Ancient Sparta. Ancient world. Greece. Ancient Sparta
In the II millennium BC. e. Greek tribes invade the south of the Balkan Peninsula. Within the narrow framework outlined by the nature of the country (small valleys fenced with high mountains), a special Greek civilization developed in the form of city-states ( policy ). In historical times, the Greeks have never been a single state: their relations with each other were built as international relations. However, at some point, among the numerous policies, Sparta and Athens began to play an important role. Therefore, in the discipline "History of the state and the law of foreign countries" Sparta is studied as an example of the Greek monarchy and Athens as an example of democracy.
State of Sparta
The emergence of the state in Sparta
On the Peloponnesian peninsula, Sparta became the earliest polis state. Compared with other Greek policies, the formation of the state here had significant features. In the IX century. BC e. Dorian tribes invade Laconia and displace or enslave the local population - the Achaeans, which subsequently leads to the unification of the tribal elite of the conquerors and the conquered.
The conquerors were divided into three clan tribes, each of which was subdivided into nine phratry(“brotherhoods”) representing religious and legal associations with internal self-government.
The Dorians settled in independent villages (there were about a hundred of them), organized into six kingdoms. They were divided into three genera phyla, further divided into five groups (villages) that received topographic names. Then there is a union of five villages in the Spartan state. The territory of Laconia was divided into districts ( obam), whose number and organization are unknown. Five "kings" made up the Council of the policy. In the period 800-730 BC. e. the Spartans conquered all the other villages, and their inhabitants became vassals - perieks (lit. "living around").
This was followed by the conquest of Messenia (740-720 BC) and the annexation of the country, which was divided into shares for the Spartans, and the perieks were pushed into the highlands. Thanks to these conquests, Sparta became the potentially richest and most powerful state in Greece in the 8th century. BC e.
Under the conditions of the wars of conquest, the state structure of Sparta underwent some changes. The social development of Sparta took on a stagnant character: elements of the communal system remained for a long time, urban life and craft developed poorly. The inhabitants were mainly engaged in agriculture.
Maintaining order and dominance over the enslaved population determined the military system of the entire life of the Spartans. Legislator Lycurgus (VIII century BC) are credited with establishing public order and the state system through the issuance of a treaty ( Retras). He creates Council of Elders– Gerousia ("older", "elder"). Then he took up redistribution of land, which had socio-political significance, and, according to the ancient Greek writer Plutarch (second half of the 1st century BC), the reformer did this “in order to expel impudence, envy, malice, luxury and even older, even more formidable the ailments of the state are wealth and poverty. To this end, he persuaded the Spartans to unite all the lands, and then divide them again. He divided the lands belonging to the city of Sparta into 9,000 plots according to the number of Spartans, and the Laconian lands into 30,000 plots between the perieks. Each allotment was supposed to bring 70 medimnov(one medimn - about 52 liters of loose bodies) barley.
His third reform was the division of movable property in order to abolish all inequality. To this end, he removes gold and silver coins from use, replacing them with iron ones (of huge size and weight). According to Plutarch, "to store an amount equal to ten mines (one mine - an average of 440 to 600 grams), a large warehouse was required, and for transportation - a pair of teams." In addition, this iron could not be used for other purposes, because it was hardened by dipping in vinegar, and this deprived the metal of its strength, it became brittle. The Spartans lost their desire to steal and take bribes, because the uncleanly acquired could not be hidden, so many types of crimes disappeared in Laconia. Lycurgus expelled useless and superfluous crafts from the country, which was also directed against luxury, and therefore houses were made only with the help of an ax and a saw. And gradually, according to Plutarch, luxury "withered and disappeared."
In order to destroy the passion for wealth among the Spartans, the reformer establishes common meals ( sissy), where adult citizens of 15 people gathered together and ate the same simple food. Each companion made monthly contributions of food and money. It was forbidden to eat at home. During the meal, the Spartans vigilantly watched each other, and if they saw that a person was not eating or drinking, they blamed him, calling him “unbridled and pampered.” Meals not only fought against wealth, but also contributed to the rallying of the soldiers, since the comrades-in-arms did not separate from each other even on the battlefield, entering into one military unit.
In everyday life, the Spartans retained many customs dating back to ancient times. For example, unions by age groups, which apparently represented a kind of teams that had places of constant meetings ( leshi), where not only common meals were held, but also entertainments were arranged, where young people and mature warriors spent most of their time not only during the day, but also at night.
To combat wealth and establish equality, the rich were ordered to marry the poor, and wealthy women to marry the poor.
Lycurgus establishes a mandatory uniform education and training of the Spartans. This extended to girls as well. The reformer also regulated the marriage and family sphere, and women were largely equalized with men, going in for sports and military affairs.
social order
The ruling class were the Spartans, enjoying all political rights. They were provided with land allotments transferred to them along with slaves ( helots), who processed them and actually kept the Spartans. The latter lived in the city of Sparta, which was a military camp. Plutarch wrote that “no one was allowed to live the way he wanted, just like in a military camp; everyone in the city obeyed strictly established rules and did what was assigned to them useful for the state.
The state took care of the upbringing of children: from the age of 7, boys were separated from the family and they were trained under the guidance of special persons ( pedonomists) and in special schools - agelah(lit. "cattle"). At the same time, special attention was paid to physical education, to the development of the qualities of a staunch and enduring warrior, to discipline, the habit of obeying elders and authorities. They even had to speak briefly, laconically.“They learned literacy only to the extent that it was impossible to do without it,” Plutarch noted.
With age, the requirements became tougher: children walked barefoot, from 12 to 16 years old they were taught to walk naked (including girls), receiving only one raincoat for a year. Their skin was tanned and rough. They slept together on beds of reeds. From the age of 16, a young man (epheb) was included in the lists of full citizens. Training ended at the age of 20, and until the age of 60 the Spartans remained liable for military service. They were allowed to marry only from the age of 30, when the Spartan was considered an adult and acquired political rights. The number of Spartans was small, by the 5th century. BC e. there were no more than 8 thousand of them, and later - much less - about 1,000 people.
In the process of conquest, part of the conquered population was turned into slaves ( helots). They were attached to claram, on the territory of which they were to manage the economy under the control of persons specially authorized by the state. They were considered state property and were placed at the disposal of the Spartans, who could kill them, transfer them to another fellow citizen, or sell them abroad. With the permission of the authorities, the master could release the helot to freedom, and in this case the released was called neodamodom. The helots did not have their own land, but cultivated the land plots of the Spartans, paying them half the harvest. Helots were drafted into the army as lightly armed warriors.
The Spartans maintained their dominance over the helots with terror: every year they declared war ( cryptia), during which strong and courageous helots were killed. The master who sheltered a strong helot was punished. In addition, helots received a certain number of blows every year without any guilt, so that they would not forget how to feel like slaves. The ancient Greek historian Xenophon wrote that they were ready to eat their masters with skin and hair. Therefore, the Spartan warriors always went armed. The number of helots was several times greater than the number of Spartans.
Subjugated inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Sparta - perieki also did not enjoy political rights, but were free, occupying an intermediate position between the helots and the Spartans. They could acquire property and make transactions. Their main occupations were trade and craft. They carried military service as heavily armed warriors. Perieki were under supervision garmostov. The highest officials of Sparta - the ephors - were given the right to put the perieks to death without trial.
Political system
He was a monarchist and was a model of the slave-owning aristocracy. People's Assembly(apella) did not play a big role and met once a month. It was attended by citizens who had reached the age of 30 and retained their land allotments and the political rights associated with their possession. The meeting was convened by the kings, and then by the ephors, who presided. In addition to regular meetings, emergency meetings were also convened, in which only citizens who were in the city at the time took part. Such meetings were called small meetings ( mikra appell). Only officials and ambassadors of foreign powers could make speeches and proposals in the assembly.
The competence of the people's assembly included lawmaking; election of officials and ambassadors; issues of alliance with other states; issues of war and peace (during the war, it decided which of the two kings to go on a campaign); questions of the Peloponnesian Union; accepted new citizens or deprived individual Spartans of the rights of citizenship. The assembly also acted as a judicial body when it came to the deposition of an official for his crimes. In the event of a dispute over the succession to the throne, it made its decision. Voting was carried out by a shout or a divergence of the participants of the meeting on the sides. Aristotle called this way of conducting a people's assembly "children's."
royal power carried out by two kings archagetes or basileus) and was hereditary. The dual royal power, apparently, arose as a result of the unification of the top tribes of the Dorians and Achaeans. However, royal power was basically real only in wartime, when the basileus could issue all orders, and they were reported on all affairs; they acquired the right of life and death over the warriors. Every eight years a college of senior officials in Sparta ( ephors) conducted divination by the stars, as a result of which the kings could be put on trial or removed from office. The ephors accompanied the king on a military campaign and watched him. Monthly, the ephors and the kings swore an oath to each other: the basileus swore that they would reign according to the laws, and the ephors swore on behalf of the state that if the kings observed their oath, the state would unshakably observe their power.
In addition to military power, the kings had priestly and judicial power, were part of gerousia- council of elders The kings also oversaw the correct distribution and use of land allotments. In later times, they also ordered the marriage of girls who became heirs of ancestral clans. The kings were surrounded by honor, various fees were established in their favor, everyone had to stand before them.
Gerousia(council of elders) consisted of 28 members and two kings. It originates from the tribal organization, from the council of elders. Gerousia members ( gerontes) were, as a rule, from representatives of noble families and from the age of 60, since they had already been exempted from military service. Their election took place in the popular assembly by shouting, and the one who was shouted louder than other candidates was considered elected. They held the position for life. The Gerousia was originally convened by the kings, and later by the ephors. Its competence was as follows: a preliminary discussion of cases that were to be considered in the national assembly; negotiations with other states; court cases (state and criminal offenses), as well as against kings; military issues. However, the council of elders did not have legislative initiative. Cases on property disputes were under the jurisdiction of the ephors. The role of gerusia decreased with the increase in the role of ephors.
ephors("observers") - a board of senior officials, which occupied a completely exceptional position in the state. Initially, they were the deputies of the kings in the civil court, later their power expanded so much that the kings bowed to it. The ephors were annually elected by the popular assembly by a shout in the amount of five people. At the head of the college was the first ephor, whose name denoted the year. The powers of the ephors: convening the gerousia and the national assembly, leading them; internal management; monitoring officials and checking their reports, as well as removal from office for misconduct and referral to the court; supervision of morals and observance of discipline; external relations; civil jurisdiction. During the war, they led the mobilization of troops, gave the order to march, and two ephors accompanied the king on a military campaign. They also declared cryptia against the helots and perieks. The ephors constituted a single board and made their decisions by a majority of votes. They reported to their successors after a one-year term.
