There were a number of key institutions that had a powerful influence on the state of Sparta. Spartan tradition claims that the reorganisation of the state derived from oracles at the sanction of Delphi. Ancient lawgiver Lycurgus is a mysterious character, whose reforms resulted from a Delphic oracle. However, his timeframe has been the subject to debate between the ancient and modern sources, most notably; Aristotle placed the reforms in 776BC . It is today’s view that this legislation evolved between the 7th and 5th centuries, with Lycurgus seen as the ‘mythical figure’ who is the symbol of these reforms. Before Lycurgus’ reforms appear in history, there is evidence for kingship lists in early Sparta, however earlier dates are estimated .
Prior, Plutarch accounts for the unequal social framework within Sparta, where tribal leaders owned vast domains of land, in great contrast to the average Spartiate. Furthermore, Hodgkinson suggests the success of social reform in Sparta stems from the redistribution of Messenian land and the Agoge; reinforcing the belief that dissent from this social order would threaten the established hierarchical status of the Spartiates.
In order to escape her wrath, Lycurgus traveled around the Medatrerian, learning about different governments. Throughout his travels, he knew that one day he would return to Sparta. The Spartan people were begging him to come back. The gap between the common people and the kings had gotten worse and there was inequality within the common people as well. Even the kings were not against him coming back. Finally, he did. He took what he learned from the places he visited and made the perfect government. The basis of the government was to create equality and a strong
In the ancient Greek writing "Lycurgus", the Spartan king introduces various political, social, and economic reforms that were simple enough to guide the ancient Greeks, but still complex enough to govern entire nations. The intuition and intelligence of Lycurgus, and his ability to communicate with his people at a personal level earned him unquestioned loyalty and fervent love from his subjects. His temperance and wisdom were often tested, but the great king never folded in the heat of battle. All of the aforementioned qualities became evident when Lycurgus introduced his economic reforms.
Law is to country just like soil is to plants. If the soil is right and appropriate then the the plant will flourish. If laws are just and its conditions are right, then the state will benefit from it. Without an appropriate law, the state will be in complete chaos. In the same case, two different lawgivers from different nations were given the same mission: to help make their states better than it was. Solon, an Athenian archon who was elected to make Athens and its city states thrive and remove this nation from its disastrous state. On the other hand, there’s Lycurgus, a Spartan man, whose mission was to help make Sparta also a thriving nation based on his first hand experiences he had during his travels (mostly from Egypt and Crete). At the end of the day, these two lawgivers had a different notion of justice and they each dealt with social inequalities in their city in their own way.
The three aspects of this worldview often when illustrated in historical works, such as in Spartan Society, need to be understood and examined together because of the large amount of overlapping in worldview concepts. For example, the humanistic view of Lycurgus and his many great accomplishments does not only prove the emphasis of human accomplishments as seen in ancient Greek humanism, but as they are often put in contrast to the other countries and described as these ideals that the “other” cannot attain proves to illustrate the idealism present in the worldview of the ancient Spartan people. Lycurgus, as recorded in Spartan Society, also is seen in a rationalistic way of thought. Xenophon will even say, “I certainly admire him and consider him in the highest degree a wise man” (Spartan Society, 166). Lycurgus, the highest of wise men, is the leader, and the man who does not follow the ways of the “others,” but takes the high road and creates the ideal society through his many great accomplishments. The “others” or sometimes referred to as “elsewhere” is mentioned frequently in this account of this great
Spartan culture is a great example of how a society’s infrastructure will directly affect both, its social structure and superstructure. It also serves as a warning that any society that becomes too rigid in its structure and too static in its values will not last long when confronted with more agile and adaptable cultures. This paper will explore why Sparta became the Hellenic army par excellence, how this worked to create a very specific social structure founded on martial values, and, finally, how that social structure would ultimately be the undoing of the culture.
The law of Sparta was written and developed by Lycurgus (Blundell). Lycurgus was a famous law maker of the Spartan culture and he is credited with founding many of Spartan institutions and militant reforms (Blundell). One
Sparta was a key city state which was located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greek, which today is referred to as Laconia. Sparta is historically known for their strong military training, warfare tactics, and numerous victories. This city state included full citizens known as the Spartans, the helots, and the Perioeci. The men of Sparta had a main obligation to become strong warriors, fight with their brothers, and protect against any invasions or attacks. The helots where owned by city state of Sparta. They came from Messenia and were forced into slavery after being invaded by the Spartans in c.735. The helot’s responsibilities included farming, being of help if needed during battles, used as nurses, and for any other task that need to be accomplished. Unlike many traditional slaves, the Messenia’s were given certain leeway. They had
Many believe the notion of equality and justice are very much intertwined. Through the ways in which Lycurgus and Solon reform their city to resolve social inequalities, the notion of equality and justice is discerned, which is to say equality is universal whereas justice depends on the parameters of the society. Lycurgus led his reforms so that everyone equally advances as a public duty. As opposed to Lycurgus, Solon led his reforms so that every person had a fair chance at advancement and participation in government built on merit and wealth. Lycurgus and Solon both modified their city through political, social, and economic reformations to alleviate social injustice.
The early Greek poleis served as way of uniting citizens under a centralized government. Under the Athenian and Spartan government, the people had more rights and, opportunities within society, which were governed by a set constitution. The constitution or politeia operated within individual poleis to identify ideas and values that would distinguish one city-state from another. For example, in Sparta, the Rhetra acted as the foundation to how society was structured. These were a set of laws that were established and implemented by Lykourgos, which formed the new government system through a combination of different elements from all the politeiai; namely oligarchy, monarchy and democracy . The Rhetra played a role in regulating the process of law and policy making, and also governing the educati...
My name is sara tannous I am doing the catapult project . catapults were great weapons people used to survive from wars. So I choice the catapult project to show why did the people from the past choice the catapults as a weapons,also I choice this project to explain the relationships between science and Practical life. I am working alone on this project to explain how catapults work through my own thinking.
Farris, Dale. "Shutt, Timothy B.: A History of Ancient Sparta." Library Journal 15 May 2009: 45.
The one thing we know for certain about Spartan society is that we don’t know much about it. Very few documents and artifacts about the Spartans have been discovered, but the ones that have tell us everything we know. Two of these works are Plutarch’s On Sparta and Xenophon’s Spartan Society. One of the main things these two accounts focused on was the Lycurgan reforms. Through their stories and writings Plutarch and Xenophon had both some similarities and differences when talking about the political, economic, militaristic, and social reforms. One of the main differences when comparing these two writings is how Plutarch gives a historical account of Spartan society and tries to keep objectivity
1) According to Thucydides, during the civil war at Corcyra a re-evaluation of values took place in the populace (3.82). Explain the nature of these re-evaluations, and the reason(s) they took place.
In the year approximately 500 B.C., the Greek civilization came upon a time of peace. Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave