Sparta
Reconsidered
(http://www.elysiumgates.com/~helena/index.html) suggests a more
positive
take on Spartan life.
Generalization: The Spartan political and social system
contains many unusual elements, but the Spartan way of life was well
suited for securing the stability of the Spartan state.
I. Development of the Polis
A. Acropolis
B. Agora
II. Sparta during the Mycenaean period
III. Dorian Sparta
A. Conquest of Messenia
B. Helots and perioikoi
C. Lycurgus and the Spartan political system
1. dual kingship
2. gerousia (28 old
men from aristocratic families plus the two kings)
3. apella (all
arms-bearing
men over 30)
4. ephors
("overseers,"
a check on royal power
D. The Spartan social system
1. graining to be
a hoplite
2. exposure of unfit
3. barracks training
for 7 year olds and up
4. discipline of
Spartan
boys
5. sacrifices made
by men
6. women in Sparta
E. Spartan contributions
From Tyrtaeus of Sparta. As reproduced in Early Greek Lyric Poetry,
trans. David Mulroy (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press,
1992),
48-49.
It is a beautiful thing when a good man falls and dies fighting for
his country.
The worst pain is leaving one's city and fertile fields for the life
of a beggar,
wandering with mother, old father, little children, and wedded wife.
The man beaten by need and odious poverty is detested everywhere he
goes,
a disgrace to his family and noble appearance, trailed by dishonor
and evil.
If no one takes care of the wanderer or gives him honor, respect, or
pity,
we must fight to the death for our land and children, giving no thought
to lengthening life.
Fight in a stubborn, close array, my boys! Never waver or retreat!
Feel your anger swell. There is no place in combat for love of life.
Older soldiers, whose knees are not so light, need you to stand and
protect them.
An aging warrior cut down in the vanguard of battle disgraces the
young.
His head
is white, his beard is grey, and now he is spilling his powerful spirit
in dust,
naked, clutching his bloody groin: a sight for shame and anger. But
youthful
warriors always look good, until the blossom withers. Men gape
at them and women sigh, and dying in combat they are handsome still.
Now is the time for a man to stand, planting his feet and biting his
lip.