Only members of the “community of equals” - the Spartiates - were full citizens in Sparta. Representing a small minority and under constant threat of an uprising by the oppressed helots, the Spartiates turned their community into a military camp. Every Spartan was a warrior from his youth until the end of his life. Even in peacetime, men were part of “enomoties” (partnerships) and were obliged to engage in physical exercise and hunting. Members of the enomoty even ate together, making certain contributions for the organization of common meals.
Sparta was a predominantly agrarian city, in which primitive forms of slavery predominated. Its relative geographical isolation from other Greek cities determined its socio-economic backwardness. All this taken together contributed to the transformation of Sparta into a stronghold of reaction in Greece.
The political system of Sparta had its own characteristics. The policy was governed by two hereditary kings, limited in their actions by a council of elders - a gerousia, consisting of 30 geronts, including two kings. The most important political issues, after being considered by the gerusia, were submitted to the approval of the people's assembly, which had no legislative power, but simply approved or rejected the proposal of the gerusia. From the second half of the 5th century BC. e. Five ephors began to play a major role in governance. The ephors, who usually expressed the interests of the reactionary oligarchy, controlled the activities of all governing bodies of the policy.
Despite the fact that Sparta was considered a “community of equals,” politically it was an aristocratic system, expressed in the dominance of a few aristocratic families. By its class character it was a slave-owning military state, the entire public relations which contributed to the creation of a small but efficient army of slave owners.
The Spartan education system had the goal of developing a warrior out of every Spartan. The Spartans paid main attention to the development of physical strength, endurance and courage. Physical strength, fearlessness and agility were highly valued in Sparta. Less attention was paid to developing cultural skills, although every Spartan was required to be able to read and write.
The warrior was required to submit unconditionally to senior commanders. The orders of elders were subject to mandatory fulfillment. Elements of military discipline were instilled in the future warrior from school. The Spartan was ready to die rather than leave his combat post. The armies of eastern despotism did not have such discipline. Public opinion played a major role in strengthening military discipline among the Spartans, but corporal punishment was also used. In their songs, the Spartans glorified brave warriors and condemned cowards.
“It’s nice to lose your life, among the valiant warriors who fell,
To a brave husband in battle for the sake of his fatherland...
Young men, fight, standing in rows, do not be an example
Flight of the shameful or cowardice pitiful to others...
Let him, taking a wide step and placing his feet on the ground,
Everyone stands in place, lips pressed with teeth,
Hips and lower legs and your chest along with your shoulders
Covered with a convex circle of a shield, strong with copper;
Tightly closing chest to chest, let everyone fight with enemies,
Squeezing the hilt of a necklace or sword with your hand"
(Tyrteus).
From 7 to 20 years old, a Spartan underwent training, after which he became a full citizen. School education was designed to develop contempt for luxury, obedience, endurance, physical strength and courage. Teenagers were raised in harsh conditions: they were often forced to starve, endure hardships and were often punished. Most of the time was devoted to running, wrestling, and throwing the javelin and discus. Much attention was paid to war games.
“My wealth,” says one Spartan song, “is my spear, my sword, my glorious helmet, the strength of my body. With their help I cultivate the land, collect grain and prepare wine from my vineyards; thanks to them, I am the master of my servants...” These words express the class basis for the upbringing and training of Spartan warriors - they had to ensure their dominance.
Music, singing, and dancing were also aimed at developing the qualities necessary for warriors. Warlike music was supposed to excite courage; the dances depicted individual moments of the battle.
Much attention was paid to the development of a military language. The Spartans were famous for their ability to speak concisely and clearly. From Laconia came the expressions “laconism”, “laconic”, i.e. briefly and clearly, as the inhabitants of Laconia used to say. “With him or on him,” the mother said to her son, handing the shield (with him - the winner, on him - the dead). When the Persian king at Thermopylae demanded that the Greeks hand over their weapons and shields, they answered him: “Come and take it.”
Spartan warriors were trained to walk in step and make simple changes. They already had elements of drill training, which were further developed in the Roman army. Among the Spartans, training prevailed over education, which was determined by the nature of the battle of that time.
Military reviews were periodically organized to check combat readiness. Anyone who appeared at the inspection as having gained weight beyond the norm established for a warrior was subject to punishment. Military shows ended with competitions.
All Spartans were considered liable for military service from 20 to 60 years of age and were distributed according to age and territorial groups. Ephors usually enlisted younger and middle-aged people (up to 40 years) into the active army. All those enlisted in the army were required to report for service with their own weapons and food; The exception was the kings and their retinue, who received support during the campaign at the expense of the state.
The Spartans' weapons were heavy. They had a spear short sword and protective weapons: a round shield attached to the neck, a helmet that protected the head, armor on the chest and greaves on the legs. The weight of protective weapons reached 30 kg. Such a heavily armed fighter was called a hoplite. Each hoplite had a servant - a helot, who carried his defensive weapons during the campaign.
The Spartan army also included lightly armed fighters chosen from the residents mountainous areas. Lightly armed warriors had a light spear, javelin or bow and arrows. They had no defensive weapons. The dart was thrown at a distance of 20-60 m, the arrow hit at a distance of 100-200 m. Lightly armed warriors usually covered the flanks order of battle. The core of the Spartan army was made up of hoplites, whose numbers ranged from 2-6 thousand people. There were significantly more lightly armed forces; in some battles there were several tens of thousands of them.
