food from estate or kleras (land given to citizens)
- Belong to a sysstia eating of main meal/dinner together 8-15 people enforces Spartan values
- Buried in town make people accustomed to death (militaristic society)
- Spartans women and children
Whats a perioeci?
Dwellers around” Sparta
• Free BUT did not have the same rights as Spartiates
• Lived in their own self-governing communities
• Had to obey Spartan laws and fight for Sparta when required
• No political rights
• Lead to downfall of Sparta when they became citizens had not endured the agoge
Whats a Helot?
– State owned Serfs/Slaves not owned by individuals
– When Spartans took over Laconian plain population reduced to helots
– Sparta was more about the State than the individual
– Worked the land (kleroi)
– Required to provide Homoioi families with farming produce
– Important allowed Spartans to endure agoge
– Had to give portion to master, monthly contribution to the sysstia helots given the remainder
– Required to act as servants to Spartiates during war participate in light infantry
– Spartan law: enemies of the State
– Thucydides: treated violently
What are inferiors?
• Group: neither perioeci nor helots not Spartan citizens
• Included parthenai: children of unmarried citizens
• Mothakes: non-Spartan boys adopted as playmates for Spartan boys
went through agoge but did not gain citizenship
• Neodamodeis: Helots freed for serving Sparta in battle not citizens
• tresantes failed to show sufficient courage
• Other Spartiates who were stripped citizenship became so poor not able to contribute to communal mess
What’s the role of the Spartan army?
- Spartan citizens devoted majority of time to military training
- Spartan soldiers considered the best in Greece
- Whole of the Spartan society was set up to produce a strong fighting force of great warriors
- Organised into age divisions specified in agoge
- Between 500 and 900 men in each of the six mora (regiments)
The hoplite army?
• Heavily armed infantry in Greek poleis (city states)
– Panoply (Armour):
– Helmet
– Corselet
– Greaves
– Round hoplon (shield)
– Short sword
– Thrusting spear
– Red cape (not worn during battle)
– 6th century Laconian kylix: depicts fully armed hoplite
• Plutarch “In times of battles the officers relaxed the harshest aspects of their discipline and did not stop the men from beautifying their hair and their armour and their clothing, glad to see them like horses prancing and neighing before races.”
What’s the Phalanx?
• Hoplites fought as part of a close-packed fighting formation (not as individuals)
• Designed to push forward and break the ranks of an opposing army
• Thucydides: 5th Century: Stand in 8 rows greatest honour & danger in front row
• Xenophon: 4th Century: stand in 12 row
• Tactic create a group steam-roller effect that would force the enemy’s front rank to stagger backwards and collapse
• Vulnerable back and on sides
• Tyrtaeus: describes Spartan hoplite formation
“Come forward, engage the enemy, strike with sword and spear and kill him!”
What are the strengths
- hoplite phalanx: strength and reliability
- Preparation: discipline and training
- Ability to raise other forces when needed: perioeci and helots
Weaknesses?
- Lacked sufficient cavalry to protect hoplite infantry
- Training and tactics inflexible
- Vulnerable archers, slingers and javelin throwers
What does Xenophon say about the Spartan army?
– Praised Spartan army
able to regroup, act spontaneously and not panic in unfamiliar situations
worked so well because everyone knew their expectations
What do the modern written sources say about the Spartan army.
• L F Fitzhardinge: The Spartans
– Spartan army impressive BUT not fool proof
– “victory was due not to professional skill or training, but solely due to their courage”
How did the military help control the helots?
• Spartiates accompanied by helots helped with combat
• Peloponnesian War: Sparta used helots as soldiers
• Helots enslaved and lands seized during First Messenian War
• Thucydides: Motivating factor hope of eventual freedom
“…The helots who had fought… should be given freedom and allowed to live wherever they liked…”
• Spartiates outnumbered by helots 15:1 constantly feared revolt
• Thucydides: Helots revolted in 5th century BC
o Earthquake 5th century gave helots advantage to revolt
• Given no rights
Whats the sysstia?
• All adults (20 years old) required to be members of dining groups
• Established by Lycurgus all people should eat the same food equality (Homoioi)
Membership
• Inability to be elected social exclusion and disgrace
• Daily attendance at evening meal was obligatory
Meals
• Food provided out of monthly contribution of mess members
• Helots brought in and made drunk as an example of the effects of wine
• Drunken helots humiliated made to sing and dance
Whats the Krypteia?
