Ancient Sparta- an ancient state, a city-polis, located in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, in the Peloponnese.

The name of the province of Laconia gave the second name to the Spartan state in the ancient period of history - Lacedaemon.

History of origin

In world history, Sparta is known as an example of a militarized state, in which the activities of each member of society are subordinated to a single goal - to raise a strong and healthy warrior.

In the ancient period of history in the south of the Peloponnese, there were two fertile valleys - Messinia and Laconica. They were separated from each other by an impassable mountain range.

Initially, the state-city of Sparta arose in the Laconic Valley and was a very small area - 30 X 10 km. Swampy terrain prevented access to the sea and nothing promised this tiny state of world fame.

Everything changed after the violent conquest and annexation of the Messenia valley and during the reign of the ancient Greek philosopher and great reformer Lycurgus.

His reforms were aimed at the formation of a state with a specific doctrine - to create an ideal state and to eradicate such instincts as greed, greed, the thirst for personal enrichment. He formulated the basic laws that concerned not only the administration of the state, but also strictly regulated the private life of each member of society.

Gradually, Sparta turns into a militarized state whose main goal was its own national security. The main task is to produce soldiers. After the conquest of Messenia, Sparta conquered some lands from Argos and Arcadia, their neighbors in the northern part of the Peloponnese, and switched to a policy of diplomacy, supported by military superiority.

This strategy allowed Sparta to become the head of the Peloponnesian Union and play an important political role among the Greek states.

State structure of Sparta

The Spartan state consisted of three social classes - Spartans or Spartiats, periecs inhabiting the conquered cities and slaves of the Spartans helots. The complex, but logically harmonious structure of the political administration of the Spartan state was a slave system with remnants of tribal relations that had survived from primitive communal times.

At the head were two rulers - hereditary kings. Initially, they were completely independent and did not obey anyone else and did not report to anyone. Later, their role in government was limited to a council of elders, a gerusia, which consisted of 28 elected members over 60 for life.

Ancient state of Sparta photo

Further - the national assembly, in which all the Spartans who have reached the age of 30 and who have the means necessary for a citizen took part. Somewhat later, another body of state administration appeared - the ehorat. It consisted of five officials elected by the general meeting. Their powers were practically unlimited, although they did not have clearly defined boundaries. Even the ruling kings had to coordinate their actions with the Ephors.

Society structure

The dominant class in Ancient Sparta was the Sparta. Each had his own land plot and a certain number of helot slaves. Taking advantage of material benefits, Spartiat could not sell, donate or bequeath land or slaves. This was the property of the state. Only Spartans could enter the governing bodies and vote.

The next social class is the perieki. These were the inhabitants of the occupied territories. They were allowed to trade, engage in crafts. They had the privilege of entering the military. The lowest class of helots, who were in the position of slaves, were state property and came from the enslaved inhabitants of Messenia.

warriors of sparta

The state provided helots on lease to the Spartiats for the processing of their land allotments. During the period of the highest prosperity of Ancient Sparta, the number of helots exceeded the ruling class by 15 times.

Spartan education

The education of citizens was considered a state task in Sparta. From birth to 6 years old, the child was in the family, and after that he was transferred to the care of the state. From 7 to 20 years old, young men underwent very serious physical training. Simplicity and moderation in an atmosphere full of hardships from childhood taught a soldier to a strict and harsh life.

The 20-year-old boys who passed all the tests completed their studies and became warriors. Upon reaching the age of 30, they became full members of society.

Economy

Two of the most fertile regions belonged to Sparta - Laconia and Messinia. Arable farming prevailed here, olives, vineyards, horticultural crops... This was the advantage of Lacedaemonia over the Greek policies. The most basic foodstuff, bread was grown, not imported.

Among grain crops, barley predominated, the processed product of which was used as the main food in the diet of the inhabitants of Sparta. Wealthy Lacedaemonians used wheat flour as a supplement to the staple diet in public meals. Wild wheat, spelled, was more widespread among the general population.

The warriors needed good nutrition, so cattle breeding was developed in Sparta on high level... Goats and pigs were raised for food, and bulls, mules, donkeys were used as draft animals. Horses were preferred for the formation of mounted military detachments.

Sparta is a warrior state. He needs, first of all, not decorations, but weapons. Luxurious excesses were replaced by practicality. For example, instead of painted, elegant ceramics, the main task of which is to delight, the craft of making vessels that can be used on long hikes is reaching perfection. Using rich iron mines, the most durable "Laconian steel" was made in Sparta.

An indispensable element of the military armament of a Spartan was a copper shield. History is known for many examples when politicking, power ambitions destroyed the most stable economy and destroyed statehood, in spite of all its military power. The ancient ancient state of Sparta is a clear example of this.