The hoplites were initially divided into 5 suckers, and by the end of the 5th century BC. e. The Spartan army had 8 suckers. In the 4th century BC. e. organizational structure The Spartan army became even more complicated. The lowest division was the brotherhood or double enomoty (64 people); two brotherhoods made up the pentiokostis (128 people); two pentiocostis formed a lox (256 individuals); four suckers constituted a mora (1024 people). Thus, among the Spartans we see a clear organizational structure of the army. But in battle these units did not act independently.
All hoplites were part of one phalanx (monolith), which was a linear formation of spearmen; A phalanx is a closely knit linear formation of hoplites several ranks deep for combat. The phalanx arose from the close formation of clan and tribal detachments; it was the military expression of the finally formed Greek slave state. Strengthened political power had the opportunity to equalize warriors who were unequal in socio-economic terms in the ranks and unite them with military discipline to achieve victory in battle in the interests of the entire polis. The technical prerequisite for the emergence of the phalanx was the development of the production of uniform weapons.
The Spartan phalanx was built eight ranks deep. The distance between the ranks on the move was 2 m, during an attack - 1 m, when repelling an attack - 0.5 m. With a strength of 8 thousand people, the length of the phalanx along the front reached 1 km. Therefore, the phalanx could not move long distances without disrupting its formation, could not operate on rough terrain, and could not pursue the enemy.
The phalanx is not only a formation, but also the battle formation of the Greek army. She always acted as a single whole. The Spartans considered it tactically inappropriate to divide their phalanx into smaller units. The chief ensured that order in the phalanx was not disturbed. Strength The phalanx was her blow, a short attack. In close formation she was also strong in defense. Before the battle of Leuctra (371 BC), the Spartan phalanx was considered invincible. Its weak point was its flanks, especially the flanks of the first rank, which was the first to deliver or repel an attack. The warriors held the shield in their left hand, their right shoulder was open, and it was covered by their right-flank neighbor. But no one was covering the first right flanker. Therefore, the most powerful and well-armed fighters were stationed here. As a result, the right flank of the phalanx was stronger than the left flank.
The battle formation was not limited to the phalanx. Lightly armed archers and slingers with stones provided the phalanx from the front, started battles, and with the beginning of the offensive, the phalanx retreated to its flanks and rear to provide them. The attack was frontal and the tactics were very simple. There was hardly even the most basic tactical maneuvering on the battlefield. When constructing the battle formation, only the ratio of the length of the front and the depth of the phalanx formation was taken into account. The outcome of the battle was decided by such qualities of warriors as courage, stamina, physical strength, individual dexterity and especially the cohesion of the phalanx based on military discipline and combat training.
The Spartan army made marches quickly. Hills were usually chosen for the camp, and if it was necessary to set it up on level ground, it was surrounded by a ditch and rampart. Only the Spartans and Perioks were placed in the camp, the helots were located outside it. A small number of horsemen advanced towards the enemy to perform guard duty. The responsibility for setting up and protecting the camp lay with the head of the convoy. Gymnastic and military exercises in the camp were carried out as regularly as in Sparta itself.
The supreme command of the Spartan army was exercised by one of the kings, under whom there was a selected bodyguard detachment of 300 noble youths. The king was usually on the right flank of the battle formation. His orders were carried out accurately and quickly.
The Spartans had a small army, qualitatively different from the troops of the eastern type. The troops of the eastern despotisms did not have a unified recruitment system; they did not have a clear organizational structure, complete uniformity of weapons and equipment, regular training, a system for educating soldiers, uniform principles of discipline, or established battle formations. The Greek army had all this, although it took the form of a militia rather than a standing army. Eastern despotisms disposed as a whole or as an integral part standing army, but it did not have the elements of a regular army inherent in the Greek militia, which can well be called a regular, although not a standing army. The militia is an army that is not constantly maintained by the state, but is assembled only for the duration of the war and is disbanded at the end of it. In peacetime, soldiers gathered at short time for training.
The weak point of the Spartan military system was the complete lack of technical means of combat. The Spartans did not know siege art until the second half of the 4th century BC. e. They also did not know how to build defensive structures. The Spartan fleet was extremely weak. During the Greco-Persian War of 480 BC. e. Sparta could field only 10-15 ships.
My military system and the Spartans developed the organization in the numerous wars that they waged with the inhabitants of Messenia and Argolid in VIII - 7th centuries BC e. In the middle of the 8th century, the Spartans attacked Messenia and, after tens of years of stubborn struggle, enslaved the population of this area. At the same time, they took away the southern part of Argolis from the inhabitants of Argos and made the population of most of the Peloponnese dependent on Sparta. By the second half of the 6th century BC. e. Sparta's hegemony was recognized by almost all regions of the Peloponnese, which were included (except Argos) in the Peloponnesian League, led by the Spartans, the most significant of the political associations of Greece of that period.
Relying on the Peloponnesian League, Sparta began to influence the course of political life other regions of Greece, actively supporting aristocratic elements in the policies of Central Greece. Sparta retained its political dominance until the middle of the 5th century BC. e., when it clashed with another strong Greek city - Athens.
Corinthian War
Cleomenes' War
War against Nabis
Structure and characteristics of the Spartan army
The Spartan army is first mentioned in the Iliad. In the treatise “Government of the Lacedaemonians,” Xenophon talks in detail about how the Spartan army was organized in his time.
The Spartan's armament consisted of a spear, a short sword and protective weapons: a round shield, a helmet, a chest armor and leggings. The weight of protective weapons reached 30 kg. A heavily armed fighter was called a hoplite. The Spartan army also included lightly armed fighters, whose weapons consisted of a light spear, a dart or a bow with arrows. The basis of the Spartan army were hoplites, numbering about 5-6 thousand people.
The hoplites were initially divided into 5 suckers, and by the end of the 5th century BC. e. the Spartan army had 8 suckers. In the 4th century BC. e. The organizational structure of the Spartan army became even more complicated. The lowest division was brotherhood or enomoty (64 people); two brotherhoods made up the pentiokostis (128 people); two pentiocostis formed a lox (256 individuals); four suckers constituted a mora (1024 people). All hoplites were part of one phalanx, which was a linear formation of spearmen. The Spartan phalanx was built eight ranks deep. The distance between the ranks on the move was 2 m, during an attack - 1 m, when repelling an attack - 0.5 m. With a strength of 8 thousand people, the length of the phalanx along the front reached 1 km. Therefore, the phalanx could not move long distances without disrupting its formation, could not operate on rough terrain, and could not pursue the enemy. Before the battle of Leuctra (371 BC), the Spartan phalanx was considered invincible.
The clearest example of Spartan courage was the Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartan hoplites were part of a four-thousand-strong Greek contingent for a long time held back the army of King Xerxes I during the Greco-Persian Wars.
After the Peloponnesian War, Sparta became the dominant state in Greece for 4 decades.
In 146 BC. e. all of Greece falls under Roman rule and becomes the Roman province of Achaea. At the same time, Sparta and Athens received the rights of self-government within their territory, as a sign of memory of their former glory.
Research literature
- Andreev Yu. V. Spartan “riders” // Bulletin ancient history. - 1969. - No. 4. - pp. 24-36.
- Sections:
- Permanent territorial expansion of the Dorian community of Lacedaemon (pp. 28-42);
- Spartiates: military functions and status (pp. 49-51);
- Perieki: military functions and status (pp. 76-81);
- Helots: military functions and changes legal status(pp. 99-107).
- Zaikov A.V.// News of the Ural state university. - 2009. - No. 1/2 (63). - pp. 175-188.
- Zaikov A.V.// News of the Ural Federal University. Ser. 2, Humanities. - 2015. - No. 4 (145). - pp. 125-132.
- // Mnemon: research and publications on the history of the ancient world. No. 11. St. Petersburg, 2012. pp. 65-100.
see also
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Excerpt characterizing the Army of Sparta
“Yes, everything is forward, and forward in the meadow, and here,” answered Rostov, stroking his soaring bottom with his hand.“And in French, your Excellency,” Lavrushka said from behind, calling his sled nag French, “I would have overtaken, but I just didn’t want to embarrass him.”
They walked up to the barn, near which stood a large crowd of men.
Some men took off their hats, some, without taking off their hats, looked at those who had arrived. Two long old men, with wrinkled faces and sparse beards, came out of the tavern and, smiling, swaying and singing some awkward song, approached the officers.
- Well done! - Rostov said, laughing. - What, do you have any hay?
“And they are the same...” said Ilyin.
“Vesve...oo...oooo...barking bese...bese...” the men sang with happy smiles.
One man came out of the crowd and approached Rostov.
- What kind of people will you be? - he asked.
“The French,” Ilyin answered, laughing. “Here is Napoleon himself,” he said, pointing to Lavrushka.
- So, you will be Russian? – the man asked.
- How much of your strength is there? – asked another small man, approaching them.
“Many, many,” answered Rostov. - Why are you gathered here? - he added. - A holiday, or what?
“The old people have gathered on worldly business,” the man answered, moving away from him.
At this time, along the road from the manor's house, two women and a man in a white hat appeared, walking towards the officers.
- Mine in pink, don’t bother me! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha resolutely moving towards him.
- Ours will be! – Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink.
- What, my beauty, do you need? - Ilyin said, smiling.
- The princess ordered to find out what regiment you are and your last names?
- This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant.
- B...se...e...du...shka! - the drunk man sang, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin talking to the girl. Following Dunyasha, Alpatych approached Rostov, taking off his hat from afar.
“I dare to bother you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the youth of this officer and putting his hand in his bosom. “My lady, the daughter of General Chief Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died this fifteenth, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons,” he pointed to the men, “asks you to come... would you like,” Alpatych said with a sad smile, “to leave a few, otherwise it’s not so convenient when... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around him from behind, like horseflies around a horse.
- A!.. Alpatych... Eh? Yakov Alpatych!.. Important! forgive for Christ's sake. Important! Eh?.. – the men said, smiling joyfully at him. Rostov looked at the drunken old men and smiled.
