City States of Ancient Greece

¶ … city states of Ancient Greece are Sparta and Athens. History has not been kind to Sparta; the majority of historical narratives and textbooks refer to this war-state as "brutal," "an armed camp," "culturally stagnant," and other such niceties. The reality of the situation is that Sparta was a complex government system and political entity that used its military strength as the foundation of its power. The reason for the negativity associated with such a powerful city-state is that most historical narratives come from the "knowledge center of Athens," the bitter enemy of Sparta. Our conception of ancient Greece is heavily latent in our understanding of Athens as a city-state, Sparta is a direct contrast to this concept, and the two represent diametrically opposed concepts of the Greek political state. The following analysis will look to understand the Spartan lifestyle, its political orientation and why many look upon this land with both respect and fear.

Sparta was considered one of the greatest warrior societies in the history of the world. In the golden ages of Greece, Sparta reached the status of a supreme super power. It defeated the Athenians in an internal conflict and also expelled the Persian Empire. As a result, Sparta viewed itself as the natural protector of all of Greece. Every part of Spartan society, geography, and politics is based upon its warrior code. Even in its strategic placing it was considered an impenetrable fortress. The site of the city is strategically located; it is guarded from three sides by mountain barriers with tightly controlled mountain passes. One of the principle strengths of Sparta's geographical location was its distance from the sea. Located, 27 miles away from its seaport, Sparta was an extremely hard city to blockade, which neutralized Athenian's greatest military advantage.

Sparta and its socio-political dynamics were altered profoundly by one significant event, the Messenean War. Previous to the war in eighth century BC, Sparta was a city state much like its neighbors. Its government system was a monarchy with a limited oligarchy. However, due to the growth of its population in 725, Sparta decided to annex territory within Messenia. During the course of this conflict, and the eventual submission of Messenia, Sparta was almost outnumbered 10 to 1 by their conquered foes. As a result, in order to protect themselves against uprisings and revolts, Sparta created a revolutionary government and social system that was as profound as the intellectual movement in Athens. They turned their city-state into a military oligarchy, or a military state. Within this political system, the conquered Messenians were turned into plantation slaves and renamed the helots. In effect, Sparta became a warrior class supported wholly by the labors of their "serfs."

The overwhelming characteristic of the Spartan government was its emphasis on stability. The Spartans had the most stable and consistent government in all of ancient Greece. The hierarchy of the government started with a monarchy; however the monarchy itself was a dual monarchy with two kings. Assisting the monarchs is a council of wise men all of whom are above sixty years of age. This council served as both the legislative and judicial branch of the government. The council however, did not possess ultimate power within the Spartan government; all Spartan males assemble and select the council members as well as approve or veto council proposals. However, overseeing the entirety of this system of government was the group of five men known as the ephorate. The ephorate represented the old religious roots of the Spartan city-state. They had the power to run the council, the military and the educational system. They even had the power of deposing a king. The source of their power was their ability to connect with the divine through oracles and omens. In the final analysis, the Spartan government was termed by Plato as a "timocracy."

This form of government was a mixed constitutional entity; it interchanged elements of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy into one cohesive timocracy. Since the Spartans held no historical records or written laws little is known of the specifics of the Spartan constitution. However all aspects of the society was monitored by law, from how long their beards were to the length of a male's hair. The dual kingship process was created for a myriad of reasons, one of the most important being to prevent absolutism. The kings were chosen from the hereditary families of the Agiad and Eurypontids families, and were given equal power within the state. The constitutional system of Sparta was extremely strong in stabilizing the society but did so at the cost of allowing freedom for its populace. The provision of the military code into every aspect of Spartan life meant that all Spartans were forced into a life of military obedience and discipline. The inability to start families until the age of thirty meant that no social and family intimacy could be established at a young age. Overall the constitutional process made living within the Spartan system a dire and dreary life of discipline and callous self-sacrifice for the state.

As a result of the war and the changing political system, Spartan society itself evolved tremendously. The military became the center of Spartan existence. The entirety of the society revolved around the establishment of military training and doctrine. Children of both sexes were examined at birth and those who were deemed unfit were left to die. At the age of seven all male Spartans were sent to military and athletic training schools. Through the emphasis of toughness, endurance, discipline and survival skills they were groomed for a career within the military. From the Xenophon Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, a glimpse of the military discipline of Spartan children can be observed. "Instead of leaving each father to appoint a slave to act as tutor, gave the duty of controlling the boys to a member of the class from which the highest offices are filled. He gave this person authority to gather the boys together, to take charge of them and to punish them severely in case of misconduct. He also assigned to him a staff of youths provided with whips to chastise them when necessary; and the result is that modesty and obedience are inseparable companions of Sparta." Spartan men were soldiers first and foremost; they began their careers at twenty and would spend the rest of his career living with other men within barracks. Only at the age of thirty were men allowed to live within their own families. Military service ends only at the age of sixty when a male can fully retire from his duties. By incorporating military doctrine into the heart of society, Sparta created the ultimate warrior class. The Spartan military was the fear of all of Greece and even defeated the all powerful armies of the Persian Empire. The Greek Historian Herodotus noted "One on one the Spartans are as good as anyone in the world. But when they fight in a body, they are the best of all. For though they are free men, they are not entirely free. They accept Law as their master. And they respect their master more than your subjects respect you" All Spartans were fully supported by the helot class system, and as a result, an entire city of people were able to subsist on warfare.

Within this system of government, the ideology of Sparta was the ideology of self-sacrifice for the state. The individuals all live to serve the city-state until the age of sixty when he is finally a free man. The establishment of this group ideology, in accordance with the educational system and the disciplined lifestyle of the military, brought the needed stability into the households of Sparta in the wake of the Messenean revolt.

The Spartan society was divided into three primary classes. At the top were the native Spartans who could trace their ancestry back to the original inhabitants of the city. These were the individuals who could serve within the army and enjoyed the full political and legal rights of the state. The second class of citizens was the perieici, who were foreign people who worked within the city and for the Spartans and served as a buffer to the Helots. These individuals acted as the commercial class within Athenian society, running the majority of trade and shops within the city. They were granted a great deal of liberty within the Spartan system and also received the protection of the Spartan military. The final class was the conquered Messenians or Helot class. This class lived as virtual slaves and they farmed the lands for the Spartan military class. Exploitation within this arena was taken the extreme level as the majority of Helots lived on the edge of starvation their entire lives.