Sparta is located in the Peloponnese or western part of Greece. The development of Sparta's culture has interested scholars because it was the antithesis of Athenian culture. Many people think of ancient Greece as a place full of temples, sculpture and the birth place of democracy. These things are true of Athenian society, however this article will try and create the alternative view of ancient Greek society by looking at the Spartan system of government and life.
The Spartans were known by their contemporaries as the Lakadaimonians who inhabited the land of Lakadaimonia (modern Sparta). They thought of themselves as descendents of the great hero Herakles (Heracles/Hercules). The Athenians believed that they were descendents of the Ionian people from the east, whereas the Spartans firmly described themselves as durians, who came from the north of Greece.
The great king Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus both came from the Peloponnese in mythology. Menelaus became king of Sparta after marrying Helen, the princess and later queen of Sparta. These characters probably originated from stories that the Mykenaean (Mycenaean) Greeks knew. The Mykenaen civilisation existed for hundreds of years and came to an end abruptly c.1200-1100 BC.
The period after became known as the dark ages of Greece, for the simple reason that there is little writing that survives from this time that tells us about society at that time. The great palaces of the Mykenaeans were abandoned as was their love of art and sculpture. Dark age society appears not to have had the structure in place that could support the arts and fine living, thus archaeology shows a lower standard of living at this time. The kings and leaders of the Mykenenaean past were gradually replaced across Greece with the basileus. The basileus was a type of chieftain who came to prominence because he possessed good leadership and war skills, as well being a successful pirate. Piracy fuelled the basileus' power. The booty from raids would be divided up between his followers according to status. The basileus would have the greatest share because his importance in battle counted for more than his lower ranking followers.
Why did the basileus have this power? During the Mykenaean and dark ages, the smelting of iron to make large items such as armour had not reached Greece. Armour was made of bronze, as were weapons and agricultural tools. Bronze was expensive, so only men with money would be able to afford armour and decent weapons. Without good quality weapons and armour, the poorer lower ranking man would never become more important in battle, thus always receive a smaller share in any booty which would reinforce his lowly position in society.
The widespread availability of iron from c.800 BC changed the dynamics of society across Greece. Lower ranking men could access good quality armour and weapons and command greater importance in war and a higher share in the booty. The age of the basileus came to an end, to be replaced by aristocracies, oligarchies and tyrannies. Sparta however did not follow her neighbours. Unusually Sparta kept her monarchy, in fact Sparta had two kings - one ruled at home, while one ruled the army at war and each year they swapped places thus ensuring a fair distribution of duties and avoiding the prospect of two kings on home ground at the same time. Harmony was achieved because the kings never needed to vie for power against each other.
Spartan society consisted of the two kings, the five ephors, the thirty two gerousia (council) and the Spartiates. The ephors consisted of senior Spartiates who had served in the gerousia. Their power was at least as great if not greater than the kings and led to a stability achieved through a constitutional stalemate of power. The gerousia were Spartiates who were aged 60 and above. They had decision making powers and would present decrees to the Spartiate assembly that were voted for or against. The Spartiates were the citizens who gained their status through ownership of land, thus at least superficially making them equals (homoioi). They participated in the assembly after the age of thirty and were able to make simple decisions through a show of hands in favour or against a decree presented by the gerousia. Thus Spartan society was a monarchy and oligarchy respectively.
Below the Spartiates, were the helots. These people were the reason for Sparta's reliance on the hoplite as a means of survival. The helots were slaves from the defeated Spartan neighbouring country of Messenia. Sparta had needed to expand during the 8th century onwards and part of the Spartiate status depended on land ownership (thus ability to produce food and become self reliant). Through a series of wars, Sparta finally defeated Messenia and enslaved the entire population. The Helots were forced to work the land for the benefit of their Spartan masters, however they did not do this willingly which led to frequent uprisings against Sparta. Sparta would not be able to maintain her power without a permanently trained hoplite army, especially as the Messenians vastly outnumbered the Spartans.
The solution to this problem was to develop a whole way of life devoted to war. Boys left their families from the age of five to join the military training known as the agoge. They lived in messes and learned warfare as well as literature, music, dance and mathematics. The agoge was a brutal existence for the boys in order to toughen them up for life as a soldier. They learned independence through the krypteia (living rough for a year while spying on the helots) as well as the co-operation required through the close formation fighting of hoplite soldiers. They did not leave training until eighteen and even after this age they were not seen as mature soldiers until after the age of thirty.
The reasons outlined are why Sparta developed a dependence on the hoplite system of fighting, better methods of iron smelting making it more readily available and the need for land that led to a permanent requirement for a highly trained army.
For more about ancient Greek culture visit http://www.mythologyhellenic.comJane Sproston was a teacher of Classical Civilisation and Classical Greek in a number of secondary schools. She is also an examiner of Classical Civilisation for a major examination board. Her website is http://www.mythologyhellenic.com
