Sparta (Laconia, Lacedaemon) is one of the most famous and powerful states of Ancient Greece, famous for its army that never retreated before the enemy. An ideal policy, Sparta was a state that did not know unrest and civil strife. In this amazing country there were neither rich nor poor, so the Spartans called themselves a "community of equals." Although the formidable Sparta was known literally in all corners of Ancient Greece, few could boast that they had been to the land of Lacedaemon and knew the life and customs of this country well. The Spartans (Spartans) shrouded their state in a veil of secrecy, not allowing either strangers to come to them or their citizens to leave the boundaries of the community. Even the merchants did not bring goods to Sparta - the Spartans did not buy or sell anything.
Although the Spartans themselves did not leave a description of their laws and political system, many ancient Greek thinkers tried to unravel the reason for the strength of civil harmony and military power of Sparta. Their attention to this state especially intensified after the victory of Sparta over Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-405 BC). But since ancient writers observed the life of Sparta from the sidelines or lived many centuries after the "community of equals" arose, many modern scholars are distrustful of their reports. Therefore, some problems of the history of Sparta still cause controversy among historians. For example, what was the reason for the Spartan way of life when this state arose, so unlike other Greek policies?
The ancient Greeks considered the legislator Lycurgus to be the creator of the Spartan state. The writer and historian Plutarch, the author of biographies of prominent Greeks and Romans, starting a story about the life and reforms of Lycurgus, warns readers that nothing strictly reliable can be reported about them. Nevertheless, he has no doubt that this politician was a historical figure. Most modern scientists consider Lycurgus to be a legendary (never existing) person, and the amazing political system of Sparta is a consequence of the preservation of primitive pre-state forms of human society in it. Other historians, agreeing that Lycurgus is a fictitious figure, do not completely deny the legend about the emergence of the Spartan state as a result of a coup after long troubles in the first half of the 6th century. BC e. There is also a third group of scientists who believe that historians have no serious grounds for complete mistrust of the reports of ancient writers. In the biography of Lycurgus, they believe, there is nothing fantastic, and the implementation of reforms in Sparta two centuries earlier than in other parts of the Balkan Greece is explained by the difficult situation in Laconia. The Dorians who founded the Spartan state came here as conquerors and, in order to keep the local Achaean population enslaved by them, needed to accelerate the creation of the institutions necessary for this.
According to Plutarch and other ancient authors, Lycurgus lived around the first half of the 7th century BC. BC e.
It was a time of unrest and lawlessness. Lycurgus came from a royal family, and after the death of his father from a stab and the death of his older brother, he became king, but he ruled for only eight months. Having ceded power to his nephew, he left Sparta. Traveling through Crete, Egypt and the Greek policies on the coast of Asia Minor, Lycurgus studied the laws and way of life of people and dreamed, upon returning to his homeland, to completely change the structure of his community and establish laws that would forever end the enmity between the Spartans. Before returning to Sparta, Lycurgus went to Delphi, where there was a temple of the god Apollo with an oracle (soothsayer). In those days, not a single important decision for the entire state was made without seeking advice from the priests of the god Apollo of Delphi. The priestess-soothsayer (Pythia) conveyed predictions to those seeking advice, which the deity herself allegedly informed her. Pythia called Lycurgus "godly" and said that Apollo promises to give Sparta the best laws.
According to Plutarch, after returning from Delphi, Lycurgus, together with thirty noble citizens loyal to him, set about implementing his plan. He ordered his friends to arm themselves and go to the square in order to intimidate the enemies and force everyone to obey the new laws. The establishment of new orders, apparently, caused discontent and resistance of some of the rich and noble citizens. Once they surrounded the legislator and, shouting angrily, threw stones at him. Lycurgus fled, but one of the pursuers knocked out his eye with a stick.
According to legend, having completed the reforms, Lycurgus gathered the people and, taking an oath from them not to change anything from the orders he had established until his return, again went to Delphi. In Delphi, he received through the oracle approval of the passed laws. Having sent this prophecy to Sparta, he himself decided not to return there again, so as not to free the people from the oath given to him, and starved himself to death.
Lycurgus' rules were admired by some, condemned and criticized by others. One of the first reforms of Lycurgus was the organization of the administration of the civil community. Ancient writers claim that Lycurgus created a council of elders (gerousia) of 28 people. Elders (geronts) - not younger than 60 years old - were elected by the people's assembly of citizens (apella). The Gerousia also included two kings, one of whose main duties was to command the army in war. Apella initially, apparently, had great power and solved all the most important issues in the life of the community. Over time, power in the state passed into the hands of the ephors.
In the 8th c. BC e. in Sparta, as in other Greek policies, there was an acute shortage of land. The Spartans solved this problem by conquering the neighboring region of Messenia, and its inhabitants were enslaved. The conquered land and the enslaved population were declared the property of all citizens of Sparta. And the management system, and the supreme ownership of all citizens on the land - all this did not distinguish Sparta from other Greek policies. As elsewhere in the states of Ancient Greece, the principle was in effect here:we own together, we manage together, we protect together. But in Sparta it was carried out with such consistency that it turned it into something ugly, into a "historical curiosity", as some historians call it.
