Spartan Constitution
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The Spartan Constitution (or Spartan politeia) are the government and laws of the classical Greek city-state of Sparta. All classical Greek city-states had a politeia; the politeia of Sparta however, was noted by many classical authors for its unique features, which supported a rigidly layered social system and a strong hoplite army.
The Spartans had no historical records, literature, or written laws, which were, according to tradition, prohibited. Attributed to the mythical figure of
The act of the foundation
Great Rhetra
According to
- When thou hast built a temple to Zeus Syllanius and Athena Syllania, divided the people into 'phylai' and into 'obai', and established a senate of thirty members, including the 'archagetai', then from time to time 'appellazein' between Babyca and Cnacion, and there introduce and rescind measures; but the people must have the deciding voice and the power.[1]
Plutarch provides by way of explanation: "In these clauses, the "phylai" and the "obai" refer to divisions and distributions of the people into clans and phratries, or brotherhoods; by "archagetai" the kings are designated, and "appellazein" means to assemble the people, with a reference to Apollo, the Pythian god, who was the source and author of the polity. The Babyca is now called Cheimarrus, and the Cnacion Oenus; but Aristotle says that Cnacion is a river, and Babyca a bridge."[1]
Another version of the rhetra is given by H. Michell:[2]
- After having built a temple to Zeus Syllanius and Athene Syllania, and having 'phyled the phyles' (φυλάς φυλάξαντα) and 'obed the obes' (ώβάς ώβάξαντα) you shall establish a council of thirty elders, the leaders included.
That is to say that after the people had been divided according to their different tribes ("phyles" and "obes"), they would welcome the new Lycurgan reforms
Laws of Lycurgus
The Spartans had no historical records, literature, or written laws, which were, according to tradition, expressly prohibited by an ordinance of Lycurgus, excluding the Great Rhetra.
Issuance of coinage was forbidden. Spartans were obliged to use iron obols (bars or spits), meant to encourage self-sufficiency and discourage avarice and the hoarding of wealth. A Spartan citizen in good standing (a Spartiate) was one who maintained his fighting skills, showed bravery in battle, ensured that his farms were productive, was married and had healthy children. Spartiate women were the only Greek women to hold property rights on their own, and were required to practice sports before marriage. Although they had no formal political rights, they were expected to speak their minds boldly and their opinions were heard.
Structure of Spartan society and government
Spartan society can be represented by a three-layer pyramid ruled by the government.
Society
Spartiates
A free-born Spartan who had successfully completed the agoge became a "peer" (ὅμοιος, hómoios, literally "similar") with full civil rights at the age of 20, and remained one as long as he could contribute his equal share of grain to the syssitia, a common military mess in which he was obliged to dine every evening for as long as he was battle-worthy (usually until the age of 60). The hómoioi were also required to sleep in the barracks until the age of 30, regardless of whether they were married or not.
Perioeci
Others in the state were the Perioeci or Períoikoi, a social class and population group of non-citizen inhabitants. The Perioeci were free, unlike the helots, but were not full Spartan citizens. They had a central role in the Spartan economy, controlling commerce and business, as well as being responsible for crafts and manufacturing.
Helots
Government
The Doric state of Sparta, copying the Doric Cretans, instituted a mixed governmental state: it was composed of elements of monarchical, oligarchical, and democratic systems. Isocrates refers to the Spartans as "subject to an oligarchy at home, to a kingship on campaign" (iii. 24).
Dual Kingship
The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and the Eurypontid dynasties, both descendants of Heracles and equal in authority so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague, though the Agiad king received greater honour by virtue of seniority of his family for being the "oldest extant" (Herod. vi. 5).
There are several
The duties of the kings were primarily
Despite eventually losing much of their power, the kings retained much respect in the religious sense. They were highly revered after death, with elaborate mourning rituals described as duties of both Spartiates and Perioeci. In addition, there tended to be extreme reluctance to execute them for crimes; even in cases of a king being convicted of treason, he was often given the opportunity to seek asylum in other states.[5]
Ephors
The
After the ephors were introduced, they, together with the two kings, were the executive branch of the state.[6] Ephors themselves had more power than anyone in Sparta, although the fact that they only stayed in power for a single year reduced their ability to conflict with already established powers in the state. Since reelection was not possible, an ephor who abused his power, or confronted an established power center, would have to suffer retaliation. Although the five ephors were the only officials with regular legitimization by popular vote, in practice they were often the most conservative force in Spartan politics.
Gerousia
Sparta had a special policy maker, the Gerousia, a council consisting of 28 elders over the age of 60, elected for life and usually part of the royal households, and the two kings. High state policy decisions were discussed by this council who could then propose action alternatives to the demos.
Ekklesia
The collective body of Spartan citizenry would select one of the alternatives by voting. Unlike most Greek poleis, the Spartan citizen assembly (Ekklesia), could neither set the agenda of issues to be decided, nor debate them, merely vote on the alternatives presented to them. Neither could foreign embassies or emissaries address the assembly; they had to present their case to the Gerousia, which would then consult with the Ephors. Sparta considered all discourse from outside as a potential threat and all other states as past, present, or future enemies, to be treated with caution in the very least, even when bound with alliance treaties.
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Plutarch, Perrin (1914). Plutarch's Lives. London : William Heinemann , New York : The McMillan Co.
- ^ Michell, H. (1964). Sparta. Cambridge University Press. p. 100.
- ^ The Jurisdiction of Spartan Kings, Andrey Zaykov
- ^ The Road Jurisdiction of Spartan Kings, Andrey Zaykov
- ^ Larisa Pechatnova, The Political Structures of Ancient Sparta Part I. Spartan Kings
- ^ ephor – Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Bibliography
- Cartledge, Paul (2003). Spartan Reflections. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Xenophon (1925). Hiero. Agesilaus. Constitution of the Lacedaemonians. Ways and Means. Cavalry Commander. Art of Horsemanship. On Hunting. Constitution of the Athenians. Translated by Marchant, E. C.; Bowersock, G. W. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; Revised edition.