Spartan Society to the Battle of Leuctra 371 BC Flashcards
Geographical Setting and natural features
– geographical setting: Polis located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, centre of Laconia
– natural features: surrounded by mountains, East of Mt Tygeus, Eurotas valley, severe climate
Resources of Ancient Sparta (minerals, food etc)
- Stone, minerals, ores- iron, lead, clay, copper, tin, makes bronze
- natural- timber, murex molluscs (for purple-red colour),
- food animals- fruit (olives, grapes, figs), bees (honey), horse, sheep, goats (wool, milk and cheese)
Significant Sites
- Temple or Artemis Orthia
- Shrine of Artemis Orthia
- Shrine of Menelaus and Helen (Menelaion)
- Sanctuary of Apollo at Amyklai
- Sparta made up of five villages
- Agora (marketplace)
SOURCE
» “that the city of Sparta were to become deserted and that only the temples and foundations of buildings remained, i think that future generations would, as time passed, find it very difficult to believe that the place had really been as powerful as it was represented to be” - Thucydides
The Great Rhetra
The Great Rhetra was a declaration of Spartan laws put into place by Lycurgus, it is believed it is what turned Sparta into the military state it was as it changed its system.
SOURCE
» Lycurgus came to Sparta to “sweep away the existing order and to make a complete change of constitution” - Plutarch
Role of the Two Kings
Sparta was ruled by a dual kingship which were elected from the Eurypontid and Agiad tribes, kings could not retire but were immediately replaced after death.
– Military Roles: Ultimate authority in military campaign, commander in-chief of the army, have decision over life and death in battle, only one king was on the military campaign to avoid death of both at once
» “The kings commanded the army on foreign expedition” - Aristotle
– Religious roles: Kings were believed to be tied to gods, performed religious acts (sacrifices, ceremonies, such as marriage and funeral), caretaking at sanctuaries and temples, led and organised festivals.
» were the “two priesthoods of Zeus Lacedaemon and Zeus Uranus” - Herodotus
Privileges of the Two Kings
Supported by the state, given skins and meat from sacrifices, seats of honour at events, spoils from war.
» “served first, getting twice as much of every dish as anybody else” - Herodotus
The Ephorate
5 members, elected annually, held the office for a year, made of 5 officers over 30 y/o one from each of the main Spartan Villages.
Role: controlled kings, assembly, kryptia, agoge, xenelasia (expulsion of foreigners), public finances, magistrates, declaration of war.
» “The kings obeyed the Ephors as children their parents” - Polybius
» Citizens admired the Ephors as “it [gave] them an equal share in an office of power” - Aristotle in ‘The Politics’
The Gerousia
’Council of Elders,’ over 60, 28 members and 2 kings.
Role: organised and proposed bills for the assembly, acted as more like advisors to the kings, could overrule assembly
» “The practice of virtue up to old age is another excellent measure…it prevented the neglect of high principles” - praised by Xenophon in ‘The Constitutions of Lacedamonians’
» “The mind grows old no less than the body” - Aristotle disagrees in ‘The Politics’
The Ekklesia
Was part of the Spartiate responsibility to meet as part of the assembly, met once a month, 10 000 estimated members, acclamation (voted by which side was the loudest at saying yes or no), could be overruled by Gerousia so its argued their power was restricted.
Role: Voted on bills presented by Gerousia, elected other magistrates, passed laws
» Argued that the voting method was “very childish” - Aristotle in ‘The Politics’
Social Structure ideologies
- state over individual
- military
- religion
- reproducing for population
The Spartiate
Full citizens of Sparta, called ‘homoioi’ which meant equals but they were not that equal, Agoge grants citizenship, equal under law, held political power.
Role: Supported by state through land, controlled helots and youth population, maintained state ideology, full time soldiers, trained, having children, lived with wife only after 30 but were kept separated
The Perioikoi
Dwellers around, Dorian origin, related to Spartans but autonomous, submitted to Spartan government nonetheless, Spartans considered industrial work unmanly.
Economic Role: Main role was economic, were craftsmen, manufacturers and merchants, operated Gytheum/Gytheion with imports and exports (port), items created (purple garments, shoes, objects of wood and iron such as chariots), armour (bronze helmet, hoplon shield, greave, breastplate), Spartans traded food and produce (wine, wool, bronzes) for those, were fishermen, sailors.
Military role: Different training, hoplites for spartan army, expected to make armour while serving in army.
» Sparta treated them with a “haughty roughness” - H. Mitchell
The ‘Inferiors’
Were neither of the other titles, different categories, unshaven, avoided, different clothes
TYPES
Mothaces: helots sons, playmates
Parthenaiai: men denied citizenship, illegitimate sons
Neodamodeis: helots given freedom for example bravery in battle, never gained homoioi status
Brasideioi: helots given freedom by Brasidas during Peloponesian war.
Tresantes: the ‘tremblers’ showed cowardice in battle
» “But in Sparta everyone would be ashamed to associate with a coward in his mess-hall” - Xenophon in ‘Spartan Society IX’
The Helots
Were 70% of population, ‘captives,’ state owned, almost no rights, could not leave their land, outnumbered spartans 10:1, treated harshly, killed by krypteia, war on them every year, each Spartan given 9-10
Role: collected fixed amount of produce, more meat profit, servants
» called “donkeys” - by Tyrtaeus
The Spartan Women
Were not citizens, arranged marriages, excluded from agoge, own rights under Spartan law, could not be in the military, authority to men, life restricted by customs.