Such a state-political system among the Spartans remained almost unchanged for many centuries. The Spartans exercised military leadership among the Greek policies, for this purpose in the VI century. BC e. they led the Peloponnesian League to fight for supremacy in Hellas. After the victory in the Peloponnesian War over Athens and its allies, other Greek policies, the Spartan society, having grown rich, began to stratify. As a result, the number of full-fledged citizens is decreasing, which at the end of the 4th century. BC e. there were about 1,000 people. In the next century, as a result of another political crisis in Sparta, the old institutions of power are almost eliminated, and the kings become dictators. In the II century. BC e. the rebellious helots seize power, and in the middle of this century the state of Sparta becomes part of the province of the Roman Empire.
Ancient Sparta is an ancient state, a city-polis located in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, in the Peloponnese.
The name of the province of Laconica gave the second name to the Spartan state in the ancient period of history - Lacedaemon.
History of occurrence
In world history, Sparta is known as an example of a militarized state in which the activities of each member of society are subordinated to a single goal - to grow a strong and healthy warrior.
In the ancient period of history in the south of the Peloponnese there were two fertile valleys - Messenia and Laconia. They were separated from each other by a rugged mountain range.
Initially, the state-city of Sparta arose in the Lakonika valley and represented a very small territory - 30 X 10 km. The swampy terrain prevented access to the sea and nothing promised this tiny state of world glory.
Everything changed after the violent conquest and annexation of the Messenian valley and during the reign of the ancient Greek philosopher and great reformer Lycurgus.
His reforms were aimed at the formation of a state with a certain doctrine - to create an ideal state and eradicate such instincts as greed, greed, the thirst for personal enrichment. He formulated the basic laws that concerned not only the administration of the state, but also strictly regulated the private life of each member of society.
Gradually, Sparta turns into a militarized state whose main goal was its own national security. The main task is to produce soldiers. After the conquest of Messenia, Sparta won back some lands from Argos and Arcadia, her neighbors in the northern part of the Peloponnese, and switched to a policy of diplomacy backed up by military superiority.
Such a strategy allowed Sparta to become the head of the Peloponnesian Union and play the most important political role among the Greek states.
Government of Sparta
The Spartan state consisted of three social classes - the Spartans or Spartans, the perieks inhabiting the conquered cities and the slaves of the Spartans, the helots. The complex, but logically coherent structure of the political administration of the Spartan state was a slave-owning system with remnants of tribal relations that have survived from primitive communal times.
At the head were two rulers - hereditary kings. Initially, they were completely independent and did not report to anyone else and did not report to anyone. Later, their role in government was limited to the council of elders - gerousia, which consisted of 28 elected members for life over 60 years old.
The ancient state of Sparta photo
Further - the national assembly, in which all the Spartans who have reached the age of 30 and have the means necessary for a citizen took part. A little later, another government body appeared - the ephorate. It consisted of five officials elected by the general meeting. Their powers were practically unlimited, although they did not have clearly defined boundaries. Even the ruling kings had to coordinate their actions with the ephors.
The structure of society
The ruling class in Ancient Sparta was the Spartans. Each had his own land allotment and a certain number of helot slaves. Using material goods, the Spartiate could not sell, donate or bequeath land or slaves. It was the property of the state. Only the Spartans could enter the governing bodies and vote.
The next social class is the perieki. These were the inhabitants of the occupied territories. They were allowed to trade, engage in crafts. They had the privilege of enlisting in the military. The lowest class of helots, who were in the position of slaves, were state property and came from the enslaved inhabitants of Messenia.
sparta warriors photo
The state provided helots for rent to the Spartans to cultivate their land plots. During the period of the highest prosperity of Ancient Sparta, the number of helots exceeded the ruling class by 15 times.
Spartan upbringing
The education of citizens was considered a state task in Sparta. From birth to 6 years, the child was in the family, and after that he was transferred to the care of the state. From 7 to 20 years old, young men underwent very serious physical training. Simplicity and moderation in an environment full of hardships from childhood accustomed a warrior to a strict and harsh life.
The 20-year-old boys who passed all the tests completed their training and became warriors. Upon reaching the age of 30, they became full members of society.
Economy
Sparta owned the two most fertile regions - Laconia and Messenia. Arable agriculture, olives, vineyards, and horticultural crops prevailed here. This was the advantage of Lacedaemonia over the Greek policies. The most basic food product, bread, was grown, not imported.
Among grain crops, barley prevailed, the processed product of which was used as the main one in the diet of the inhabitants of Sparta. Wealthy Lacedaemonians used wheat flour as a supplement to their main diet at public meals. Among the main population, wild wheat, spelt, was more common.
Warriors needed good nutrition, so cattle breeding was developed in Sparta at a high level. Goats and pigs were raised for food, and bulls, mules, and donkeys were used as draft animals. Horses were preferred for the formation of mounted military detachments.
Sparta is a warrior state. He needs, first of all, not decorations, but weapons. Luxurious excesses were replaced by practicality. For example, instead of painted, elegant ceramics, the main task of which is to delight, the craft of making vessels that can be used on long trips reaches perfection. Using the rich iron mines, the strongest "Laconian steel" was made in Sparta.