– Or perhaps this consoles your Excellency? - said Yakov Alpatych with a sedate look, pointing at the old people with his hand not tucked into his bosom.
“No, there’s little consolation here,” Rostov said and drove off. - What's the matter? - he asked.
“I dare to report to your excellency that the rude people here do not want to let the lady out of the estate and threaten to turn away the horses, so in the morning everything is packed and her ladyship cannot leave.”
- Can't be! - Rostov screamed.
“I have the honor to report to you the absolute truth,” Alpatych repeated.
Rostov got off his horse and, handing it over to the messenger, went with Alpatych to the house, asking him about the details of the case. Indeed, yesterday’s offer of bread from the princess to the peasants, her explanation with Dron and the gathering spoiled the matter so much that Dron finally handed over the keys, joined the peasants and did not appear at Alpatych’s request, and that in the morning, when the princess ordered to lay money to go, the peasants came out in a large crowd to the barn and sent to say that they would not let the princess out of the village, that there was an order not to be taken out, and they would unharness the horses. Alpatych came out to them, admonishing them, but they answered him (Karp spoke most of all; Dron did not appear from the crowd) that the princess could not be released, that there was an order for that; but let the princess stay, and they will serve her as before and obey her in everything.
At that moment, when Rostov and Ilyin galloped along the road, Princess Marya, despite the dissuading of Alpatych, the nanny and the girls, ordered the laying and wanted to go; but, seeing the galloping cavalrymen, they were mistaken for the French, the coachmen fled, and the crying of women arose in the house.
- Father! dear father! “God sent you,” said tender voices, while Rostov walked through the hallway.
Princess Marya, lost and powerless, sat in the hall while Rostov was brought to her. She did not understand who he was, and why he was, and what would happen to her. Seeing his Russian face and recognizing him from his entrance and the first words he spoke as a man of her circle, she looked at him with her deep and radiant gaze and began to speak in a voice that was broken and trembling with emotion. Rostov immediately imagined something romantic in this meeting. “A defenseless, grief-stricken girl, alone, left at the mercy of rude, rebellious men! And some strange fate pushed me here! - Rostov thought, listening to her and looking at her. - And what meekness, nobility in her features and expression! – he thought, listening to her timid story.
When she spoke about the fact that all this happened the day after her father’s funeral, her voice trembled. She turned away and then, as if afraid that Rostov would take her words for a desire to pity him, she looked at him inquiringly and fearfully. Rostov had tears in his eyes. Princess Marya noticed this and looked gratefully at Rostov with that radiant look of hers, which made one forget the ugliness of her face.
“I can’t express, princess, how happy I am that I came here by chance and will be able to show you my readiness,” said Rostov, getting up. “Please go, and I answer you with my honor that not a single person will dare to make trouble for you, if you only allow me to escort you,” and, bowing respectfully, as they bow to ladies royal blood, he headed towards the door.
By the respectful tone of his tone, Rostov seemed to show that, despite the fact that he would consider his acquaintance with her a blessing, he did not want to take advantage of the opportunity of her misfortune to get closer to her.
Princess Marya understood and appreciated this tone.
“I am very, very grateful to you,” the princess told him in French, “but I hope that all this was just a misunderstanding and that no one is to blame for it.” “The princess suddenly began to cry. “Excuse me,” she said.
Rostov, frowning, bowed deeply again and left the room.
- Well, honey? No, brother, my pink beauty, and their name is Dunyasha... - But, looking at Rostov’s face, Ilyin fell silent. He saw that his hero and commander was in a completely different way of thinking.
Rostov looked back angrily at Ilyin and, without answering him, quickly walked towards the village.
“I’ll show them, I’ll give them a hard time, the robbers!” - he said to himself.
Alpatych, at a swimming pace, so as not to run, barely caught up with Rostov at a trot.
– What decision did you decide to make? - he said, catching up with him.
The main force of the Spartan army was the heavily armed infantry (hoplites). The hoplite's weapons were a long shield and a large, long spear. The highest tactical units of this infantry were the moras. Moras were subdivided into suckers, which were divided into smaller units. At each level of division, a combat unit was able to deftly and accurately, without confusion, carry out all sorts of evolutions, maneuvering either alone or together with others. The leaders of the lochs were called lohagi, the leaders of the pestilence were called polemarchs; these were experienced army leaders.
Hoplites of the Athenian (left) and Spartan (right) armies
The Spartan army usually set out on a campaign during the full moon. Before the campaign, the Spartan king made a sacrifice. In order for the army to march, it was necessary that the omens given by the sacrifice be favorable. In front of the army they carried fire taken from Sparta to light fires during marching sacrifices; carried an ancient wooden image of the embraced Dioscuri, the patrons of Sparta, who were for the Spartans the ideals of both courage and fraternal union between comrades in arms. On the border, the king made a sacrifice to Zeus and Athena, before the battle, a sacrifice also to Zeus and Athena, and in addition to Eros and the Muses - Eros because success depended on the unanimity of the warriors, and to the Muses so that they would maintain harmony, order, and reminded the soldiers of songs that aroused courage.
Lambda sign - emblem of the Spartan army
The Spartans gave the army camp round shape, they strengthened it only slightly, but the guards were kept very carefully, and the helots stationed around it especially sensitively guarded the camp. Everyone who walked through the camp had to have his own spear with him. But in general, life in the army camp was freer than in Sparta, and they dressed more elegantly in the camp. Instead of a cloak made of coarse fabric, the warriors in the camp wore purple clothes, instead of a thick stick, shiny weapons; they combed their hair more carefully long hair, and when going to battle, the soldiers of the Spartan army put on wreaths, as if they were going to a holiday. With the singing of the battle anthem and the sound of flutes, the phalanx went into battle in orderly ranks, each filled with a thirst for glory and confidence in victory. The squad leaders walked in the front row. The discipline and organization of the Spartan army was so strong, the art of maneuvering was so great that every evolution, every change of front, even if completely sudden, was carried out easily and without confusion. The ranks of the Spartan army were never upset; the warriors fought unwaveringly, with the determination not to disgrace Sparta, to win or die.
The timid ones who fled from the battlefield were deprived of honor and lived despised by everyone. Those deprived of honor (Atimoi) were deprived of all civil rights, were excluded from sissitia and from participating in conversations of Spartan citizens. At holidays they were placed in a special place and on all possible occasions they experienced contempt and ridicule from everyone. They had to wear a cloak of multi-colored rags, shave half their heads, and give way to everyone, even young men. No one spoke to them, no one gave them fire from their hearth; Citizens could not marry their daughters and did not give their daughters for them.
Spartan army warrior
That's how it was Ancient Sparta, about which Terpander sang that “it shines, there are the weapons of youths and songs sound loudly, and the law rules,” and about which Pindar sang that “it shines with the wisdom of the elders and the spears of strong men and the joy of holidays with dancing and singing.” At the great Carnean festival, in the summer heat, gymnastic games with singing and dancing of choirs were performed in front of the kings, gerusia and the entire government by citizens. The choir of elders sang: “We were brave and strong men.” The chorus of Spartan men answered: “We are like this now; whoever wants, try it”; the boys' choir sang: “and over time we will be even braver and stronger.”
In the southeast of the largest Greek peninsula - the Peloponnese - the powerful Sparta was once located. This state was located in the region of Laconia, in the picturesque valley of the Eurotas River. Its official name, which was most often mentioned in international treaties, - Lacedaemon. It was from this state that such concepts as “Spartan” and “Spartan” came. Everyone has also heard about the cruel custom that has developed in this ancient polis: killing weak newborns in order to maintain the gene pool of their nation.
History of origin
Officially, Sparta, which was called Lacedaemon (from this word also came the name of the nome - Laconia), arose in the eleventh century BC. After some time, the entire area on which this city-state was located was captured by the Dorian tribes. Those, having assimilated with the local Achaeans, became Spartakiates in the sense known today, and the former inhabitants were turned into slaves called helots.
The most Doric of all the states that Ancient Greece once knew, Sparta, was located on the western bank of Eurotas, on the site of the modern city of the same name. Its name can be translated as “scattered.” It consisted of estates and estates that were scattered throughout Laconia. And the center was a low hill, which later became known as the acropolis. Sparta originally had no walls and remained true to this principle until the second century BC.
State system of Sparta
It was based on the principle of the unity of all full-fledged citizens of the polis. For this purpose, the state and law of Sparta strictly regulated the life and life of its subjects, restraining their property stratification. The foundations of such a social system were laid by the treaty of the legendary Lycurgus. According to him, the duties of the Spartans were only sports or the art of war, and crafts, agriculture and trade were the work of the helots and perioecs.
As a result, the system established by Lycurgus transformed the Spartiate military democracy into an oligarchic-slave-owning republic, which still retained some signs of a tribal system. Here, land was not allowed, which was divided into equal plots, considered the property of the community and not subject to sale. Helot slaves also, historians suggest, belonged to the state rather than to wealthy citizens.
Sparta is one of the few states that was simultaneously headed by two kings, who were called archagets. Their power was inherited. The powers that each king of Sparta had were limited not only to military power, but also to the organization of sacrifices, as well as to participation in the council of elders.
The latter was called gerusia and consisted of two archagets and twenty-eight geronts. The elders were elected by the people's assembly for life only from the Spartan nobility who had reached the age of sixty. Gerusia in Sparta performed the functions of a certain government body. She prepared issues that needed to be discussed at public assemblies, and also led foreign policy. In addition, the Council of Elders considered criminal cases, as well as state crimes, including those directed against the archaget.
Court
The legal proceedings and law of ancient Sparta were regulated by the college of ephors. This organ first appeared in the eighth century BC. It consisted of the five most worthy citizens of the state, who were elected by the people's assembly for only one year. At first, the powers of the ephors were limited only to the legal proceedings of property disputes. But already in the sixth century BC their power and powers were growing. Gradually they begin to displace gerusia. The ephors were given the right to convene a national assembly and gerousia, regulate foreign policy, implement internal management Sparta and its legal proceedings. This body was so important in the social structure of the state that its powers included monitoring officials, including the archaget.
People's Assembly
Sparta is an example of an aristocratic state. In order to suppress the forced population, whose representatives were called helots, the development of private property was artificially restrained in order to maintain equality among the Spartiates themselves.
The Apella, or popular assembly, in Sparta was characterized by passivity. Only full-fledged male citizens who had reached the age of thirty had the right to participate in this body. At first, the people's assembly was convened by the archaget, but subsequently its leadership also passed to the college of ephors. Apella could not discuss the issues put forward, she only rejected or accepted the solution she proposed. Members of the national assembly voted in a very primitive way: by shouting or dividing participants into different sides, after which the majority was determined by eye.
Population
The inhabitants of the Lacedaemonian state have always been class-unequal. This situation was created by the social system of Sparta, which included three classes: the elite, the perieki - free residents from nearby cities who did not have the right to vote, as well as state slaves - helots.
The Spartans, who were in privileged conditions, were exclusively engaged in war. They were far from trade, crafts and Agriculture, all this was handed over to the perieks as a right. At the same time, the estates of the elite Spartans were cultivated by helots, whom the latter rented from the state. During the heyday of the state, there were five times fewer nobility than perieks, and ten times fewer helots.
All periods of the existence of this one of the most ancient states can be divided into prehistoric, ancient, classical, Roman and Each of them left its mark not only in the formation ancient state Sparta. Greece borrowed a lot from this history in the process of its formation.
Prehistoric era
The Leleges initially lived on the Laconian lands, but after the capture of the Peloponnese by the Dorians, this region, which was always considered the most infertile and generally insignificant, as a result of deception, went to two minor sons of the legendary king Aristodemus - Eurysthenes and Proclus.
Soon Sparta became the main city of Lacedaemon, whose system for a long time did not stand out among the other Doric states. She kept constant external wars with neighboring Argive or Arcadian cities. The most significant rise occurred during the reign of Lycurgus, the ancient Spartan legislator, to whom ancient historians unanimously attribute the political structure that subsequently dominated Sparta for several centuries.
Antique era
After victory in the wars lasting from 743 to 723 and from 685 to 668. BC, Sparta was able to finally defeat and capture Messenia. As a result, its ancient inhabitants were deprived of their lands and turned into helots. Six years later, Sparta, at the cost of incredible efforts, defeated the Arcadians, and in 660 BC. e. forced Tegea to recognize her hegemony. According to the agreement stored on the column placed near Althea, she forced her to enter into a military alliance. It was from this time that Sparta in the eyes of the people began to be considered the first state of Greece.
The history of Sparta at this stage is that its inhabitants began to make attempts to overthrow the tyrants that had been appearing since the seventh millennium BC. e. in almost all Greek states. It was the Spartans who helped expel the Cypselids from Corinth, the Pisistrati from Athens, they contributed to the liberation of Sikyon and Phocis, as well as several islands in the Aegean Sea, thereby acquiring grateful supporters in different states.
History of Sparta in the classical era
Having concluded an alliance with Tegea and Elis, the Spartans began to attract the rest of the cities of Laconia and neighboring regions to their side. As a result, the Peloponnesian League was formed, in which Sparta assumed hegemony. These were wonderful times for her: she provided leadership in wars, was the center of meetings and all meetings of the Union, without encroaching on the independence of individual states that maintained autonomy.
Sparta never tried to extend its own power to the Peloponnese, but the threat of danger prompted all other states, with the exception of Argos, to come under its protection during the Greco-Persian wars. Having eliminated the immediate danger, the Spartans, realizing that they were unable to wage war with the Persians far from their own borders, did not object when Athens took further leadership in the war, limiting itself only to the peninsula.
From that time on, signs of rivalry between these two states began to appear, which subsequently resulted in the First, which ended with the Thirty Years' Peace. The fighting not only broke the power of Athens and established the hegemony of Sparta, but also led to a gradual violation of its foundations - the legislation of Lycurgus.
As a result, in 397 before our chronology, the uprising of Kinadon took place, which, however, was not crowned with success. However, after certain setbacks, especially the defeat at the Battle of Cnidus in 394 BC. e, Sparta ceded Asia Minor, but became a judge and mediator in Greek affairs, thus motivating its policy with the freedom of all states, and was able to secure primacy in an alliance with Persia. And only Thebes did not submit to the conditions set, thereby depriving Sparta of the benefits of such a shameful peace for her.
Hellenistic and Roman era
Starting from these years, the state began to decline quite quickly. Impoverished and burdened with the debts of its citizens, Sparta, whose system was based on the legislation of Lycurgus, turned into an empty form of government. An alliance was concluded with the Phocians. And although the Spartans sent them help, they did not provide real support. In the absence of King Agis, with the help of money received from Darius, an attempt was made to get rid of the Macedonian yoke. But he, having failed in the battles of Megapolis, was killed. The spirit that Sparta was so famous for, which had become a household name, gradually began to disappear.
Rise of an Empire
Sparta is a state that for three centuries was the envy of all of Ancient Greece. Between the eighth and fifth centuries BC, it was a collection of hundreds of cities, often at war with each other. One of the key figures for the establishment of Sparta as a powerful and strong state was Lycurgus. Before his appearance, it was not much different from the rest of the ancient Greek city-states. But with the arrival of Lycurgus, the situation changed, and priorities in development were given to the art of war. From that moment on, Lacedaemon began to transform. And it was during this period that it flourished.
Since the eighth century BC. e. Sparta began to wage wars of conquest, conquering one after another its neighbors in the Peloponnese. After a series of successful military operations, Sparta moved on to establishing diplomatic ties with its most powerful opponents. Having concluded several treaties, Lacedaemon stood at the head of the union of the Peloponnesian states, which was considered one of the powerful formations of Ancient Greece. The creation of this alliance by Sparta was supposed to serve to repel the Persian invasion.
The state of Sparta has been a mystery to historians. The Greeks not only admired its citizens, but feared them. One type of bronze shields and scarlet cloaks worn by the warriors of Sparta put their opponents to flight, forcing them to capitulate.
Not only the enemies, but also the Greeks themselves did not really like it when an army, even a small one, was located next to them. Everything was explained very simply: the warriors of Sparta had a reputation of being invincible. The sight of their phalanxes brought even the most seasoned into a state of panic. And although only a small number of fighters took part in the battles in those days, they never lasted long.
The beginning of the decline of the empire
But at the beginning of the fifth century BC. e. a massive invasion from the East marked the beginning of the decline of Sparta's power. The huge Persian empire, which always dreamed of expanding its territories, sent a large army to Greece. Two hundred thousand people stood at the borders of Hellas. But the Greeks, led by the Spartans, accepted the challenge.
Tsar Leonidas
Being the son of Anaxandrides, this king belonged to the Agiad dynasty. After the death of his older brothers, Dorieus and Clemen the First, it was Leonidas who took over the reign. Sparta in 480 years before our chronology was in a state of war with Persia. And the name of Leonidas is associated with the immortal feat of the Spartans, when a battle took place in the Thermopylae Gorge, which remained in history for centuries.
This happened in 480 BC. e., when the hordes of the Persian king Xerxes tried to capture the narrow passage connecting Central Greece with Thessaly. At the head of the troops, including the allied ones, was Tsar Leonid. Sparta at that time occupied a leading position among friendly states. But Xerxes, taking advantage of the betrayal of the dissatisfied, bypassed the Thermopylae Gorge and went behind the rear of the Greeks.
Having learned about this, Leonidas, who fought along with his soldiers, disbanded the allied troops, sending them home. And he himself, with a handful of warriors, whose number was only three hundred people, stood in the way of the twenty-thousand-strong Persian army. The Thermopylae Gorge was strategic for the Greeks. In case of defeat, they would be cut off from Central Greece, and their fate would be sealed.
For four days, the Persians were unable to break the incomparably smaller enemy forces. The heroes of Sparta fought like lions. But the forces were unequal.
The fearless warriors of Sparta died every single one. Their king Leonidas fought with them to the end, who did not want to abandon his comrades.
The name Leonid will forever go down in history. Chroniclers, including Herodotus, wrote: “Many kings have died and have long been forgotten. But everyone knows and respects Leonid. His name will always be remembered in Sparta, Greece. And not because he was a king, but because he fulfilled his duty to his homeland to the end and died as a hero. Films have been made and books have been written about this episode in the life of the heroic Hellenes.
Feat of the Spartans
The Persian king Xerxes, who was haunted by the dream of capturing Hellas, invaded Greece in 480 BC. At this time, the Hellenes held the Olympic Games. The Spartans were preparing to celebrate Carnei.
Both of these holidays obliged the Greeks to observe a sacred truce. This was precisely one of the main reasons why only a small detachment resisted the Persians in the Thermopylae Gorge.
A detachment of three hundred Spartans led by King Leonidas headed towards Xerxes’ army of thousands. Warriors were selected based on whether they had children. On the way, Leonid's militia was joined by a thousand people each from Tegeans, Arcadians and Mantineans, as well as one hundred and twenty from Orkhomenes. Four hundred soldiers were sent from Corinth, three hundred from Phlius and Mycenae.
When this small army approached the Thermopylae Pass and saw the number of Persians, many soldiers became afraid and began to talk about retreat. Some of the allies proposed withdrawing to the peninsula to guard the Isthmus. However, others were outraged by this decision. Leonidas, ordering the army to remain in place, sent messengers to all cities asking for help, since they had too few soldiers to successfully repel the Persian attack.
For four whole days, King Xerxes, hoping that the Greeks would take flight, did not begin hostilities. But seeing that this was not happening, he sent the Cassians and Medes against them with the order to take Leonidas alive and bring him to him. They quickly attacked the Hellenes. Each onslaught of the Medes ended in huge losses, but others took the place of the fallen. It was then that it became clear to both the Spartans and Persians that Xerxes had many people, but few warriors among them. The battle lasted the whole day.
Having received a decisive rebuff, the Medes were forced to retreat. But they were replaced by the Persians, led by Hydarnes. Xerxes called them an “immortal” squad and hoped that they would easily finish off the Spartans. But in hand-to-hand combat, they, like the Medes, failed to achieve great success.
The Persians had to fight in close quarters, and with shorter spears, while the Hellenes had longer spears, which gave a certain advantage in this fight.
At night, the Spartans again attacked the Persian camp. They managed to kill many enemies, but their main goal was the defeat of Xerxes himself in the general turmoil. And only when it was dawn did the Persians see the small number of King Leonidas’s detachment. They pelted the Spartans with spears and finished them off with arrows.