• Aka the Secret Police
• Form of guerrilla warfare against helot population
• To control & terrorise the helots
• Not a lot of ancient evidence because of it’s name, meaning “hidden” or “secret”
• Plutarch: Annually Krypteia would choose most sensible and well regarded send them out to country to kill helots found on the roads
Paul Cartledge: Aim ‘was to murder selected troublemaking helots and spread terror among the rest’
• Talbert: “the purpose of the krypteia… to ‘blood’ young Spartans”
• Plato: mountainous warfare/survivalist training program designed to expose soldiers to harsh conditions
Artisians?
Evidence of artisians are found in archeological evidence.
The agoge at birth, and an ancient reference.
Plutarch, • Child examined by city’s elders at the lesche (special spot)
• Healthy allowed to live
• Weak or deformed taken to ‘the place of rejection’ (Apothetae) and thrown off cliff
The agoge at ages up to seven, with a source.
Plutarch, • Children brought up by nurses, sometimes mother
Nurses did not spoil children
• If cry or sulk, ignored
• Left alone in the dark treated harshly and not favoured like today’s children
The agoge at age 7, W/ reference.
Plutarch/Xenophon.
• Boys removed from family
• Lived communally until age 30
• City appointed a paidonomos or warden had authority over boys and allowed to punish
Agoge, 7-12 w/ reference.
Plutarch, Xenophon.
• Now on, boys learn obedience, develop physical strength, learn to respond to others and to get along with peers
• Emphasis on athletic training
• Only light tunic worn, head to be shaven
• X walk in silence with their head down, any citizen had right to punish for misbehaviour
Agoge, 13-18, reference
Plutarch, also references the possibility of homosexual love.
• Severe discipline and physical training
• Passed into ‘herds’ based on year groups
• Taught traditional songs, & Homer and Spartan poetry
• Given basic rations believed smaller diet would produce taller and healthier people
• Encouraged to steal food but harshly punished if caught
19-24 Agoge, reference.
Plutarch notes the importance of a minimal diet. Xenophon also comments.
• A boy now became an eirene and could supervise younger boys
• Could be called upon to fight in war
• Most important physical training and fitness
• During year, magistrates select best young men caused violence
Agoge, 24-30
- Eligible for front line troops
* King select 300 come from this group
Agoge, 30-60, reference.
Plutarch, mentions the importance of a Spartans hair.
• Now full citizen
• Allowed to exercise political rights
• Liable for military service if called upon by state
• Allowed to grow hair long suggest physical vigour
• Lived with wife and family
• Expected to dine in the mess (syssition) every night for the rest of his life
Role and Status of women.
• Secondary to males
• No clear role for female members of royal families Agiad and Eurypontid
• Place was in the oikos (home)
– Kunstler: in absence of men, women had supervision of the helots and domestic servants
– running of household
• Social life restricted by tradition and custom
• Religious festivals defined public role, singing and dancing in choruses
• Other Greeks praised Spartan women
• Promiscuous married women able to have sex with other men in order to produce healthy children
• Less freedom arranged marriages, infanticide state controlled
Land owner ship and inheritance of women?
- Aristotle: two-fifths of land owned by women
- Heiresses numerous in Sparta (female heirs to wealth)
- Absence of male descendent property left to female
- Accumulation of property, made women very wealthy
- Common practice in royal and elite: keeping property within a family through marriage of heiresses to uncles or first cousins
Education fro women?
• Did not participate in agoge
• Stayed at home in oikos
• Taught how to weave to make ritual garments for statues
• Could assume that women could read and write (little evidence)
Aristophanes: mention two female poets
Herodotus: suggests that Gorgo, wife of King Leonidas could read
• Physical/Athletic training practiced in public, naked
• Purpose of training was to prepare women to bear children
Xenophon: Lycurgus established custom for women’s training
Plutarch: suggests girls participated in foot races, wrestling, threw the discus, javelin
Well-known Spartan women: Helen, Gorgo, Damatria, Lampito
Aspect of Land ownership and the economy.
• Issue: equality amongst Spartiates
o Plutarch (Life of Lyc): “they would all live on equal terms with one another with the same amount of property to support each, and they would seek to be the first only in merit”
o …But did they?
o Aristotle: “While some of the Spartan citizens have quite small properties, other had very large ones…”
o Hodkinson: ownership of land never equal suggests divisions between rich and poor due to privately owned estates
o Division between rich and poor 5th and 4th centuries: decline in Spartiates who lost kleroi
Agriculture and the economy?