The reason for this was a particular form of slavery that originated in ancient Sparta. In most Greek policies, slaves were brought from distant countries. Cut off from their homes, of different nationalities, they were divided and it was difficult for them to agree with each other and revolt against their masters. The population of Laconica and Messenia converted into slaves (helots) remained to live where their ancestors lived. They ran an independent household, had property and a family. They paid their owners a tax (apophora), but they could dispose of the rest of the products at their discretion. This created favorable conditions for uprisings, which the helots, many times outnumbering their masters, raised quite often.
In order to achieve harmony and peace, Lycurgus decided to permanently eradicate wealth and poverty in the state. He divided all the land owned by the community into approximately equal plots (clairs). 9,000 clairs were given to the Spartans - according to the number of families, 30,000 were given to the perieks - residents of the surrounding areas. Perieki were free people, but they were not included in the number of full citizens. The resulting land could neither be sold nor donated. Helots processed it, and perieks were engaged in crafts. The Spartans, on the other hand, considered any work, except military affairs, shameful for themselves. Having received the opportunity to live quite comfortably at the expense of the labor of the helots, they turned into professional warriors. Their whole daily life has become a constant and exhausting preparation for war.
To preserve universal equality, Lycurgus prohibited the use of gold and silver coins in Sparta, which were used throughout Greece, and introduced iron money, so heavy that even a small amount required a whole wagon. With this money it was possible to buy only what was produced in Sparta itself, while the perieks were strictly forbidden to produce luxury items, they were allowed to produce only simple dishes and clothes, weapons for the Spartans. All Spartans, from the king to the common citizen, had to live in exactly the same conditions. Special regulations indicated what houses could be built, what clothes to wear, and even food had to be the same for everyone. Spartan citizens did not know the peace of home life, they could not manage their time at their own discretion. Their whole life from birth to death passed under vigilant control. The Spartan married when the community allowed him, but young married men lived separately from their families for a long time. Even the children did not belong to their parents. The father brought a newborn baby to the forest, where the elders met. The child was carefully examined, and if found sick and frail, they were sent to Apothetes (a cliff on the Tayget mountain range) and left to die there.
From the age of seven, boys were taken away from their parents and brought up in detachments (agels). The harsh system of education was aimed at ensuring that they grew up strong, obedient and fearless. Children were taught to read and write, taught to be silent for a long time and speak briefly and clearly (succinctly). Adults, watching the children, purposely quarreled them, causing a fight, and watched who was smarter and bolder in a fight. For a year, the boys were given only one dress, they were allowed to wash only a few times a year. They fed the children poorly, taught them to steal, but if someone came across, they beat them mercilessly, not for theft, but for awkwardness.
Mature boys after 16 years of age were subjected to a very severe test at the altar of the goddess Artemis. The young men were severely scourged, while they were supposed to be silent. Some failed the test and died. Another test for the young men was cryptia - secret wars against the helots, who from time to time declared ephors. During the day, young Spartans hid in secluded corners, and at night they went out to hunt helots, killing the strongest men, which made it possible to keep the helots in constant fear.
The will of the legislator and the constant threat from the helots have created an unusually close-knit civil society that has not known internal unrest for several centuries. But the Spartans paid a heavy price for this. Severe discipline, militarization of all aspects of life led to the spiritual impoverishment of the people, the economic backwardness of Sparta in comparison with other Greek policies. It did not give world culture a single philosopher, poet, orator, sculptor or artist. All that Sparta could create was a strong army. The unlimited right of the ephors to control all aspects of the life of the community made their power, according to Aristotle, "close to tyranny." Gradually, Sparta became a stronghold of political reaction for all of Greece.
The Spartans deliberately pursued a policy of isolating their community from the outside world. It was aimed at ensuring that foreign customs and customs could not penetrate the "community of equals", but the main reason was that the constant threat of helot uprisings required the mobilization of all forces. Sparta could not lead her army away from the Peloponnese for a long time and far, therefore, in moments of great danger for the entire Hellenic world, she was often guided by purely selfish interests. This was already evident during the period of the Greco-Persian wars, when Sparta was ready to cede to the Iranians (Persians) most of the Balkan Greece and the Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. In return, she offered everyone who wished to move to the territory of the Peloponnese, ready to defend its borders to the last breath.
The thirst for dominance over all of Greece led Sparta to war with wealthy and prosperous Athens. She emerged victorious from the Peloponnesian War, but at the cost of betraying the interests of Hellas:having received help from Iran, she turned into an Iranian overseer for the Hellenes. The war brought Sparta out of a state of artificial isolation, victory brought wealth and money, and the "community of equals" entered a period of unrest, like all other Greek policies.
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