A copper shield was an obligatory element of the Spartan's military weapons. History knows many examples when politicking, power ambitions destroyed the most stable economy and destroyed statehood, despite all its military power. The ancient ancient state of Sparta is a clear example of this.
- In ancient Sparta, healthy and viable offspring were taken care of very cruelly. Newborn children were examined by the elders and the sick or weak were thrown into the abyss from the Taygetskaya rock. Healthy returned to the family.
- Girls in Sparta were involved in athletics on a par with boys. They also ran, jumped, threw the spear and discus to grow strong, hardy and produce healthy offspring. Regular exercise made Spartan girls very attractive. They stood out for their beauty and stateliness among the rest of the Hellenes.
- We owe the ancient Spartan upbringing to such a concept as “conciseness.” This expression is due to the fact that in Sparta young men were taught modest behavior, and their speech had to be short and strong, that is, “laconic”. This is what distinguished the inhabitants of Laconia among the inhabitants of Athens who love to orate.
Sparta was the most brutal civilization in human history. Around the dawn of Greek history, while it was still going through its classical period, Sparta was already undergoing radical social and political revolutions. As a result, the Spartans came to the idea of complete equality. Literally. It was they who developed the key concepts that we partially use to this day.
It was in Sparta that the ideas of self-sacrifice for the sake of the common good, the high value of debt and the rights of citizens were first voiced. In short, the goal of the Spartans was to become the most ideal people, as far as it is possible for a mere mortal. You will not believe it, but every utopian idea that we still think about today draws its origins from Spartan times.
The biggest problem with studying the history of this amazing civilization is that the Spartans left very few records, and left behind no monumental structures that could be explored and analyzed.
However, scholars know that Spartan women enjoyed the right to freedom, education, and equality to a degree that women of no other civilization of that time could boast of. Each member of society, woman or man, master or slave, played a special valuable role in the life of Sparta.
That is why it is impossible to talk about the famous Spartan warriors without mentioning this civilization as a whole. Anyone could become a warrior, it was not a privilege or duty for individual social classes. For the role of a soldier, there was a very serious selection among all the citizens of Sparta, without exception. Carefully selected applicants were raised to become ideal warriors. The process of hardening the Spartans was sometimes associated with very tough methods of preparation and reached extremely extreme measures.
10. Spartan children were raised from an early age to participate in wars.
Almost every aspect of Spartan life was controlled by the city-state. This also applied to children. Each Spartan infant was brought before a board of inspectors who checked the child for physical defects. If something seemed to them out of the norm, the child was withdrawn from society and sent to death outside the walls of the city, throwing him off the nearest hills.
In some fortunate cases, these abandoned children found their salvation among random wanderers passing by, or they were taken in by the "gelots" (lower class, Spartan slaves) working in the nearby fields.
In early childhood, those who survived the first qualifying round bathed in wine baths instead. The Spartans believed that this strengthened their strength. In addition, it was customary among parents to ignore the crying of children so that they get used to the "Spartan" lifestyle from infancy. Foreigners were so delighted with such educational methods that Spartan women were often invited to neighboring lands as nannies and nurses for their iron nerves.
Up to the age of 7, Spartan boys lived with their families, but after that they were taken away by the state itself. Children were moved to public barracks, and a training period called "agog" began in their lives. The goal of this program was to educate youngsters into ideal warriors. The new regime included physical exercise, training in various tricks, unconditional loyalty, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, the development of pain tolerance, hunting, survival skills, communication skills, and morality lessons. They were also taught to read, write, compose poetry and orate.
At the age of 12, all boys were stripped of their clothes and all other personal belongings, except for a single red cloak. They were taught to sleep outside and make their own bed out of reeds. In addition, the boys were encouraged to dig through the trash or steal their own food. But if the thieves were caught, the children were severely punished in the form of flogging.
Spartan girls lived in their families even after the age of 7, but they also received the famous Spartan education, which included dancing lessons, gymnastics, throwing darts and discs. It was believed that it was these skills that helped them best prepare for motherhood.
9. Hazing and fights among children
One of the key ways to mold boys into ideal soldiers and develop a truly stern disposition in them was considered provoking fights with each other. Older guys and teachers often started quarrels among their students and encouraged them to get into fights.
The main goal of the agoge was to instill in children resistance to all the hardships that would await them in the war - to cold, hunger or pain. And if someone showed even the slightest weakness, cowardice or embarrassment, they immediately became the objects of cruel ridicule and punishment from their own comrades and teachers. Imagine that at school someone is bullying you, and the teacher comes up and joins the bullies. It was very unpleasant. And in order to “finish off”, the girls sang all sorts of offensive slogans about the guilty students right during ceremonial meetings in front of high-ranking dignitaries.
Even adult men did not avoid scolding. The Spartans hated overweight people. That is why all citizens, including even kings, daily participated in joint meals, “sissits”, which were distinguished by deliberate scarcity and insipidity. Together with daily physical activity, this allowed Spartan men and women to keep themselves in good shape throughout their lives. Those who got out of the main stream were subjected to public censure and even risked being expelled from the city if they were not in a hurry to cope with their inconsistency with the system.