• In Ancient Sparta, healthy and viable offspring were taken care of very cruelly. Newborn children were examined by elders and the sick or weak were thrown into the abyss from the Tayget rock. The healthy ones were returned to the family.
• Girls in Sparta went in for athletics on a par with boys. They also ran, jumped, and threw spears and discs to grow strong, resilient and produce healthy offspring. Regular exercise made the Spartan girls very attractive. They stood out for their beauty and stateliness among the rest of the Hellenes.
• We owe the ancient Spartan upbringing to such a concept as “laconicism.” This expression is due to the fact that in Sparta young men were taught modest behavior, and their speech had to be short and strong, that is, “laconic”. This made the inhabitants of Laconia stand out among the people who like to orate at the Athens.

Sparta was the main state Dorian tribe. Her name already plays a role in the legend of the Trojan War, since Menelaus, Helen's husband, because of whom the war between the Greeks and the Trojans broke out, was a Spartan king. The history of later Sparta began with conquest of the Peloponnese by the Doryans under the leadership of the Heraclides. Of the three brothers, one (Temen) received Argos, the other (Cresfont) - Messinia, the sons of the third (Aristodemus) Proclus and Eurysthenes - Laconia. In Sparta there were two royal families, descended from these heroes through their sons Agisa and Euryponte(Agids and Eurypontids).

The genus of Heraclides. Scheme. Two dynasties of Spartan kings - in the lower right corner

But all these were just folk tales or guesses of Greek historians, which did not have full historical reliability. Among such legends should be attributed and most of the legend, which was very popular in antiquity, about the legislator Lycurgus, whose life time was attributed to the 9th century. and which directly attributed the entire Spartan device. Lycurgus, according to legend, was the youngest son of one of the kings and the guardian of his young nephew Harilai. When the latter himself began to rule, Lycurgus went on a wandering journey, at which he visited Egypt, Asia Minor and Crete, but had to return to his homeland at the request of the Spartans, who were unhappy with internal strife and the king himself, Harilai. Lycurgus was instructed draw up new laws for the state, and he set to work, seeking advice from the Delphic oracle. The Oracle told Lycurgus that she did not know whether to call him a god or a man, and that his decrees would be the best. Having finished his business, Lycurgus took an oath from the Spartans that they would carry out his laws until then, until he returned from a new journey to Delphi. The Oracle confirmed to him her previous decision, and Lycurgus, having sent this answer to Sparta, took his own life so as not to return to his homeland. The Spartans honored Lycurgus as a god and built a temple in honor of him, but in essence Lycurgus was originally a deity who later turned into popular fantasy into the mortal legislator of Sparta. The so-called legislation of Lycurgus was remembered in the form of short sayings (retra).

102. Laconia and its people

Laconia occupied the southeastern part of the Peloponnese and consisted of the river valley Eurota and the mountain ranges bordering it from the west and east, of which the western one was called Taygetus. In this country there were arable lands, and pastures, and forests, in which there was a mass of game, and in the Taygeta mountains there was a lot of iron; local residents made weapons from it. There were few cities in Laconia. In the center of the country, off the coast of Eurotas, lay Sparta, otherwise called Lacedaemon. It was a combination of five settlements, which remained unfortified, while in other Greek cities there was usually a fortress. In essence, however, Sparta was real a military camp that held the whole of Laconia in obedience.

Laconia and Sparta on the map of the ancient Peloponnese

The population of the country consisted of descendants Dorian conquerors and the Achaeans conquered by them. The first, Spartans, were alone full citizens states, the latter were divided into two classes: some were called helots and were serfs, subordinates, however, not to individual citizens, but to the entire state, while others bore the name periekov and represented personally free people, but who stood to Sparta in relation subjects without any political rights. Most of the land was considered common property of the state, of which the latter gave the Spartiates separate plots for food (clerics) originally were of approximately the same size. These plots were cultivated by helots for the well-known quitrent, which they paid in kind in the form of most of the collection. Part of their land was left to the Periecs; they lived in cities, engaged in industry and trade, but in general in Laconia these activities were poorly developed: already at the time when other Greeks had a coin, in this country, as an instrument of exchange, were used iron bars. Perieki were obliged to pay tax to the state treasury.

Ruins of a theater in ancient Sparta

103. Military Organization of Sparta

Sparta was a military state, and its citizens were primarily warriors; perieks and helots were also attracted to the war. Spartiates divided by three phyla subdivided into phratries, in an era of prosperity there were only nine thousand for 370 thousand perieks and helots, whom they held by force under their authority; The main occupations of the Spartans were gymnastics, military exercises, hunting and war. Upbringing and the whole way of life in Sparta were aimed at being always on the alert against the possibility uprisings of the helots, which actually broke out from time to time in the country. The mood of the helots was watched by detachments of youth, and all the suspicious were mercilessly killed (crypt). The Spartan did not belong to himself: the citizen was above all a warrior, all life(actually up to the age of sixty) obliged to serve the state. When a child was born in a Spartan family, he was examined to see if he would later be fit for military service, and frail babies were not left to live. From seven to eighteen years old, all the boys were brought up together in state "gymnasiums", where they were taught gymnastics and practiced in military affairs, as well as taught to sing and play the flute. The upbringing of Spartan youth was notable for its severity: boys and young men were always dressed in light clothes, walked barefoot and bareheaded, ate very poorly and were subjected to cruel corporal punishment, which they had to endure without screaming and moaning. (They were flogged for this purposely in front of the altar of Artemis).

Spartan army warrior

The adults, too, could not live as they wanted. And in peacetime, the Spartans were divided into military comradeships, even having dinner together, for which the participants in common tables (sissity) they brought in a certain amount of different products, and their food was necessarily the roughest and simplest (the famous Spartan soup). The state watched that no one shied away from execution general rules and did not deviate from the way of life prescribed by the law. Each family had its own allotted from the common state land, and this site could neither be divided, nor sold, nor left under a spiritual will. Between the Spartans should have dominated equality; they directly called themselves "equal" (ομοιοί). Luxury in private life was pursued. For example, when building a house, you could only use an ax and a saw, which was difficult to make anything beautiful. Spartan iron money could not buy anything from industrial products in other states of Greece. Moreover, the Spartans had no right to leave their country, and foreigners were forbidden to live in Laconia (xenelasia). The Spartans did not care about mental development. Eloquence, which was so prized in other parts of Greece, was not in use in Sparta, and laconic laconicism ( laconicism) was even proverbial among the Greeks. The Spartans have become the best warriors in Greece - hardy, persistent, disciplined. Their army consisted of heavily armed infantry (hoplites) with lightly armed auxiliary detachments (from helots and part of the perieks); they did not use cavalry in their wars.

Ancient Spartan Helmet

104. The structure of the Spartan state

105. Spartan conquests

This military state very early set out on the path of conquest. The increase in the number of inhabitants forced the Spartans look for new lands, from which could be made new allotments for citizens. Gradually taking possession of all Laconia, Sparta in the third quarter of the VIII century conquered Messinia [First Messenian War] and its inhabitants too turned into helots and periecs. Some of the Messenians moved out, but the rest did not want to put up with someone else's domination. In the middle of the VII century. they rebelled against Sparta [Second Messenian War], but were subdued again. The Spartans made an attempt to extend their power towards Argolis, but were at first recaptured by Argos and only later took possession of a part of the coast of Argolis. They had more luck in Arcadia, but having already made the first conquest in this area (the city of Tegea), they did not annex it to their possessions, but entered into a military alliance under his leadership. This was the beginning of a great Peloponnese Union(symmachy) under the Spartan domination (hegemony). Little by little, all the parts stuck to this symmetry. Arcadia, and also Elis. Thus, by the end of the VI century. Sparta stood at the head of almost the entire Peloponnese. Symmachia had an allied council, in which, under the chairmanship of Sparta, issues of war and peace were resolved, and Sparta also owned the very leadership in war (hegemony). When the Shah of Persia undertook the conquest of Greece, Sparta was the most powerful Greek state and therefore could become the head of the rest of the Greeks in the struggle against Persia. But already during this struggle she had to give in primacy to Athens.

The glory of Sparta - the Peloponnesian city in Laconia - is very loud in historical chronicles and in the world. It was one of the most famous policies Ancient Greece, who did not know troubles and civil upheavals, and his army never retreated in front of enemies.

Sparta was founded by Lacedaemon, who reigned in Laconia one and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ and named the city after his wife. In the first centuries of the city's existence, there were no walls around it: they were erected only under the tyrant Naviz. True, they were later destroyed, but Appius Claudius soon erected new ones.

The ancient Greeks believed that the founder of the Spartan state was the legislator Lycurgus, whose life span falls approximately in the first half of the 7th century BC. NS. The population of ancient Sparta in its composition was divided at that time into three groups: Spartans, Periecs and Helots. The Spartans lived in Sparta itself and enjoyed all the rights of citizenship of their city-state: they had to fulfill all the requirements of the law and they were admitted to all honorary public positions. Farming and crafts, although it was not forbidden to this class, did not correspond to the image of the upbringing of the Spartans and therefore was despised by them.

Most of the lands of Laconia were at their disposal; helot cultivated for them. To own a land plot, a Spartan had to fulfill two requirements: exactly follow all the rules of discipline and provide a certain part of the income for the sissity - a public table: barley flour, wine, cheese, etc.

Game was hunted in the state forests; moreover, everyone who sacrificed to the gods sent a part of the carcass of the sacrificial animal to Sissitium. Violation or non-compliance with these rules (for any reason) resulted in the loss of citizenship rights. All full-fledged citizens of ancient Sparta, young and old, had to participate in these dinners, while no one had any advantages and privileges.

The circle of perieks was also made up of free people, but they were not full citizens of Sparta. Perieci inhabited all the cities of Laconia, except for Sparta, which belonged exclusively to the Spartans. They did not make up politically the whole city-state, since they received control in their cities only from Sparta. Perieci of different cities were independent from each other, and at the same time, each of them was dependent on Sparta.

The helots constituted the rural population of Laconia: they were slaves of the lands that were cultivated for the benefit of the Spartans and Periecs. Helots also lived in cities, but city life was not typical for helots. They were allowed to have a house, a wife and a family, and it was forbidden to sell helot outside the property. Some scholars believe that the sale of helots was generally impossible, since they were the property of the state, and not of individuals. Some information has come down to us about the cruel treatment of the helots by the Spartans, although, again, some of the scientists believe that in this regard, contempt was more visible.

Plutarch reports that every year (by virtue of the decrees of Lycurgus) the ephors solemnly declared war against the helots. Young Spartans, armed with daggers, walked throughout Laconia and exterminated the unfortunate helots. But over time, scientists found that this method of exterminating helots was legalized not during Lycurgus, but only after the First Messenian War, when helots became dangerous for the state.

Plutarch, the author of the biographies of prominent Greeks and Romans, beginning his story about the life and laws of Lycurgus, warned the reader that it is impossible to tell anything reliable about them. And yet he had no doubt that this politician was a historical person.

Most scientists of modern times consider Lycurgus a legendary person: one of the first, back in the 1820s, the famous German historian of antiquity K.O. Müller doubted its historical existence. He suggested that the so-called "laws of Lycurgus" are much older than their legislator, since these are not so much laws as ancient folk customs rooted in the distant past of the Dorians and all other Hellenes.

Many of the scholars (W. Wilamowitz, E. Meyer, and others) consider the biography of the Spartan legislator preserved in several versions as a late reworking of the myth of the ancient Laconian deity Lycurgus. The adherents of this trend questioned the very existence of "legislation" in ancient Sparta. The customs and rules that governed daily life E. Meyer classified the Spartans as "the way of life of the Dorian tribal community", from which classical Sparta grew almost without any changes.

But the results of archaeological excavations, which were carried out in 1906-1910s by an English archaeological expedition in Sparta, gave rise to a partial rehabilitation of the ancient legend about the legislation of Lycurgus. The British explored the sanctuary of Artemis Orphia - one of the most ancient temples in Sparta - and discovered many artworks of local production: wonderful examples of painted ceramics, unique terracotta masks (not found anywhere else), objects made of bronze, gold, amber and ivory.

For the most part, these finds somehow did not fit the ideas about the harsh and ascetic life of the Spartans, about the almost complete isolation of their city from the rest of the world. And then scientists suggested that the laws of Lycurgus in the 7th century BC. NS. have not yet been put into action and the economic and cultural development of Sparta proceeded in the same way as the development of other Greek states. Only by the end of the 6th century BC. NS. Sparta closes in on itself and turns into the city-state as the ancient writers knew it.

Due to the threats of the helots' rebellion, the situation was then hectic, and therefore the "initiators of reforms" could resort (as was often the case in ancient times) to the authority of some hero or deity. In Sparta, Lycurgus was chosen for this role, who gradually began to turn from a deity into a historical legislator, although ideas about his divine origin persisted until the time of Herodotus.

Lycurgus had a chance to put in order a cruel and outrageous people, therefore it was necessary to teach him to resist the onslaught of other states, and for this to make everyone skilled warriors. One of the first reforms of Lycurgus was the organization of the government of the Spartan community. Ancient writers claimed that he created the Council of Elders (Herusia) of 28 people. The elders (gerons) were elected by the appella - the national assembly; gerusia also included two kings, one of whose main duties was commanding the army during the war.

From the descriptions of Pausanias, we know that the period of the most intense construction activity in the history of Sparta was the 6th century BC. NS. At this time, the temple of Athena the Copper House on the acropolis, the portico of Skiada, the so-called "throne of Apollo" and other buildings were erected in the city. But on Thucydides, who saw Sparta in the last quarter of the 5th century BC. e., the city made the most dismal impression.

Against the background of the luxury and grandeur of the Athenian architecture of the time of Pericles, Sparta seemed already a nondescript provincial town. The Spartans themselves, not afraid to be reputed to be old-fashioned, did not stop worshiping archaic stone and wooden idols at a time when Phidias, Myron, Praxiteles and other outstanding sculptors of Ancient Greece were creating their masterpieces in other Hellenic cities.

In the second half of the VI century BC. NS. there was a noticeable cooling of the Spartans for the Olympic Games. Before that, they took the most active part in them and made up more than half of the winners, and in all the main types of competitions. Subsequently, for all the time from 548 to 480 BC. e., the victory was won only by one representative of Sparta - Tsar Demarat - and only in one type of competition - horse racing at the hippodrome.

To achieve harmony and peace in Sparta, Lycurgus decided to eradicate wealth and poverty in his state forever. He banned the use of gold and silver coins, which were used throughout Greece, and instead introduced iron money in the form of obols. They bought only what was produced in Sparta itself; in addition, they were so heavy that even a small amount had to be transported by carriage.

Lycurgus also prescribed a way of life at home: all Spartans, from an ordinary citizen to a king, had to live in absolutely the same conditions... A special regulation indicated what houses could be built, what clothes to wear: it had to be so simple that there was no place for any luxury. Even the food was supposed to be the same for everyone.

Thus, in Sparta, wealth gradually lost all meaning, since it was impossible to use it: citizens began to think less about their own good, and more about the state. Nowhere in Sparta did poverty coexist with wealth, as a result, there was no envy, rivalry and other selfish passions exhausting a person. There was no greed, which opposes private benefit to the state good and arms one citizen against another.

One of the Spartan youths, who acquired land for a pittance, was put on trial. The accusation said that he was still very young, and had already been seduced by profit, while greed was the enemy of every inhabitant of Sparta.

Raising children was considered one of the main duties of a citizen in Sparta. The Spartan, who had three sons, was exempted from guard duty, and the father of five from all existing duties.

From the age of 7, the Spartan no longer belonged to his family: the children were separated from their parents and began social life... From that moment on, they were brought up in special detachments (agels), where they were supervised not only by fellow citizens, but also by specially assigned censors. Children were taught to read and write, taught to be silent for a long time, and to speak succinctly - briefly and clearly.

Gymnastic and sports exercises were supposed to develop dexterity and strength in them; so that there was harmony in the movements, the young men were obliged to participate in choral dances; hunting in the forests of Laconia developed patience for difficult trials. The children were fed rather poorly, therefore they made up for the lack of food not only by hunting, but also by theft, since they were also taught to steal; however, if anyone was caught, they beat him mercilessly - not for theft, but for awkwardness.

The youths who had reached the age of 16 were subjected to a very severe test at the altar of the goddess Artemis: they were severely flogged, and they had to remain silent. Even the smallest cry or groan contributed to the continuation of the punishment: some could not stand the test and died.

In Sparta, there was a law according to which no one was supposed to be more complete than necessary. According to this law, all young men who have not yet reached civil rights, were shown to eporami - members of the election commission. If the young men were strong and strong, then they were honored with praise; young men, whose body was considered too flabby and loose, were beaten with sticks, since their appearance disgraced Sparta and its laws.

Plutarch and Xenophon wrote that Lycurgus legalized that women should perform the same exercises as men, and through this they became strong and could give birth to strong and healthy offspring. Thus, Spartan women were worthy of their husbands, since they also obeyed a harsh upbringing.

The women of ancient Sparta, whose sons died, went to the battlefield and watched where they were wounded. If in the chest, then the women looked with pride at those around them and honorably buried their children in their father's tombs. If they saw wounds on their backs, then, weeping with shame, they hurried to hide, leaving the dead to be buried by others.

Marriage in Sparta also obeyed the law: personal feelings did not matter, because it was all a matter of state. Young men and women could enter into marriage, the physiological development of which corresponded to each other and from whom one could expect healthy children: marriage between persons of unequal constitutions was not allowed.

But Aristotle speaks of the position of Spartan women quite differently: while the Spartans led a strict, almost ascetic life, their wives indulged in extraordinary luxury in their home. This circumstance forced men to raise money often in dishonest ways, because direct funds were forbidden to them. Aristotle wrote that Lycurgus tried to subordinate Spartan women to the same strict discipline, but met with a resolute rebuff on their part.

Left to themselves, women became self-willed, indulged in luxury and licentiousness, they even began to interfere in state affairs, which ultimately led to a real gynecocracy in Sparta. "And what difference does it make," asks Aristotle bitterly, "whether women themselves rule, or are the rulers under their authority?" The Spartans were accused of behaving insolently and impudently and allowing themselves to live luxuriously, thereby challenging the strict norms of state discipline and morality.

To protect his legislation from foreign influence, Lycurgus limited Sparta's ties with foreigners. Without permission, which was given only in cases of special importance, the Spartan could not leave the cities and travel abroad. Foreigners were also prohibited from appearing in Sparta. The inhospitableness of Sparta was the most famous phenomenon in the ancient world.

The citizens of ancient Sparta were something like a military garrison, constantly exercising and always ready for war either with helots or with an external enemy. Lycurgus' legislation took on an exclusively military character also because there were times when there was no public and personal security, there were no principles at all on which state peace is based. In addition, the Dorians in a very small number settled in the country of the helots they conquered and were surrounded by half-subdued or not at all subdued Achaeans, therefore they could only hold out in battles and victories.

Such a harsh upbringing, at first glance, could make the life of ancient Sparta very boring, and the people themselves unhappy. But from the writings of ancient Greek authors it is clear that such unusual laws made the Spartans the most prosperous people in the ancient world, because only rivalry in the acquisition of virtues reigned everywhere.

There was a prediction that Sparta would remain a strong and powerful state as long as it followed the laws of Lycurgus and remained indifferent to gold and silver. After the war with Athens, the Spartans brought money to their city that seduced the inhabitants of Sparta and forced them to deviate from the laws of Lycurgus. And from that moment on, their valor began to fade gradually ...

Aristotle believes that it was the abnormal position of women in Spartan society that led to the fact that Sparta in the second half of the 4th century BC. NS. it became terribly depopulated and lost its former military power.

In the southeast of the largest Greek peninsula - the Peloponnese - the mighty Sparta was once located. This state was located in the region of Laconia, in the picturesque valley of the Evrotus River. His official name, which was most often mentioned in international treaties, is Lacedaemon. It was from this state that such concepts as "Spartan" and "Spartan" came from. Everyone has also heard about the cruel custom that developed in this ancient polis: to kill 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 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. The same, assimilated with the local Achaeans, became Spartakians 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 the 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. Initially, Sparta 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 policy. For this, 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 business of helots and periecs.

As a result, the system established by Lycurgus transformed the Spartiat military democracy into an oligarchic-slave-owning republic, which, at the same time, still retained some signs of a tribal system. It was not allowed to land, 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, and not to wealthy citizens.

Sparta is one of the few states at the head of which there were simultaneously two kings, who were called archagetes. Their power was inherited. The powers that each king of Sparta possessed were reduced not only to military power, but also to organizing sacrifices, as well as participating in the council of elders.

The latter was called gerusia and consisted of two archagetes and twenty-eight gerons. The elders were elected by the popular assembly for life only from the Spartan nobility, who had reached sixty years of age. Gerousia in Sparta performed the functions of a certain government body. She prepared issues that needed to be discussed at popular meetings, and also led foreign policy... In addition, the council of elders considered criminal cases, as well as state crimes directed, among other things, against the Arhagetes.

Court

The legal proceedings and the law of ancient Sparta were regulated by the college of ephors. This organ first appeared in the eighth century BC. It consisted of five of the 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 authority grows. Gradually, they begin to supplant the gerusia. Efora were given the right to convene a national assembly and gerusia, regulate foreign policy, and exercise internal control over Sparta and its legal proceedings. This body was so important in the social system of the state that its powers included the control of officials, including the Archaget.

National 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 preserve equality among the Spartiats themselves.

The Apella, or popular assembly, in Sparta was passive. Only full-fledged male citizens who had reached the age of thirty had the right to participate in this body. At first, the national assembly was convened by the Archaget, but later the leadership of it also passed to the college of the Ephors. Apella could not discuss the issues put forward, she only rejected or accepted the solution she proposed. Members of the people's assembly voted very primitively: by shouting or dividing the participants on different sides, after which the majority was determined by eye.

Population

The inhabitants of the Lacedaemon state have always been class unequal. Such a situation was created by the social system of Sparta, which provided for three estates: the elite, perieks - 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, as a right, left at the mercy of the periecs. At the same time, the estates of the elite Spartans were cultivated by helots, which the latter rented from the state. During the heyday of the state, the nobility was five times less than the periecs, and ten times the number of helots.

All periods of the existence of this one of the most ancient states can be divided into prehistoric, antique, classical, Roman, and each of them left its mark not only in the formation ancient state Sparta. Greece has borrowed a lot from this history in the process of its formation.

Prehistoric era

The Leleges originally lived on the Laconian lands, but after the Dorians captured the Peloponnese, this area, which was always considered the most infertile and generally insignificant, as a result of deception went to the two minor sons of the legendary king Aristodemus - Eurysthenes and Proclus.

Soon Sparta became the main city of Lacedaemon, whose structure for a long time did not stand out from the rest of the Doric states. She fought constant external wars with neighboring Argos or Arcadian cities. The most significant rise occurs during the reign of Lycurgus, the ancient Spartan legislator, to whom the ancient historians unanimously attribute the political system that subsequently dominated in Sparta for several centuries.

Antique era

After winning the wars that lasted 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. NS. forced Tegea to recognize her hegemony. According to the agreement kept on the column placed nearby with Alfea, she forced her to conclude a military alliance. It was from this time that Sparta in the eyes of the peoples began to be considered the first state of Greece.

The history of Sparta at this stage boils down to the fact that its inhabitants began to make attempts to overthrow the tyrants who have appeared since the seventh millennium BC. NS. in almost all Greek states. It was the Spartans who helped expel the Kipselids from Corinth, the Pisistrates from Athens, they contributed to the liberation of Sikion and Phokis, as well as several islands in the Aegean Sea, thereby gaining grateful supporters in different states.

History of Sparta in the classical era

Having entered into an alliance with Tegea and Elis, the Spartans began to attract to their side the rest of the cities of Laconia and neighboring regions. As a result, the Peloponnesian Union was formed, in which Sparta took over the hegemony. These were wonderful times for her: she exercised leadership in wars, was the center of meetings and all conferences of the Union, without encroaching on the independence of individual states that retained autonomy.

Sparta never tried to extend its own power to the Peloponnese, but the threat of danger pushed all other states, with the exception of Argos, to go under its patronage during the Greco-Persian wars. Having eliminated the danger directly, the Spartans, realizing that they were not able to wage a war with the Persians far from their own borders, did not object when Athens assumed further leading primacy in the war, limiting itself only to the peninsula.

From that time, signs of rivalry between these two states began to appear, which subsequently resulted in the First, ending with the Thirty Years Peace. The hostilities 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 the year 397 before our chronology, the Kynadon revolt 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 then became a judge and mediator in Greek affairs, thus motivating its policy with the freedom of all states, and was able to ensure its primacy in an alliance with Persia. And only Thebes did not obey the conditions set, thereby depriving Sparta of the advantages of such a shameful world for her.

Hellenistic and Roman times

Starting from these years, the state began to decline rather 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 made with the Fockeans. And although the Spartans sent them help, they did not provide real support. In the absence of King Agis, with the help of the money received from Darius, an attempt was made to get rid of the Macedonian yoke. But he, having failed in the battles at Megapolis, was killed. Gradually began to disappear and became a household name for which Sparta was so famous.

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 cluster of hundreds of cities, often at war with each other. Lycurgus became one of the key figures for the formation of Sparta as a powerful and strong state. Before its 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 the development priorities were given to the art of war. From that moment, Lacedaemon began to transform. And it was during this period that it flourished.

From the eighth century BC NS. Sparta began to wage wars of conquest, conquering one after another of 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 most powerful formations of Ancient Greece. The creation of this alliance by Sparta was 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 opponents to flight, forcing them to surrender.

Not only the enemies, but 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 soldiers of Sparta had a reputation for being invincible. The sight of their phalanxes made even the most seasoned ones panic. And although only a small number of fighters participated in the battles at that time, nevertheless, they never lasted long.

The beginning of the decline of the empire

But at the beginning of the 5th century BC. NS. a massive invasion from the East marked the beginning of the decline of Sparta's power. The huge Persian empire, always dreaming 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

As the son of Anaxandris, this king belonged to the Aghiad dynasty. After the death of his older brothers, Dorieus and Clemen the First, it was Leonidas who assumed 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.

It 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 allies, was Tsar Leonidas. Sparta at that time occupied a leading position among friendly states. But Xerxes, taking advantage of the betrayal of the disaffected, bypassed the Thermopylae Gorge and went into the rear of the Greeks.

Upon learning of this, Leonidas, who fought on a par with his soldiers, disbanded the allied troops, sending them home. And he himself with a handful of soldiers, the number of which was only three hundred people, stood in the way of the twenty thousandth Persian army. Thermopylae Gorge was strategic for the Greeks. In case of defeat, they would be cut off from Central Greece, and their fate would be a foregone conclusion.

For four days, the Persians were not able to break the incomparably smaller enemy forces. The heroes of Sparta fought like lions. But the forces were unequal.

Fearless warriors of Sparta killed one and all. Together with them, their tsar Leonidas fought to the end, who did not want to abandon his comrades in arms.

The name of Leonid has gone down in history forever. Chroniclers, including Herodotus, wrote: “Many kings have died and have long been forgotten. But Leonid is known and honored by everyone. His name will always be remembered by 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 filmed and books written about this episode in the life of the heroic Hellenes.

Feat of the Spartans

The Persian king Xerxes, who did not leave the dream of capturing Hellas, invaded Greece in 480 BC. During this time, the Hellenes held the Olympic Games. The Spartans were preparing to celebrate Carnea.

Both of these holidays obliged the Greeks to observe a sacred truce. This was one of the main reasons why only a small detachment opposed the Persians in the Thermopylae Gorge.

A detachment of three hundred Spartans headed by Tsar Leonidas went to meet the army of many thousands of Xerxes. The warriors were selected on the basis of having children. On the way, Leonidas' militia was joined by a thousand Tegeans, Arcadians and Mantineans, as well as one hundred and twenty from Orchomenes. Four hundred soldiers were sent from Corinth, and three hundred from Fliunt and Mycenae.

When this small army approached the Thermopylae pass and saw the number of Persians, many of the soldiers were frightened and began to talk about a retreat. Some of the allies offered to withdraw to the peninsula to guard Isthm. Others, however, were outraged by this decision. Leonidas, ordered the army to remain in place, sent messengers to all the cities with a request for help, since they had too few soldiers to successfully repel the attack of the Persians.

For four whole days, King Xerxes, hoping that the Greeks would flee, did not start 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 pounced on the Greeks. Each onslaught of the Medes ended in huge losses, but others came to replace the fallen. It was then that it became clear to both the Spartans and the Persians that Xerxes had many people, but there were few soldiers among them. The battle lasted all day.

Having received a decisive rebuff, the Medes were forced to retreat. But they were replaced by the Persians, led by Gidarn. Xerxes called them an "immortal" force and hoped that they would easily end the Spartans. But in hand-to-hand combat, they did not succeed, just like the Medes, to achieve great success.

The Persians had to fight in cramped quarters, and with shorter spears, while the Hellenes had them longer, which in this duel gave a definite advantage.

At night, the Spartans attacked the Persian camp again. They managed to kill many enemies, but their main goal was to defeat Xerxes himself in the general turmoil. And only when dawn broke, the Persians saw the small size of the detachment of Tsar Leonidas. They threw spears at the Spartans and finished them off with arrows.

The road to Central Greece was open for the Persians. Xerxes personally surveyed the battlefield. Having found the deceased Spartan king, he ordered him to chop off his head and impale it.

There is a legend that Tsar Leonidas, going to Thermopylae, clearly understood that he would die, therefore, when his wife asked during parting about what orders would be, he ordered to find himself 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 the crown of glory.