Role: land ownership an inheritance economic role, producing babies, exercised, no military engagement, managed households, no domestic duties, women supervised the helots in Oikos (household), included competent nurses for child bearing,
+ Keepers of the ‘Spartan Spirit:’ Embodied values of tough emotions, discipline and physical strength, supported brave men and were in charge of rejecting/shaming cowards.
» A mother talking of a coward “this son unworthy of Sparta was not mine at all”
» Handing her son a shield “son either with this or on this”
» Lifts up clothes and exposes belly “…do you plan to creep back in here where you emerged from?”
» All accounts of Spartan mothers are from Plutarch
Spartan Training: The Agoge
Educational system for boys,
for training in courage and endurance and obedience and loyalty, included sport, musical performances, singing hunting and more, overall supervision under paidonomos (master of the boys), three stages by age groups, given little food and so were encouraged to steal but not get caught,
code of discipline spartan boys submitted to become highly trained soldiers.
SOURCES
» Education “was calculated to make them obey commands well, endure hardships and be victorious in battle” - Plutarch
» Education produced “state-induced courage” - Thucydides
» Sparta was “the tamer of men” - 5th Century poet Simonides
» About the stealing “This element in their education [was] to make the boys more resourceful in obtaining the necessities of life” - Xenophon
The Agoge: Baby Stage
Babies were inspected after birth at Lesche, sick or deformed meant being left at chasm near Mt Taygetos, male children seen as fit presented to Artemis, live with mother until 7 years old.
The Agoge: Little Boy (7-11y/o)
Were under direct control of state, family ties broken and replaced by state submission, organised into units (agelai) supervised by proteirai, each unit divided again in packs of 6 (bouai) and led by bouagos, at 10 learned music, dancing and athletics.
Clothing: tunic, hair short, barefoot, body hardened by dirt.
The Agoge: Adolescent (12-15)
took an older male lover (erastis) that was 20-30, younger one (eronomoi) would try to win attention of older one, older one (erastes) would be role model of perfect Spartan.
in public walked in silence with hands under cloak, eyes on the ground, lived in barracks, more military way of life, little food, harsh punishments by older boys, trained naked together.
Clothing: cloak (himation)
The Agoge: The Eiren (16-20)
once manhood was reached they started to grow their hair, at age 20 eiren completed agoge and became a man, enrolled as Sphaireis (ball players) as transition to adulthood and beginning of army service, after ball tournament they became men and sacrificed to heracles
become hebon (combatants) but not in phalanx yet, supervised until 30, can be members of krypteia and bodyguards, may marry but remain in syssitia.
Clothing: long groomed hair
SOURCES
» The ball game at 20 was like a “type of graduation ceremony…which for Spartans marked the transition into adulthood” - Modern historian Kennell
The Agoge: Completion (30)
become homoioi, rank of spartiate, could vote and live at home, required to exercise and hunt.
The Spartan Army: Hoplite
Heavy infantry of Greek city states, theorised to have been formed 7th century, most soldiers were 20-50, were enrolled 18-60 but youngest and oldest were only called upon in special occasions.
The Spartan Army: suit of armour (panoply)
- Corinthian style helmet
- corselet, greaves
- long spear
- short sword (xiphos)
- hoplon shield with Greek ‘L’
- red cape
SOURCES
» “red cloaks…the most warlike, and bronze shields since they are the quickest to polish and slow to tarnish” - Xenophon
The Spartan Army: The Phalanx
said to be composed of 8 rows, closely packed formation, designed to push forward and break opposing formation, interlocking their shields, pointing spears out to army, vulnerable from the rear and side, any disruption mean loss of protection and fail of formation.
SOURCES
» “keeping their shields locked edge to edge” - Plutarch
Army Composition
Numbers are approximate and vary depending on which accounts you follow
- Thucydides claims 7 Lochos which is approx. 3920 men
- it is also said that there was 8 mora a phalanx which is around 8000 men
nonetheless the spartan army was made of subunits which allowed for manoeuvers.
Army Composition: Units and Numbers
Enomotia: Subunits
- up to 40 men, maybe 30-35 men.
- depth depended on whether phalanx was deployed with 8, 12 or 16 rows.
Pentekostys: Four enomotia, approx. 140 men
Lochos: Four pentekostys, approx. 560 men
Mora: two lochoi, approx. 1120 men a mora
(bonus) hippeis: 300 men on horseback that surrounded the king if he were present in battle.
The Syssitia
military mess
- less for combat and more so tent-companies in camp
- around 10-15 men
- food hall
- to build comradeship
- three syssitia made an enomotia.
the helots had to produce enough food for the syssitia and extra for themselves on behalf of their masters
Helot Control: The Krypteia
secret police
killed helots at night by hiding and spying on helots then ambush and kill them to keep helots in line.
- organised by the Ephors
- sometimes killing random and sometimes targeted
- dispersed in countryside
- just daggers, no armour
- smaller numbers for speed and mobility
- protects state’s citizens and social order.
SOURCES
» “they were equipped with daggers and basic rations….at night they made their way to roads and murdered any helot whom they caught” - Plutarch
» “I would not attribute such a foul exercise as the krypteia to Lycurgus” - Plutarch
» “was to control the helots as well as prove their readiness or the responsibilities of warrior manhood…to murder selected troublemaking helots and spread terror among the rest” - Paul Cartledge
