The Spartan kings considered themselves Heraclides - descendants of the hero Hercules. Their bellicosity became a household word, and with good reason: the Spartans’ fighting formation was the direct predecessor of the phalanx of Alexander the Great.
The Spartans were attentive to signs and prophecies and listened very much to the opinion of the Delphic oracle. Cultural heritage Sparta is not known as well as Athens, largely due to the warlike people's wariness of writing: for example, their laws were transmitted orally, and it was forbidden to write the names of the dead on non-military tombstones.
However, if not for Sparta, the culture of Greece could have been assimilated by foreigners who were constantly invading the territory of Hellas. The fact is that Sparta was in fact the only polis that not only had a combat-ready army, but whose entire life was subject to army order and took place according to a strict schedule designed to discipline the soldiers. The Spartans owed the emergence of such a militarized society to unique historical circumstances.
Beginning of the 10th century BC e. It is considered to be the time of the first large-scale settlement of the territory of Laconia, that is, the future Sparta and the adjacent lands. In the 8th century, the Spartans undertook expansion into the nearby lands of Messenia. During the occupation they decided not to destroy local residents, and make them his slaves, who are known as helots - literally “captives”. But the creation of a colossal slave complex led to inevitable uprisings: in the 7th century, the helots fought against their enslavers for several years, and this became a lesson for Sparta.
The laws established, according to legend, by the Spartan king-legislator named Lycurgus (translated as “working wolf”) back in the 9th century, served to regulate the internal political situation after the conquest of Messenia. The Spartans distributed the lands of the helots among all citizens, and all full-fledged citizens formed the backbone of the army (about 9,000 people in the 7th century - 10 times more than in any other Greek city) and had hoplite weapons. The strengthening of the army, perhaps dictated by the fear that another slave uprising would break out, contributed to an extraordinary increase in the influence of the Spartans in the region and the formation of a special system of life, characteristic only of Sparta.
In order to optimally train the soldiers of Sparta, from the age of seven they were sent to centralized government agencies, where they spent time in intensive training until they were 18 years old. This was a kind of initiation stage: in order to become a full-fledged citizen, it was necessary not only to successfully pass all the tests of 11 years of training, but also, as proof of one’s skills and fearlessness, to kill a helot with a dagger alone. It is not surprising that the helots constantly had a reason for their next performances. The widespread legend about the execution of handicapped Spartan boys or even babies most likely has no real historical basis, since in the polis there was even a certain social stratum of hypomeions - physically or mentally handicapped “citizens”.
Among the many ancient Greek states, two stood out - Laconia or Laconia (Sparta) and Attica (Athens). At their core, these were antagonistic states with social systems opposing each other.
Sparta Ancient Greece existed in the southern lands of the Peloponnese from the 9th to the 2nd centuries BC. e. It is notable for the fact that it was ruled by two kings. They passed on their power by inheritance. However, real administrative power belonged to the elders. They were chosen from among respected Spartans who were at least 50 years old.
Sparta on the map of Greece
It was the council that decided all state affairs. As for the kings, they performed purely military functions, that is, they were commanders of the army. Moreover, when one king went on a campaign, the second remained in the city with part of the soldiers.
An example here would be the king Lycurgus, although it is not known for sure whether he was a king or simply belonged to the royal family and had enormous authority. The ancient historians Plutarch and Herodotus wrote that he was the ruler of the state, but did not specify what position this man held.
The activities of Lycurgus dated back to the first half of the 9th century BC. e. It was under him that laws were passed that did not give citizens the opportunity to enrich themselves. Therefore, in Spartan society there was no stratification of property.
All land suitable for plowing was divided into equal plots, which were called clerks. Each family received an allotment. He provided people with barley flour, wine and vegetable oil. According to the legislator, this was quite enough to lead a normal life.
Luxury was relentlessly pursued. Gold and silver coins were even withdrawn from circulation. Crafts and trade were also banned. The sale of agricultural surpluses was prohibited. That is, under Lycurgus, everything was done to prevent people from earning too much.
The main occupation of the Spartan state was considered to be war. It was the conquered peoples who provided the conquerors with everything necessary for life. And on the land plots of the Spartans slaves worked, who were called helots.
The entire society of Sparta was divided into military units. In each of them, joint meals were practiced or sissity. People ate from a common pot and brought food from home. During the meal, the detachment commanders made sure that all portions were eaten. If someone ate poorly and without appetite, then the suspicion arose that the person had eaten heavily somewhere on the side. The offender could be expelled from the detachment or punished with a large fine.
Spartan warriors armed with spears
All the men of Sparta were warriors, and they were taught the art of war from early childhood. It was believed that a mortally wounded warrior should die silently, without even uttering a quiet groan. The Spartan phalanx, bristling with long spears, terrified all the states of Ancient Greece.
