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as with other ancient civilizations, what we have with Sparta are a number of stories which we can try to turn into a coherent narrative

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Lycurgus [ligh-KER-gus] (820BC-730BC)

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law-giver

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established the military-oriented reformation of Spartan society in accordance with the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi

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The Rhetra [RAY-tra]

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the Spartan Constitution, believed to have been formulated and established by the legendary lawgiver, Lycurgus.

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Lycurgus said to have received this from the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi

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since Lycurgus apparently forbade any written constitution, it was said to have been oral

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became the founding hero of the Spartan system, turning it into a kind of "military utopia"

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Sparta

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in Homer, structure of government is king, council, and assembly which are represented in Sparta as well but very differently

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1. king

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in the rest of Greece, the king's duties and privileges were being given to other men in power

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Sparta retained kingship, but there were two kings (diarchy)

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two leaders of clans served together as kings

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sons of two hereditary clans

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were military leaders

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could order a summary execution on a battle field of a soldier who didn't perform well

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2. council

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in Sparta, council was called Gerousia (group of older men, 60 or older), thirty of them

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3. assembly

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called Damos, but when they were called together they were called the Apella

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voted by acclamation, all opposed, pound on your shields

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retained its primitive identification with the army

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4. Ephors

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only in Sparta

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five of them

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elected by the assembly

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responsible for maintaining discipline in the state

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swore with king that they would both perform their duties, sign of tremendous social and political upheaval

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similar to tribunate in Roman government, a permanent revolutionary office that becomes a central unit in the state

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unparalleled elsewhere in Greek world

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Perioeci [pair-ee-OH-see]

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people had their dwellings around the perimeter

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free but certianly not citizens

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managed trade with outside world

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"a remarkably undocumented group"

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Helots [HEE-lots]

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massive group

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descendants of the original Messenians who had been conquered by the Spartans

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forced into a kind of servitude

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treated always and only as subordinates

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were made to were dog-skin caps as a sign of their low status

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they could be abused by any Spartan

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had to provide agricultural labor

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kept in line by a state terrorism

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what kind of community was this?

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was it a kingship? sort of

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was it an oligarchy? sort of.

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was it a radical democracy? sort of.

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was it a military utopia? sort of.

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this system, as different as it was, as odd as it was, worked for hundreds of years

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One thing for sure is that Sparta was a community that has delighted political theorists throughout the ages.

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Features of Spartan life

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Agoge [ah-goh-GAY]

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began at birth: it was scrutinized by one fo the ephors, if it showed any signs of illness, weakness, or disability, the ephor could order that it be exposed to die

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raised until the age of seven

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Spartan girls were raised with boys up until adolescense, very different from rest of Greece

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Spartan women had a notorious degree of freedom compared to other parts of Greece

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ages 7-13

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elementary education

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exercise, dance, requires you to follow directions

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ages 13-20

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boys and girls separated

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boys

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restricted to one garment

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go barefoot

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take daily baths in the icy water of the Eurotus

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taught obediance, disobediance punished harshly

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fed on a notorious gruel, said to be made of pig's blood

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expected to supplement this diet with stealing but if they were caught stealing they were punished. You can start to see where this si heading

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story: boy steals fox, hides under cloak, begins gnawing but he keeps it covered and secret until he drops over dead from his wounds and becomes an emblem of virtue in the face of suffereing.

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age 20

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full-scale Hoplite training

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citizen solider, Sparta had become a Hoplite Republic

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training was rigorous and violent and emphasized the idea of the utter dedication of the individual to the state

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age 30

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those who made it through applied to Syssitia, an eating club

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given an allotment of land worked for them by helots which they had to keep under control

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helots

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krypteia [krip-TAY-ah]

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best fighters were sent out on secret missions at night to kill helots, would target those which were big, strong or charismatic

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helot threat was different than in the rest of Greece since helots had an ethnic identity, they were all Messenians

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homoioi [ha-MOY-yoy]

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the "like ones", peers

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warriors who were given equal tracts of land

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goddess Artemis

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both hunter and warrior

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sister of Apollo

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one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities

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Roman equivalent Diana

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daughter of Zeus and Leto

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Leto

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daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe and the sister of Asteria

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island of Kos is claimed as her birthplace

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Zeus is the father of her twins: Apollo and Artemis

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Hera in her jealousy had caused all lands to shun her, so she looked for a place to give birth to her twins Apollo and Artemis

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protector of young girls, childbirth, virginity

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compare: Ares symbolized negative aspects of war such as anger and hatred, while Athena represented positive aspects such as strategy and combat.

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shrine of Artemis Orthia

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Artemis has a bird dead clutched in each hand

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a site of testing for Spartan youths

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cheeses were piled up and guarded by men with whips, the hungry boys were expected to try to steal them and endured blood-drawing blows to get to the food

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Herodotus (484-425)

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Father of History

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first historian known to collect materials systematically, test accuracy to a certain extent, and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative

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one work: The Histories

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wrote about the Spartans

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a kind of Utopia

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limited area

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pure population

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utter devotion of citizen to community

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marshal valor

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resistance to change

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makes it a kind of never, never land

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a response to many of the stresses of the archaic age

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economic inequality

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legally or ideologically outlawed

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hoplite warfare

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make it the basis of your state

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long hair

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going into battle they would comb out their long hair

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a society that was admired, scrutinized, and never imitated

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From Plato's Laws, the anonymous Athenian says to his Spartan companion: One of the best laws you have is that citizens were forbidden to inquire into the relative merits of the laws, everyone has to agree with one heart and voice that they are excellent, and if anyone says differently, the citizens must absolutely refuse to listen to them.' Welcome to Sparta."