Sparta

● Sparta was the most powerful city in the Greek world.

● Spartans shared many basic institutions with other Greeks:
their society was patriarchal and polytheistic, servile labour
played a key role; agriculture formed the basis of the
economy.
● It was unique in many ways.
● Sparta defined its goal clearly.
● No state can surpass the Sparta in the invasive role it played
in daily life.
● Took enormous pride in the polis.
● Greeks were impressed by its patriotism and selflessness.
● It continued to cast a spell over historians, philosophers,
feminists and political scientists.
● Historians idealized the image of Sparta which was called
the "Spartan Mirage". This idea of Sparta was a vision of an
egalitarian and orderly society characterized by patriotism,
courage in battle and tolerance for deprivation.

● Laconia was an important center in the Bronze Age.

● It experienced a sharp drop in population at the end of
Mycenaean.
● In 10th century Dorian entered the territory.
● New villages were founded as population gradually
increased, and four of the villages near Eurotas River United
to form the city of Sparta.
● Sparta began to experience difficulties in satisfying its needs
from its own territory.
 ● Spartan had only one colony, Taras in southern Italy.
● Spartans sought a military answer to their problems
through conquest of their neighbours and by the end of the
8th century they had gained control of the plain of Laconia.

Helot and Social Hierarchy: -

● To ensure control of the Laconian plain, its inhabitants
reduced to status of helots, hereditary subject of the
Spartan state.
● Rest of the Laconia, who occupied the surrounding city of
the Sparta became perioikoi (neighbours).
● Helots were slaves and perioikoi remained free.
● Spartans also coveted the fertile Messenian lowlands and
they invaded Messenia which was called as First
Messenians War. War was ended in 720 BC.
● Messenians became subject to Sparta.
● Some became perioikoi and some helots.
● Conquest of Laconia and Messenia made Sparta one of the
largest and richest Greek state.
● Spartan prosperity rested on insecure foundations.
● Growing unrest of Messenian was a more serious threat.
● Messenians rebelled in the wake of major Spartan military
defeat by Argives at the Battle of Hysiae in 669 BC.
● Helot outnumbered the Spartan citizens.
● Spartan find a way to preserve their domination over the
helots.
● Spartan realised that if all the potential hoplites could be
trained to the highest degree of skill possible then Sparta
 would enjoy an overwhelming military advantage over its
helots and other enemies.

Helot And the Spartan System: -

● Spartan economic system design to enable citizens to
devote all their time and energy to the defence and welfare
of the polis.
● Perioikoi conducted business with the rest of the Greek
world used silver and gold coins.
● Spartans use only iron money.
● They used it until the end of the 5th century, they didn't
mint their own coins until the Hellenistic Period.
● The goal for men was economic equality. Spartans referred
themselves as "homoioi" (men of equal status).

● Helots were obliged to wear a primitive and humiliating

costume that identified them immediately.
● Submitting to the rule of others but living in their own
territory, helots didn't lose freedom.
● In 464 some of them took the advantage of earthquake that
devastated Sparta and staged a rebellion at Ithome.
● In 455 Sparta agreed to let the rebels depart.
● Finally in 369, Messenia regained its independence with the
aids of Thebes and other Boeotian enemies of Sparta.
● At Sparta agriculture remained the sole basis of the citizens
economy.
● The Spartans called themselves the "Men of Equal Status"
for good reason. Rich or poor they all had survived the
same judgement at birth, they had endured the same
 training and they wore the same uniform and fought side
by side with the same weapon in the phalanx.

Spartan Government: -
● Sparta govt. consist of monarchical, oligarchical and
democratic elements. Theorists like Aristotle called this kind
of system as a mixed constitution.
● Spartan conservatism abandon institutions like monarchy
and council of elders and want to establish various organs
of government and shared offices were designed to serve as
checks and balances to one another.

✓ Dual Kingship: -
● Executive office was divided into 2 men.
● Two king (Basileus) serves as the head of the govt.
● Succession was hereditary.
● Two kings were both cooperative and competitive, equal in
authority.
● Served as a mutual check on the power of monarchy.
● Sparta was never without leader and avoided "anarchy".
● King exercised military, religious and judicial powers.
● One king served as commander-in-chief and other
supervised the internal functions.
● King also functioned as chief priest and conducted all
sacrifices.
● Also expected to serve as moral exemplars.

✓ Gerousia: -
● King shared their judicial functions with members of
Gerousia, the Council of Gerontes (Elders).
● In addition to 2 kings, Gerousia composed of 28 members
over the age of 60 who served for the rest of their lives.
● Election to this was the highest honour for the Spartans.
● Winner was chosen by acclamation.
● No bill could be brought in the Assembly until it has been
first discussed by the Gerousia.
● Also served as a criminal court for cases of homicide,
treason and other serious offenses that carried the penalty
of disenfranchisement, exile or death.

✓ Ephors: -
● Every year the Spartans elected 5 ephors over the age of
30.
● Ephors(overseers) supervised the kings and represent the
principle of law.
● They shared some of the king executive powers and also
empowered to depose them.
● They monitored the kings in Sparta.
● They presided over the Gerousia and assembly and also
dealt with foreign embassies.
● Exercised judicial powers in civic matters and in cases
involving perioikoi.
● They served only for 1 year and couldn't be re-elected.
● They were both a democratic and oligarchic constituent of
govt.
● Exercised total control over the education of young.
● Were in charge of krypteia ("secret police") a force
designed to control the helots.

✓ Assembly: -
● In terms of its membership, the assembly was the most
democratic organ of Spartan government, for it included all
adult male citizens. It met once a month at full moon,
outdoors.
● Unlike the Athenian assembly, however, the Spartan
assembly did not debate; citizens listened to a proposal
made by the gerousia and simply voted to accept or reject
it, without discussion. The Spartan was trained to obey
and to conform, not to take sides in public debate.

 The Mixed Constitution of Ancient Sparta: -

● Since antiquity, many political theorists have admired
Sparta’s government, believing it to confirm the basic
principle that the best guarantee of stability lies in a blend
of monarchic, oligarchic, and democratic elements.
● Certainly, Sparta had kings, and the ideology of economic
equality among male citizens fostered an egalitarian spirit.
● In reality, however, the oligarchic element considerably
outweighed the other two. Power lay predominantly with
the gerousia. As time went by, moreover, the five ephors
also gained increasing power over the kings and frequently
took the lead in framing foreign policy.
● Within the subgroup of male citizens, participation in
government was limited to a very small group of men, most
of them were rich.