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