- Agricultural produce formed basis of Spartan economy
- Produce basis of Spartan citizenship: as each Spartiate obliged to contribute to his mess (sysstion) on regular basis failure to do so – loss of citizenship rights
Kelroi in relation to the economy?
Distribution of land into equal lots, farmed by helots.
Helots and the economy?
• Agricultural production basis of Spartan way of life, allowed male citizens to devote entirely to military
Technology: Weapons and Armour
- Made of bronze
- Equip hoplite forces
- Phalanx: each soldier equipped with bronze helmet, hoplon (shield), cuirass (breastplate), greaves (shin-pads) and bronze-tipped spear and dagger
Technology: Pottery
- Most famous: Laconian III
- Fitzhardinge: “interested in human subjects and in telling a story.”
- Exported throughout Greek world
- Little is known of painters and potters
- Not perioeci as kiln and family graves of owner have been found
- May have been pursued by poorer Spartiates
- Arcesilas Cup: shows trade scenes with King of Cyrene
Economic roles of the perioikoi?
- Engaged in mining, manufacture and commerce
- Controlled all mineral and marine resources of Laconia and Messenia
- Lead figurines found at Sanctuary of Orthia probably came from iron ore mined at Neapolis
- Produced metals and manufactured weapons for military
- Herodotus: made shoes, purple garments, wood and iron objects
- Gytheum: main centre for imports and exports fisherman, shipwrights and naval personnel
Economic exchange and use of iron bars.
• Lycurgus, introduced iron bars as coinage to enforce and ensure eunomia
• Issue: modern day scholars believe this is a myth
• Suggested that Spartans must have used some Hellenic currency rather than iron
Needed to pay for mercenaries and send embassies abroad
Trade in economic exchange?
- Carried out mostly by perioeci
- Conducted through port at Gytheum (46km from Sparta)
- Waters at Gytheum shellfish, murex (used to make purple dye)
- Main exports: wool, wine, oil, pottery and bronzes
Gods, and Goddesses Artemis Orthia?
• Artemis
• Sister of Apollo
• Worship common throughout Greece
• Birth-goddess and associated with wild animals and untamed places
• Early representations: show winged and controlling animals
• Ivory brooch depicting Artemis grasping birds
• Worshipped as Artemis-Orthia because cult joined with ancient local goddess: Orthia
o Called ‘syncretism’
Gods and Goddesses; Poseidon?
• God of the Sea
• Honoured in various Spartan cults
• Pausanias: does not mention temple dedicated to Poseidon
o But outlines a sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon as the ‘house-god’
• Near Therapne was a shrine of Poseidon ‘the Earth-holder’
• Thucydides: Spartans believed earthquake of 5th century due to Poseidon punishing them for killing helots who sought refuge at the alter of Poseidon
• Homeric ‘Hymn to Poseidon’: described as ‘mover of the earth and barren sea’.
Gods and Goddesses; Apollo?
- Honoured throughout Sparta, but particularly at Amyklai
- Worshipped at Delphi
- Associated with light and power of the sun
- Ideals of harmony, order and reasons in the world
- Responsible for music and poetry
- Myth defeated and killed dragon Python at Delphi and took over site became sacred to him
- Shrine of Apollo at Delphi: delivering oracles of guidance
The myth and Legend’s of Lycurgus.
Refer to The issue of Lycurgus (the Great Rhetra)]
• Worshipped as a God because he did so much for Sparta
• Ancestral figure
• Herodotus: worshiped as a God recognised by Delphic Oracle because Sparta is the only polis in Greece who had their constitution established by the Gods
• Plutarch & Pausanias: mention Lycurgus had a Heroon shrine
• Heroon shrine: shrine dedicated to ancient Greek hero
The myth and legend of the Discouri?
• ‘The Youths of Zeus’
• Kastor and Polydeukes
• Looked after Kings protection in battle
• Legendary divine twins apparently brothers of Helen
• Sons of Zeus and human, Leda
o Conception: Zeus turned into swan and had sex with Leda
• Half human / half divine
• Legend: Dioscuri took turns in protecting Sparta
• One lived underground at Therapne, while the other dwelt with Gods on Mount Olympus
• Alkman: believed lived in “god built home beneath the earth”
• Associated with athletic contests
• Pausanias: hailed as starters of races
• White Marble Relief (6th Cent. BC)
o Facing one another and holding spears
o Nude heroic stature and association with athletics
o Amphorae connection to sport presentation containers for olive oil as prizes
o Egg allusion to birth from an egg
The festival “Hyakinthia” based on?