8. Endurance competition
An integral part of Ancient Sparta, and at the same time one of its most disgusting practices, was the Endurance Competition - Diamastigosis. This tradition was intended to commemorate the incident when residents from neighboring settlements killed each other in front of the altar of Artemis as a token of veneration for the goddess. Since then, human sacrifices have been performed here every year.
During the reign of the semi-mythical Spartan king Lycurgus, who lived in the 7th century BC, the rituals of worshiping the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia were relaxed and included only the spanking of boys undergoing the agoge. The ceremony continued until they completely covered all the steps of the altar with their blood. During the ritual, the altar was strewn with cones, which the children had to reach and collect.
The older guys were waiting for the younger ones with sticks in their hands, beating the children without any compassion for their pain. The tradition, at its core, was the initiation of little boys into the ranks of full-fledged warriors and citizens of Sparta. The last child standing received great honors for his masculinity. Often, during such initiation, children died.
During the occupation of Sparta by the Roman Empire, the tradition of Diamastigosis did not disappear, but lost its main ceremonial significance. Instead, it became just a spectacular sporting event. People from all over the empire flocked to Sparta to watch the brutal flogging of young guys. By the 3rd century AD, the sanctuary had been converted into a regular theater with stands from which the audience could comfortably watch the beatings.
7. Cryptory
When the Spartans reached the age of 20 or so, those who were marked as potential leaders were given the opportunity to participate in Crypteria. It was a kind of secret police. Although, to a greater extent, it was about partisan detachments that periodically terrorized and occupied the neighboring settlements of the Geloths. The best years of this unit came in the 5th century BC, when Sparta had about 10,000 men capable of fighting, and the civilian population of the Geloths outnumbered them by a few.
On the other hand, the Spartans were constantly under the threat of rebellion from the Geloths. This constant threat was one of the reasons why Sparta developed such a militarized society and prioritized the militancy of its citizens. Every man in Sparta, by law, had to be raised as a soldier from childhood.
Every autumn, young warriors got a chance to test their skills during an unofficial declaration of war against enemy Geloth settlements. Members of the Crypteria went out on missions at night armed only with knives, and their goal was always to kill any geloth they encountered along the way. The bigger and stronger the enemy, the better.
This annual slaughter was carried out to train the neighbors into obedience and reduce their numbers to a safe level. Only those boys and men who participated in such raids could expect to receive a higher rank and a privileged status in society. For the rest of the year, the "secret police" patrolled the area, still executing any potentially dangerous gelot without any trial.
6. Forced marriage
And although it is difficult to call it something frankly horrific, but forced marriages by the age of 30 today, many would consider unacceptable and even frightening. Until the age of 30, all Spartans lived in public barracks and served in the state army. At the onset of 30 years of age, they were released from military duty and transferred to the reserve until the age of 60. In any case, if by the age of 30 one of the men did not have time to find a wife, they were forced to marry.
The Spartans considered marriage important, but not the only way to conceive new soldiers, so girls were married no earlier than 19 years old. Applicants had to first carefully assess the health and fitness of their future life partners. And although he often decided between his future husband and father-in-law, the girl also had the right to vote. After all, according to the law, Spartan women had equal rights with men, and even much more than in some modern countries to this day.
If the men of Sparta married before their 30th birthday and still during their military service, they continued to live separately from their wives. But if a man went to the reserve still single, it was believed that he was not fulfilling his duty to the state. The bachelor was expected to be publicly ridiculed for any reason, especially during official meetings.
And if for some reason the Spartan could not have children, he had to find a suitable partner for his wife. It even happened that one woman had several sexual partners, and together they raised common children.
5. Spartan weapons
The bulk of any ancient Greek army, including the Spartan, were "hoplites". They were soldiers in bulky armor, citizens whose armaments took a decent amount of money so that they could participate in wars. And while warriors from most of the Greek city-states did not have sufficient military and physical training and equipment, Spartan soldiers knew how to fight all their lives and were always ready to go to the battlefield. While all the Greek city-states were building defensive walls around their settlements, Sparta did not care about fortifications, considering hardened hoplites as their main defense.
The main weapon of the hoplite, regardless of its origin, was a spear for the right hand. The length of the spears reached about 2.5 meters. The tip of this weapon was made of bronze or iron, and the handle was made of dogwood. It was this tree that was used, because it was distinguished by the necessary density and strength. By the way, dogwood wood is so dense and heavy that it even sinks in water.
In his left hand, the warrior held his round shield, the famous "hoplon". 13 kg shields were used primarily for defense, but were also occasionally used in close-range striking techniques. Shields were made of wood and leather, and covered with a layer of bronze on top. The Spartans marked their shields with the letter "lambda", which symbolized Laconia, a region of Sparta.
If a spear broke or the battle got too close, the hoplites from the front would take up their "ksipos", short swords. They were 43 centimeters long and were intended for close combat. But the Spartans preferred their "kopis" to such ksipos. This type of sword inflicted especially painful chopping wounds on the enemy due to its specific one-sided sharpening along the inner edge of the blade. Kopis was used more as an axe. Greek artists often depicted Spartans with copies in their hands.
For additional protection, the soldiers wore bronze helmets that covered not only the head, but also the back of the neck and face. Also among the armor were chest and back shields made of bronze or leather. The shins of the soldiers were protected by special bronze plates. The forearms were closed in the same way.