The road to Central Greece was open for the Persians. Xerxes personally inspected the battlefield. Having found the dead Spartan king, he ordered him to cut off his head and put it on a stake.
There is a legend that King Leonidas, going to Thermopylae, clearly understood that he would die, so when his wife asked him during farewell what his orders would be, he ordered him to find a good husband and give birth to sons. This was the life position of the Spartans, who were ready to die for their Motherland on the battlefield in order to receive a crown of glory.
Beginning of the Peloponnesian War
After some time, the Greek city-states at war with each other united and were able to repel Xerxes. But, despite the joint victory over the Persians, the alliance between Sparta and Athens did not last long. In 431 BC. e. The Peloponnesian War broke out. And only several decades later was the Spartan state able to win.
But not everyone in Ancient Greece liked the supremacy of Lacedaemon. Therefore, half a century later, new ones broke out fighting. This time his rivals were Thebes, who and their allies managed to inflict a serious defeat on Sparta. As a result, the power of the state was lost.
Conclusion
This is exactly what ancient Sparta was like. She was one of the main contenders for primacy and supremacy in the ancient Greek picture of the world. Some milestones of Spartan history are sung in the works of the great Homer. The outstanding “Iliad” occupies a special place among them.
And now all that remains of this glorious polis are the ruins of some of its buildings and unfading glory. Legends about the heroism of its warriors, as well as a small town of the same name in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula, reached contemporaries.
Spartan army
In the treatise “Government of the Lacedaemonians,” Xenophon talks in detail about how the Spartan army was organized in his time, that is, around the beginning of the 4th century. BC. Unfortunately, the second source of information about the Spartan army, namely Thucydides' account of the First Battle of Mantinea, is not at all as good. Thucydides honestly admitted that he had great difficulty trying to find out anything about the structure of their army, and so he may have tried to reconstruct the picture using all the facts he knew - often mixing ancient and modern information. Xenophon's account is an eyewitness account and should be given preference.
This drawing, which depicts hoplites going into battle, is taken from a Corinthian vase of the 7th century. BC, discovered at Chigi in Etruria.
All men between the ages of 20 and 60 were required to serve in the army. The Spartan hoplites were armed in the same way as the rest of the Greeks, but they were easily distinguished by their red cloaks, which were a mandatory part of the attire. This red cloak became the symbol of the Spartan warrior. At the time of Xenophon, the Spartan loch consisted of 144 people, who were divided into four enomotii of 36 warriors each. All that has changed is the number of people in the enomotia; there were one and a half times more of them, so that the usual depth of the phalanx increased from eight ranks to twelve. At that time, there was a general tendency towards deeper phalanxes - perhaps due to the rise of Thebes, where the number of ranks was much greater. In general, we can say with a high degree of confidence that until the end of the 5th century. BC. The Spartans adhered to the “archaic sucker”, in which the number of ranks was eight. The Spartan army was organized in such a way that each unit, no matter how small, had its own commander and, possibly, also a commander in the back row. Such commanders, the Urags, most likely did not have any privileges, and the entire back row of the phalanx could consist of them. Each enomotia was divided into three rows and, accordingly, into six half-rows. The best warrior in each rank and half-row was his commander, and the second after him was his enemy. Enomotii were united in “fifty”, pentecostia, and each had its own commander - a penteconter. Two fifty made up the loch - the smallest tactical unit of the phalanx, commanded by the lohag. The entire Spartan army was divided into six parts, which were called moras (toga) and consisted of four suckers each. The commander of the pestilence was called a polemarch. In the phalanx, all senior commanders and rank leaders most likely stood in the first rank. Oenomotarchs, pentekonteri and lohagi usually took place at the head of the right rank of the combat unit they commanded. Cavalry was assigned to each sea. The detachment, which was also called a mora, consisted of approximately 60 horsemen. Such cavalry units did not appear immediately; they arose during the Peloponnesian War, towards the end of the 5th century. The first mora included hippeas. This was the name given to the 300 best hoplites of the Spartan army. They were chosen from men who were in the prime of life.
Organization of the Spartan army during the time of Xenophon (beginning of the 4th century BC). 1 - the smallest unit of the Spartan army - enomotia. It consisted of three rows of twelve people or six half-rows of six warriors each. They were commanded by the enomotarch. The two enomoties formed a pentecostia, commanded by a penteconter. 2 - loch, the main unit of the phalanx. It was composed of two pentecostia, or four enomotiae. This unit was commanded by Lohag Oospadoz). 3 - the pestilence was formed from four suckers (576 people), and it was commanded by a polemarch. The entire Spartan army consisted of six moras and was subordinate to the king. Legend: L - lohag, P - pentekonter, E - enomotarch.
Every year the ephors elected three people, the Hippagretae, whose duty was to find a hundred people each to make them Hippaeans. They were on the right wing of the army and served as the king's bodyguards. It is possible that only one who had sons could become a hippeus, for the Spartans treated with disdain those who did not fulfill their duty and did not produce the next generation of hoplites. This may explain Herodotus's account of the Spartans having sons in his account of the Battle of Thermopylae.
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