• Sources: Athenaeus & Didymus
• Based on the legend of Hyakinthos
o Loved by Apollo
o Apollo and Hyakinthos playing with discus Apollo accidentally throws into Hyakinthos’ head could not save him so turned Hyakinthos into purple flower so he will never die
Details on the Hyakinthia festival.
- Held at Amyklaion, Amyklai
- Three-day festival
- Celebrated July - early summer
- Purpose: mourn the death of Hyakinthos
- Choir of boys (lyres and flutes) sang praises to God
- Processions, dancers & chariot races
- Sacrifices held
- Ate meat, barley-cake, raw vegetables, broth, figs and nuts
- Elite Spartiates entertained the helots
- Xenophon: Spartans interrupted campaigns in order to return for festival
The festival of the Hyakinthion had two stages what was the first stage?
o Prohibited wearing festive wreaths and singing joyful paean (hymn)
o Procession to Amyklai and offering placed at tomb of Hyakinthos
o Prohibited eating bread and cakes
o Special funeral meal consumed
o Day of ritual grief
The festival of the Hyakinthion had two stages what was the first stage?
- Joyful stage
o Wore festive wreaths
o Joyful paean sung to Apollo
o Procession to Amyklai & Sacrifice to Apollo
o Special festive meal where masters served slaves
o Choral song and dance
o Offering to Apollo of a tunic woven for statue by Spartan women
Whats the Gymnopaedia?
• 6th-10th July
• Part of the agoge
• “Festival of the Unarmed Boys”
• Pausanias: dedicated to Apollo, Artemis and Leto
• Naked youths displayed athletic and martial skills through war dancing
• Mentioned in Herodotus
• Plato: excellent medium of education trained in heat dance and warrior grit at same time
• Held in memory of Sparta’s defeat by Argos at battle of Thyrea c. 550 BC
o Aimed to calm Gods to prevent reoccurrence of defeat
• Choral performances
• Display of images of Apollo and Artemis “boxing” amongst men
• Interpreted as an “initiation rite of passage” indicated membership in community
• Older men (about 30) who were unmarried or without children not allowed to participate
o Didn’t make most important contribution to Spartan state – Healthy CHILDREN
Whats the Karneia a celebration of?
• Pausanias: Based on legend of Karnos • Harvest festival • Celebrated for 9 days - August • Celebration of: o Migration o Colonisation of the city o Foundation of Doric peoples and of various military events
Details on the Karneia…
• Men divided up into 9 groups of 3 phratries
o Dined together
o Each occupied skias (area occupied by tents)
• Some citizens carried rafts symbol of coming of Dorians
• Foot-race
o Resembled chase of prey
o One young man (first prayed to city Gods) ran while other unmarried men (staphulodromoi) chased him
o If caught young man good omen for state
o If didn’t catch young man future was bleak
• 5 unmarried people karneatai chosen from each group to cover cost of festival
• Demetrios of Skepis: reflection of the military training system
• Not allowed to go to War
o Reason for late arrival at Battle of Marathon in 490 BC
What are the religious roles of kings?
• Chief Priests of the State • Responsible for asking for and keeping Oracles from Delphi • Open to manipulation from omens (e.g. crossing of borders) • Descendants of Heracles (Semi-divine) • Carried out sacrifices: o To patron Gods o Prior to leaving for war o Before crossing frontier
Basic funerary customs and rituals
- Plutarch, Moralia Essays, Life of Lycurgus (massive contributor)
- Syncretism: when two gods come together e.g. Artemis Orthia
- Hades (underworld): ALL went there
- Tartaros (hell): below Hades gods sent disobedient for punishment
- Elysium (heaven): went there if in favour of Zeus
When a king dies?
• No archaeological evidence for King’s burial
• Riders sent out to send message across Laconia
• Women start beating cauldrons
• ALL wore mourning clothes
o Large fines if not done
• Spartans, Perioikoi and helots obliged to attend funeral
• Large display of public grief
• Wail uncontrollably
• Herodotus: “continually declaring that the King who has just died was the best they ever had.”
Steps of a Greek funeral?
• Three stages:
- Body was prepared and laid out (prothesus or wake)
- Body moved by procession to place where it would be buried
- Body or cremated remains placed in tomb or grave
Burial practices?
• People didn’t fear death
• Buried within the city so they could become accustomed to death
o Acknowledge the valiant soldiers
• Belief in Ancestral spirits
o Help in battle
• Cremation on funeral pyre common practice
o Collect bones and bury in ceremony
• Spartan buried with cloak and shield
• Archaeological evidence: grave goods found in burials
Contradicts written evidence
• Plutarch: allowed memorials in sacred places
• Not allowed to inscribe name only worthy if died in child birth or a soldier
Types Burials?