4. Phalanx
There are certain signs of what stage of development a civilization is in, and among them is just how nations fight. Tribal communities tend to fight in a chaotic and haphazard fashion, with each warrior brandishing his ax or sword as he pleases and seeking personal glory.
But more advanced civilizations fight according to well-thought-out tactics. Each soldier plays a specific role in his squad and is subject to a common strategy. This is how the Romans fought, and the ancient Greeks, to whom the Spartans belonged, also fought. By and large, the famous Roman legions were formed precisely following the example of the Greek "phalanxes".
Hoplites gathered in regiments, "lokhoi", consisting of several hundred citizens, and lined up in columns of 8 or more rows. Such a formation was called a phalanx. The men stood shoulder to shoulder in tight groups, protected on all sides by comradely shields. In between the shields and helmets was a veritable forest of spears jutting outward in spikes.
The phalanxes were distinguished by very organized movement due to rhythmic accompaniments and chants, which the Spartans learned intensively at a young age during training. It happened that the Greek cities fought among themselves, and then in the battle one could see spectacular clashes of several phalanxes at once. The battle continued until one of the detachments stabbed the other to death. It could be compared to a bloody skirmish during a rugby match, but in ancient armor.
3. Nobody gives up
The Spartans were brought up to be extremely loyal and despised cowardice above all other human failings. Soldiers were expected to be fearless in all circumstances. Even if we are talking about the last drop and to the last survivor. For this reason, the act of surrender was equated with the most unbearable cowardice.
If, in some unimaginable circumstances, the Spartan hoplite had to surrender, he then committed suicide. The ancient historian Herodotus recalled two unknown Spartans who missed an important battle and committed suicide out of shame. One hanged himself, the other went to a certain redemptive death during the next battle in the name of Sparta.
Spartan mothers were notorious for often telling their sons before battle, "Return with your shield, or don't return at all." This meant that they were either expected with victory or dead. In addition, if a warrior lost his own shield, he also left his comrade without protection, which jeopardized the entire mission, and was unacceptable.
Sparta believed that a soldier fully fulfilled his duty only when he died for his state. The man had to die on the battlefield, and the woman had to give birth to children. Only those who performed this duty had the right to be buried in a grave with a name engraved on the tombstone.
2. Thirty tyrants
Sparta was famous for the fact that she always sought to spread her utopian views to neighboring city-states. At first it was the Messenians from the west, whom the Spartans conquered in the 7th - 8th century BC, turning them into their Geloth slaves. Later, the gaze of Sparta rushed even to Athens. During the Peloponnesian War of 431 - 404 BC, the Spartans not only subjugated the Athenians, but also inherited their naval superiority in the Aegean region. This hasn't happened before. The Spartans did not raze the glorious city to the ground, as the Corinthians advised them, but instead decided to mold the conquered society in their own image and likeness.
To do this, they installed in Athens a "pro-Spartan" oligarchy, infamously known as the "Thirty Tyrants" regime. The main goal of this system was the reformation, and in most cases the complete destruction of the fundamental Athenian laws and orders in exchange for the proclamation of a Spartan version of democracy. They carried out reforms in the field of power structures and lowered the rights of most social classes.
500 councilors were appointed to carry out judicial duties previously held by all citizens. The Spartans also elected 3,000 Athenians to "share power with them." In fact, these local managers simply had a few more privileges than the rest of the residents. During the 13-month regime of Sparta, 5% of the population of Athens died or simply disappeared from the city, a lot of other people's property was confiscated, and crowds of adherents of the old system of governance in Athens were sent into exile.
A former student of Socrates, Kritias, the leader of the "Thirty", was recognized as a cruel and completely inhumane ruler who intended to turn the conquered city into a reflection of Sparta at any cost. Critias acted as if he was still on post in the Spartan Cryptea and executed all the Athenians whom he considered dangerous to establish a new order of things.
300 bannermen were hired to patrol the city, who ended up intimidating and terrorizing the local population. About 1,500 of the most prominent Athenians, who did not support the new government, forcibly took the poison - hemlock. Interestingly, the more cruel the tyrants were, the more resistance they met from the locals.
In the end, after 13 months of a brutal regime, a successful coup took place, led by Trasibulus, one of the few citizens who escaped from exile. During the Athenian restaurant, 3,000 of the aforementioned traitors received an amnesty, but the rest of the defectors, including those same 30 tyrants, were executed. Critias died in one of the first battles.
Steeped in corruption, treachery and violence, the short rule of the tyrants led to a strong distrust of the Athenians towards each other even during the next few years after the fall of the dictatorship.
1. The famous Battle of Thermopylae
Best known today from the 1998 comic book series and the 2006 film 300, the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC was an epic massacre between the Greek army led by the Spartan king Leonidas I and the Persians led by King Xerxes.
Initially, the conflict arose between these two peoples even before the accession of the mentioned military leaders, during the reign of Darius I, the predecessor of Xerxes. He expanded the boundaries of his lands far into the depths of the European continent and at some point fixed his greedy gaze on Greece. After the death of Darius, Xerxes, almost immediately after taking over as king, began preparations for the invasion. This was the greatest threat Greece has ever faced.
