Under the rigid discipline of its laws, Sparta extended its conquests over the neighbouring states until it gained control of most of the Peloponnese. The Spartan constitution is said to have been founded by Lycurgus in the 9th century BC. The legislative power was vested in the assembly of Spartan citizens and in a senate, or council, of 30 elders consisting of the two kings and 28 other men chosen from the citizens who had passed the age of 60. There was a sort of cabinet composed of five ephors, or overseers, who exercised a general guardianship over law and custom and in later times came to have greater power. They served as high priests and as leaders in war. Only the amazing organization and fighting powers of the Spartan state kept them under control.Īnother strange feature of Sparta was its government, which was headed by two kings who ruled jointly. These Helots, whose marriages and children were not so strictly controlled by the state, were the most numerous class and often bitterly hated their masters. The Helots were serfs, little better than slaves, bound to the farms and forced to cultivate the soil for the citizens who owned the land. ![]() ![]() They were also called upon to fight in the Spartan army. They were tradesmen, occupations that were forbidden to the Spartans. The peroikoi, or “dwellers-round,” lived in the surrounding villages, were free but had no political rights. Spartan citizens, Spartiates, who lived in the city itself and who alone had a voice in the government, devoted their entire time to military training. There were three classes of inhabitants in Laconia. They spoke shortly and to the point–in the manner that has come to be called laconic, from Laconia, the district of which Sparta was a part. No luxury was allowed, even in the use of words. War songs were their only music, and their literary education was slight. They were forbidden to possess gold and silver, and their money consisted only of iron bars. All male Spartan citizens between the ages of 20 and 60 served in the army and, though allowed to marry, they had to belong to a men’s dining club and eat and sleep in the military barracks. If they were caught they were whipped severely, not for the act of stealing, but for stealing carelessly and unskilfully.ĭiscipline grew even more rigorous when the boys reached manhood. ![]() The smallest offences were punishable by whipping, and food was deliberately rationed, so that the boys were forced to steal to get more. They learned to endure pain and hardship without complaint and to obey orders absolutely and without question. They were taught that retreat or surrender in battle was disgraceful. Instead they were drilled each day in gymnastics and military exercises. Unlike the boys of Athens, they spent little time learning music and literature.
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