• Types of burials
o Contracted body with stone pillow burials (900BC)
o Jar (pithos) burials
o Two-storey tombs
Describe the religious practice votive offerings.
- Objects displayed in sacred place for religious purposes
- Made in anticipation of particular wish from Gods
- Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia: R.M Dawkins discovered over 200 votive offerings here – dedicated to Artemis Orthia
Describe the religious practice sacrifices.
• Kings carry out sacrifices daily
Made sacrifices on way to war (before leaving, at border & before engaging in battle)
• Spartiate make sacrifices in own home
• Gods spoke to Spartans through public sacrifice
Describe the religious practies ‘prayers and hymns’
- Prayers recited during war
* Hymn: Alkman’s poetry recited by chorus of girls dressed as doves to sing at dawn on feast of the plough
Religious practices ‘Libations’
- Ritual pouring of liquid offering to god or spirit or in memory of dead
- Wine, oil and honey
- Common in many ancient religions
- Give to spirit in Hades (underworld)
Religious practice ‘Divination/Oracles’
• 3 times War invasion of Argolid stopped because of bad omens
• Strong aspect of Spartan religion
• Oracles held with high regard
Delphic Oracle took part in formation of Spartan government
• Special officials (Pithioi) appointed to consult with Delphi matters concerning Sparta
Architecture and Amyklaion
• Thucydides: stresses the impact of this gap in our archaeological evidence
May mislead people Believe that Sparta was not a prosperous state
• Pausanias
Description of Greece
References statue & throne of Apollo
Attempts to describe frieze with mythological scenes
• Site of Hyakinthia religious influence
Architecture at the Menelaion.
• Pausanias
“Therapne… contains a temple of Menelaos, and they say that Menelaos and Helen were buried here.”
- Hook and aryballos inscribed “to Helen”
- Shrine at Therapne
- Dedicated to Helen & Menelaos legendary figures of Trojan War
- Hector Catling discovered fragments of blue limestone and white marble architectural styles
- Literacy skills of Spartans
- Aryballos suggests use of perfume
The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia
- 200 votive offerings found here by R.M Dawkins
- Made of bronze, gold and ivory rich & varied cultural life
- Suggested second temple built made of Doric columns indicates architectural style
Writing and literature: Alcmann
- Partheneion or Maiden Song
- Choral lyric poetry
- Indicates music and poetry in Spartan culture
- Must consider the Spartan mirage written sources may portray ideal NOT reality
- May be biased (Spartan himself)
Tyrataeus in writing and literature.
- Idealistic representation (Spartan mirage)
- Encouraged patriotism amongst hoplites
- Designed to teach Spartan men correct attitudes in agoge
- Reliable native Spartan
Greek Views: Herodotus
The Histories
Benefits of Eunomia
• Pro-Athenian bias
• Describes customs and different lifestyles around Greece
• Cameron argues limited value for cultural life critical of Sparta’s mixed constitution
Greek Views: Thucydides
- Limited value Cultural life
* Detail Spartan military strength
Greek Views: Xenophon
- Admired cultural traditions
- Admired agoge (praised obedience of youth)
- Powell must be aware of bias
Geek Views: Aristotle
The Politics
• Philosopher and scientist
• Spartan society and politics
• States some Spartans very rich others poor
Greek Views: Plutarch
Life of Lycurgus
Moralia Essays: The Ancient Customs of the Spartans
• Lycurgus’ influence on Spartan social and political system
• Powell: Unreliable lived a thousand years after
Greek Views: Pausanias
Description of Greece
• Information on Architecture
(REFER TO ARCHITECTURE)
• Unreliable: out of context
Daily Life and Leisure activities.