After long negotiations between the Greek city-states, a combined force of about 7,000 hoplites was sent to defend the Thermopylae Pass, through which the Persians were going to advance into the territory of all Hellas. For some reason, in the film adaptations and comics, those very few thousand hoplites were not mentioned, including the legendary Athenian fleet.
Among the several thousand Greek warriors were the glorified 300 Spartans, whom Leonidas led into battle personally. Xerxes raised an army of 80,000 soldiers for his invasion. The relatively small defense of the Greeks was explained by the fact that they did not want to send too many warriors far to the north of the country. Another reason was a more religious motive. In those days, the sacred Olympic Games and the most important ritual festival of Sparta, Carneia, were taking place, during which bloodshed was forbidden. In any case, Leonidas was aware of the danger that threatened his army and convened 300 of his most devoted Spartans, who had already had male heirs.
Located 153 kilometers north of Athens, the Thermopylae Gorge was an excellent defensive position. Only 15 meters wide, sandwiched between almost vertical rocks and the sea, this gorge created a great inconvenience for the numerical army of Persia. Such a limited space did not allow the Persians to properly deploy all their power.
This gave the Greeks a significant advantage along with the defensive wall already built here. When Xerxes finally arrived, he had to wait 4 days in the hope that the Greeks would surrender. That did not happen. Then he sent his ambassadors for the last time to call on the enemy to lay down their arms, to which Leonidas replied "come and take it yourself."
Over the next 2 days, the Greeks repelled numerous Persian attacks, including a battle with an elite detachment of "Immortals" from the personal guard of the Persian king. But betrayed by the local shepherd, who pointed out to Xerxes about a secret detour through the mountains, on the second day the Greeks nevertheless found themselves surrounded by the enemy.
Faced with this unpleasant situation, the Greek commander dismissed most of the hoplites, except for 300 Spartans and a few other selected soldiers, to give the last stand. During the last attack of the Persians, the glorious Leonidas and 300 Spartans fell, honorably fulfilling their duty to Sparta and her people.
To this day, there is a tablet in Thermopylae with the inscription "Traveler, go to erect to our citizens in Lacedaemon that, observing their precepts, here we died with our bones." And although Leonidas and his people died, their joint feat inspired the Spartans to gather their courage and overthrow the malicious invaders during the subsequent Greco-Persian wars.
The Battle of Thermopylae forever cemented Sparta's reputation as the most unique and powerful civilization.
Ancient Sparta was the main economic and military rival of Athens. The city-state and its surrounding area were located on the Peloponnese peninsula, southwest of Athens. Administratively, Sparta (also called Lacedaemon) was the capital of the province of Laconia.
The adjective "Spartan" in the modern world came from energetic warriors with an iron heart and steel endurance. The inhabitants of Sparta were famous not for arts, science or architecture, but for brave warriors, for whom the concept of honor, courage and strength were put above all else. Athens of that time, with its beautiful statues and temples, was a stronghold of poetry, philosophy and politics, which dominated the intellectual life of Greece. However, such superiority was bound to end someday.
Raising children in Sparta
One of the principles that guided the inhabitants of Sparta was that the life of every person, from the moment of birth until death, belongs entirely to the state. The elders of the city were empowered to decide the fate of newborns - healthy and strong children were left in the city, and weak or sick children were thrown into the nearest abyss. So the Spartans tried to secure physical superiority over their enemies. Children who passed the "natural selection" were brought up in conditions of severe discipline. At the age of 7, the boys were taken away from their parents and brought up separately, in small groups. The strongest and most courageous young men eventually became captains. The boys slept in the common rooms on hard and uncomfortable reed beds. Young Spartans ate simple food - a soup of pig blood, meat and vinegar, lentils and other coarse food.
One day, a wealthy guest who came to Sparta from Sybaris decided to taste the “black stew”, after which he said that now he understands why Spartan warriors lose their lives so easily. Often the boys were left hungry for several days, thereby inciting petty theft in the market. This was not done with the intention of making a young man a skilled thief, but only to develop ingenuity and dexterity - if he was caught stealing, then he was severely punished. There are legends about a young Spartan who stole a young fox from the market, and when it was time for dinner, he hid it under his clothes. So that the boy would not be convicted of theft, he endured the pain that the fox gnawed through his stomach, and died without issuing a single sound. Over time, the discipline only became tougher. All adult males between the ages of 20 and 60 were required to serve in the Spartan army. They were allowed to marry, but even after that, the Spartans continued to spend the night in barracks and eat in common dining rooms. Warriors were not allowed to own any property, especially gold and silver. Their money looked like iron bars of various sizes. Restraint extended not only to life, food and clothing, but also to the speech of the Spartans. In conversation, they were very laconic, limiting themselves to extremely concise and specific answers. This manner of communication in ancient Greece was called "conciseness" on behalf of the area in which Sparta was located.
Life of the Spartans
In general, as in any other culture, issues of life and nutrition shed light on interesting little things in people's lives. The Spartans, unlike the inhabitants of other Greek cities, did not attach much importance to food. In their opinion, food should not serve to satisfy, but only to saturate the warrior before the battle. The Spartans dined at a common table, while the products for lunch were handed over in the same amount - this was how the equality of all citizens was maintained. Neighbors on the table vigilantly watched each other, and if someone did not like the food, he was ridiculed and compared with the spoiled inhabitants of Athens. But when the time came for the battle, the Spartans changed dramatically: they put on the best outfits, and marched towards death with songs and music. From birth, they were taught to perceive each day as their last, not to be afraid and not to retreat. Death in battle was desirable and equated to the ideal end of a real man's life. There were 3 classes of inhabitants in Laconia. The first, most revered, were inhabitants of Sparta who had military training and participated in the political life of the city. Second class - perieki, or residents of surrounding small towns and villages. They were free, although they did not have any political rights. Engaged in trade and handicrafts, the perieks were a kind of "service personnel" for the Spartan army. lower class - helots, were serfs, and did not differ much from slaves. Due to the fact that their marriages were not controlled by the state, the helots were the most numerous category of inhabitants, and were kept from rebellion only thanks to the iron grip of their masters.
Political life of Sparta
One of the features of Sparta was that two kings were at the head of the state at the same time. They ruled jointly, serving as high priests and military leaders. Each of the kings controlled the activities of the other, which ensured the openness and fairness of the decisions of the authorities. The kings were subject to a "cabinet of ministers", consisting of five ethers or observers, who exercised general guardianship over laws and customs. The legislative branch consisted of a council of elders headed by two kings. The Council elected the most respected people of Sparta who have overcome the 60-year age barrier. Army of Sparta, despite the relatively modest number, was well trained and disciplined. Each warrior was filled with determination to win or die - returning with a loss was unacceptable, and was an indelible shame for life. Wives and mothers, sending their husbands and sons to war, solemnly handed them a shield with the words: "Come back with a shield or on it." Over time, the militant Spartans captured most of the Peloponnese, significantly expanding the boundaries of possessions. A clash with Athens was inevitable. The rivalry came to a head during the Peloponnesian War, and led to the fall of Athens. But the tyranny of the Spartans caused the hatred of the inhabitants and mass uprisings, which led to the gradual liberalization of power. The number of specially trained warriors decreased, which allowed the inhabitants of Thebes, after about 30 years of Spartan oppression, to overthrow the power of the invaders.
History of Sparta interesting not only from the point of view of military achievements, but also the factors of the political and life structure. Courage, selflessness and the desire for victory of the Spartan warriors - these are the qualities that made it possible not only to restrain the constant attacks of enemies, but also to expand the boundaries of influence. The warriors of this small state easily defeated armies of many thousands and were a clear threat to the enemies. Sparta and its inhabitants, brought up on the principles of restraint and the rule of force, was the opposite of the educated and pampered rich life of Athens, which in the end led to a clash of these two civilizations.
Σπαρτιᾶται ) or gomes (ὅμοιοι or ὁμοῖοι "equal") - an estate in Sparta, men who had full civil rights. They were a class of professional warriors, for whom military service was the only duty. The birth of the estate falls on the time of the reforms of Lycurgus in the VIII century. BC e. who laid the foundations of the Spartan state.
Way of the Spartans
For the education of citizens, a universal system of education was created - agoge. All boys from the families of citizens from the age of seven fell into closed paramilitary schools - agels, where they studied until they were 18-20 years old. The main attention in the training was given to physical training, military affairs and ideology. The conditions were very harsh, the lack of food and comfort should have accustomed the young men to the hardships associated with military service. Mentors encouraged rivalry and competition among students, thus identifying potential leaders.
No one could become a citizen without being trained in an agel. The exceptions are the Spartan kings (not required to undergo such training) and the historian Chilo, who received citizenship for his greatest services to Sparta. After completing his studies, the Spartan received civil rights and became a member of the sissitia. However, he was still under the control of educators and senior comrades in sissitia. Only after reaching the age of 30, the Spartiate received the right to private life and could leave the barracks. However, even here he could not be completely free: a citizen had to have a family and children, bachelors and childless were severely condemned.
Military service was the main and unconditional duty of citizens, it was also the only opportunity to advance and take a more prominent social position. All other occupations, except those related to the war, were forbidden or considered inappropriate for a citizen.
A citizen who has reached the age of 60 and has achieved respect in society could be elected to the gerousia - the council of elders.
Place in the structure of society
In the military-aristocratic state of Sparta, the Spartans were the ruling class. However, due to their small number and the need to maintain the functioning of the state, the Spartans themselves were far from free in their studies - their whole life from childhood to old age was strictly regulated by laws and customs, and the duties assigned to them had to be carried out strictly, under fear of expulsion or deprivation of citizenship.
Decline of the Spartans
By the V-IV centuries BC. e. the estate began to decline. Its numbers were greatly reduced due to the many wars in which Sparta was involved, and the low birth rate (due to late marriages and the isolation of the estate) could not compensate for the losses. In addition, during the wars of conquest, the Spartans got acquainted with the way of life of the surrounding peoples. The luxury, conveniences and freedom of life made an impression on them, and the Lycurgus institutions, which kept Sparta in economic and ideological isolation for several hundred years, gradually began to be forgotten.
The defeat of Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra caused irreparable damage to the number of Spartans and put an end to Sparta's hegemony in Hellas, and the subsequent capture of Messenia by Epaminondas of Theban, the land belonging to the Spartan clans, was a strong blow to the Spartan economy. Sparta, from a powerful state that spread its influence throughout Hellas, turned into a force of local significance. The military estate lost its importance and Sparta moved from a professional army to a militia army, the same as that of other Greek policies.