The beginning of the Peloponnesian War

After some time, the warring Greek city-states united and were able to repulse Xerxes. But, despite the joint victory over the Persians, the alliance between Sparta and Athens did not last long. In 431 BC. NS. the Peloponnesian War broke out. And only a few decades later, the victory was won by the Spartan state.

But not everyone in ancient Greece liked the rule of Lacedaemon. Therefore, half a century later, new fighting... This time his rivals were Thebes, who, together with 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. She was one of the main contenders for primacy and supremacy in the ancient Greek picture of the world. Some milestones in Spartan history are sung in the works of the great Homer. The outstanding Iliad occupies a special place among them.

And now only the ruins of some of its structures and unfading glory are now left of this glorious polis. Legends about the heroism of her soldiers, as well as a small town of the same name in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula, have reached contemporaries.

The phrase "Spartan education" is world famous. A well-thought-out and well-functioning system not so much for raising children as for building a whole society, glorified a small ancient Greek state for centuries.

But few people know that strict principles, the purpose of which was to create a combat-ready people ready for any hardships, led to the impoverishment of the culture and spirituality of Sparta.

According to many scholars, it was the "Spartan upbringing" that caused the decline and disappearance of this state.

Spartan children

The system of upbringing boys in ancient Sparta (VIII-IV centuries BC) was called "agoge", which meant "taking away".

Raising boys in a military-heroic spirit was considered a privilege, therefore it extended only to the children of full citizens of Sparta - the Dorians.

For all other "non-partan" children, passing through this system opened up prospects for obtaining citizenship, therefore, whenever possible, parents gave their son "to foster care." However, "education" is not quite the correct term.

It was a state program designed to form a strong army capable of bearing the burden and hardships of long campaigns of conquest. The life of a Spartan man from birth to old age was subordinated to these goals.

Plutarch, in his Life of Lycurgus, wrote that fathers brought newborn boys to the council of elders. They examined the child, and if it turned out to be healthy, they gave it back to the father so that he would feed him. Together with the child, the father was entitled to a plot of land.

Weak, sick and ugly children, according to Plutarch, were thrown into the abyss by Apophetes. Nowadays, scientists have proven that the ancient Greek thinker exaggerated.

During the research, no child's remains were found at the bottom of the gorge in the Taygeta Mountains. The Spartans happened to throw prisoners or criminals off the cliff, but never children.

Babies in Sparta grew up in hard wooden cradles. Boys did not wear warm clothes. From an early age they were forced to do physical exercises - running, jumping.

At the age of 7, boys were taken from home to orphanages. Here their childhood ended.

In the heat and on the coldest winter days, they practiced in the open air: they mastered military skills, learned how to handle weapons, and how to throw a spear.

They had their hair cut bald, they never covered their heads, and warm clothes were not required either.

Young Spartans slept in the hay or reeds, which they themselves had to bring themselves. Pupils often had to get food on their own - plundering neighboring areas. At the same time, getting caught stealing was a shame.

For any offense, prank, oversight, the boys were severely punished - beaten with whips.

So in the Spartans, fortitude and fortitude were brought up. It was believed that the stricter the upbringing, the better for young men and the state as a whole.

Education in Sparta was not appreciated. A warrior should not be smart, but cunning. Obliged to be resourceful, adapted to life and hardships.

The Spartans were taught to speak little and short - "laconic". Educating feelings, imagination, teaching the arts - all this was considered a waste of time and a distraction of the warrior from his destiny.

At the age of 18, the young man left the orphanage. From that moment on, he could not cut his hair or shave his beard, but continued to engage in military exercises. At the age of 20, the Spartan was transferred to the detachment of hierens (youths).

And although he was already an adult, until the age of 30 he was still under the supervision of educators and improved his skills in military prowess.

Interestingly, at this age, the Spartans could marry, create their own families, but still did not completely belong to themselves.

One of the principles of the Spartan education of young men was mentoring. It was believed that an experienced husband and warrior is able to teach a young citizen more than official science. Therefore, every Spartan of mature age kept a boy or youth with him, helping him develop his civil and military prowess.

Spartan girls

The upbringing of Spartan girls, as Plutarch wrote, was similar to the upbringing of boys with the only difference that they were engaged in physical exercises without leaving their parental home.

The development of body and fortitude was important for the girls. But at the same time, girls were the personification of purity in Sparta, the attitude of boys and men towards them was respectful and respectful, almost chivalrous.

For the attention of the beauties, young men fought in gymnastic competitions. From their youth, the girls felt like full-fledged members of society, citizens, took an active part in the affairs of society. Women were respected by men, because they shared their passion for military affairs, their patriotism and political views.

But for all the social activity, the Spartans at all times were famous throughout Greece for their homeliness, ability to manage and maintain a home.

Sparta and its model of educating young people left a big mark on world military affairs. It is believed that the principles of discipline of the Spartan army were used by Alexander the Great when creating his army. And the modern infantry originates precisely from Sparta.

Modern Sparta is a small administrative center in the south of the Peloponnese. Its population is no more than 20 thousand people, and the attitude towards children is completely ordinary here, they are adored and pampered in a completely Greek way.
Only a few ruins remind of the great past.

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