• Plutarch Life of Lycurgus
o Lycurgus gave many leisure activities to fill time
o “Choral dances, festivals, banquets, hunting trips, physical exercise, and conversation”
Athletics
- First to play naked
- Pausanias: mentions race-track where youth practiced
- The Dioscuri: patron gods of Athletics
- Included running, discus, javelin, jumping, wrestling, boxing
- Spartan training rigorous
- Girls running and jumping
Hunting
• Use horses
• Chase after hares on foot catch with dogs
• Deer
• Laconian Kylix: depicting hunting scene
o Use of spears
• Xenophon: Boar hunting confirmed masculinity
Equestrian Sports:
• Spartan famous for horses success at Olympic games
• Demonstration of skill & endurance
• Won? Enormous respect for you and your polis
• Hippeis: (horse riders) established social and economic rank
• Pausanias: mentions shrine to ‘horse-breeding Poseidon’
• Wealthier Spartans names related to horse
• Alcman: compares beautiful girls chorus to beautiful mare
• Stele of Damonon
o 21 horse victories won
Cockfighting
- Rooster fighting
- Strong roosters symbolic of masculinity valued in society
- Plutarch: fought to the death
Boar Fighting
- Immature wild boars raised in captivity
- Matched against each other
- Pausanias: divided into 2 teams and fought (kicking and eye-gouging)
Banquets
- Festive meal: symposion associated with religious occasions
- Prohibition of drunkenness
- Sober celebration
- Laconian kylikes: depict banquet
Food
- Frugal, plain & unappetising
- Plutarch: Lycurgus specified light diet too much food would have made people fat and unfit
- Black broth made of pork, vinegar & blood
- Barley made into porridge and bread
- Wheat bread special treat
- Fruits: figs specified contribution to messes
- Olives & olive oil
- Cheese from goat’s milk
- Honey from Spartan hives
- Meat rare but know they had pork, poultry & fish
- Hunting meat wild boar, venison & hare
Clothing for Spartiate clothing
o Plutarch & Xenophon: Lycurgus established dress regulations
o Aristotle: Wealthy dressed like the poor
o Cheap cloak the tribon symbolised Spartan simplicity and austerity
o Phoinikis red military cloak mark of Spartiate soldier
o Hair grew long when soldier increase height and fearsomeness as warriors
Clothing for Boys
o Chiton cloth wrapped around body get used to austere conditions of war and train fierce men
o Hair short when entered agoge
Men and Clothing
o Hair, beard & clothing symbol of inclusion or exclusion in society
o Beards male maturity
Outcasts and Clothing
o Wore different clothing public humiliation
o Those who didn’t have children humiliated
o Tresantes (failed in war) not allowed to wear red military cloak
o Had half beard
Helot’s and clothing
o Wore humiliating clothes
o Exclusion from citizenship
o Myron: dressed in skin of animals humiliating
Females and clothing.
o Doric peplos o Everyday Chiton o Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia ivory brooches found Used to pin Doric peplos Wealth and status o Combs, bronze mirrors
Marriage customs?
• Women in gymnastics opportunity for males to choose women
See if fit for child bearing and physical attractiveness, social class, wealth
• Spartan males married in 20’s Women in teens
• Sources suggest dowries given to women by father
Abduction of the bride?
- Plutarch
- Lost virginity
- Without ceremony
- Husband prove strength in seizing woman
- So called ‘bridesmaid’ shaved hair off woman left unmarried state
- Dressed in man’s cloak
- Sandals
- Lay in dark to await her husband
- Males introduced to heterosexual intercourse
Wife sharing?
• Ensure breeding of fit and healthy Spartans
• Plutarch: Practiced eugenics improving offspring through selective breeding
benefit of Spartan society
• Didn’t have sex often to ensure fit baby when did have sex
• Wives loaned to other men for reproduction
• Women who were infertile were socially excluded had not fulfilled social role of bearing fit children for the polis
Occupations in Agricultural, commercial and domestic.
Farmers, Fisherman, Herdsman, Bakers, Servants
Occupations: craftsmen,
Painters, potters, Bronze-makers, Bronze sculptors, Textile workers.
Government and Military occupations.
Kings, hoplites, Officials ‘ephors’
Forms of art we study in sparta?
Sculpture, painted vases, bone and ivory carvings.
Example of a sculpture in sparta?
• Cameron: “culture and arts and crafts flourished in Sparta at a time when many of the ancient authors would have us believe they had vanished.”
“Vix Krater”
• Mixing wine and water
• Shows Spartans were skilled artists
• Interpretation designed for display Spartan wealth and luxury
• Top: frieze depicts hoplites with armour and shields militaristic lifestyle
Example of a painted Vase in sparta?
Pyxis from Amyklaion
• Male dancers holding lyres
• Dancing occupation for Spartan hoplites in their preparation for battle part of cultural life
Example of bone carvings in sparta?
(Bone carving depicting horses in battle) • Two horses
• Influence of Spartan military on cultural life
Example of ivory carving in sparta?
(Ivory brooch depicting Artemis Orthia holding two birds) • Worn to pin peplos (dress of Spartan women)
• Luxury
• Wealth
• Reflection of Religion on cultural life
Artemis Orthia