Mothers and wives, seeing off their sons and husbands to war, said: “With a shield or on a shield.” This meant that the men were expected to go home either victorious or dead. The bodies of the dead were always carried by comrades on shields. But those who ran away from the battlefield faced universal contempt and shame. Parents, wives, and their own children turned away from them.
It should be noted that the inhabitants of Laconia (Laconia) were never known for their verbosity. They expressed themselves briefly and to the point. It was from these Greek lands that such terms as “laconic speech” and “laconicism” spread.
It must be said that Sparta of Ancient Greece had a very small population. Its population over the centuries has consistently not exceeded 10 thousand people. However, this small number of people kept all the southern and middle lands in fear Balkan Peninsula. And such superiority was achieved through cruel customs.
When a boy was born into a family, he was examined by the elders. If the baby turned out to be too frail or sick in appearance, then he was thrown from the cliff onto sharp stones. The corpse of the unfortunate man was immediately eaten by birds of prey.
The customs of the Spartans were extremely cruel
Only healthy and strong children remained alive. Upon reaching the age of 7, boys were taken from their parents and united into small units. Iron discipline reigned in them. Future warriors were taught to endure pain, courageously endure beatings, and unquestioningly obey their mentors.
At times, children were not fed at all, and they had to earn their own food by hunting or stealing. If such a child was caught in someone’s garden, he was severely punished, but not for theft, but for the fact that he was caught.
This barracks life continued until the age of 20. After that young man a plot of land was given, and he had the opportunity to start a family. It should be noted that Spartan girls were also trained in the art of war, but not in such harsh conditions as the boys.
Sunset of Sparta
Although the conquered peoples were afraid of the Spartans, they periodically rebelled against them. And although the conquerors had excellent military training, they were not always victorious.
An example here is the uprising in Messenia in the 7th century BC. e. It was headed by the fearless warrior Aristomenes. Under his leadership, several sensitive defeats were inflicted on the Spartan phalanx.
However, there were traitors in the ranks of the rebels. Thanks to their betrayal, Aristomenes’s army was defeated, and the fearless warrior himself began a guerrilla war. One night he made his way to Sparta, entered the main sanctuary and, wanting to shame his enemies before the gods, left on the altar the weapons taken from the Spartan warriors in battle. This shame remained in the memory of people for centuries.
In the 4th century BC. e. Sparta of Ancient Greece began to gradually weaken. Other nations entered the political arena, led by smart and talented commanders. Here we can name Philip of Macedon and his famous son Alexander the Great. The inhabitants of Laconia became completely dependent on these prominent political figures of antiquity.
Then it was the turn of the Roman Republic. In 146 BC. e. The Spartans submitted to Rome. However, formally freedom was preserved, but under the complete control of the Romans. In principle, this date is considered the end of the Spartan state. It has become history, but has been preserved in people’s memory to this day.
King Agesilaus, full of imperial ambitions, wanting conquer Greece, to have governments everywhere consisting of his friends, manages to alienate all the Greeks, and above all.
Thebes was a long-time and reliable ally of Sparta. Located in an area called , Thebes was an important strategic point during the Peloponnesian War. And Sparta used Thebes to conquer Athens.
But the war helped Thebes become much stronger and richer. Any wealth in the area somehow ends up in Thebes. Moreover, during the war, Thebes begins to feel like a military power, and is now not averse to subjugate all of Boeotia.
During the war, Thebes also manages to create new things, stronger government. While the Peloponnesian War is going on, something like a revolution is happening in Thebes: more than conservative farmers suddenly create democratic society which involves the entire population.
Democratic Thebes so close to Athens is an extremely unpleasant prospect for Sparta. When they learn what kind of winds their ally is blowing, the Spartans undertake what was probably their only head start. foreign policy. The Spartans, instead of somehow calming down Thebes and sharing power with them, make an attempt suppress the democracy of Thebes and undermine their independence.
Sparta launches extremely brutal attacks in an attempt to overthrow the government of Thebes. This causes a response, and it does not boil down to anti-Spartanism. Democracy in Thebes is gaining strength, being created National Army of Thebes of 10 thousand hoplites, superbly prepared both physically and strategically - no less effective than the Spartan army. And they are very angry with Sparta.
The Theban army was commanded by a man who was far superior to his predecessors and had an exceptional influence on the future of Sparta. He was a great commander who resorted to tactics that were unknown before him.
At the beginning, the Spartan king Agesilaus is undaunted, the oligarchy remains inviolable. But with each victory of Agesilaus, Sparta loses something very important: Spartan resources are melting, people are dying in battles, while the Thebans are learning a new character of battle that will prevail in new era. Agesilaus is talented, and as a military man he is extremely insightful. He is a gifted politician, but forgets one of the basic Spartan principles: don't face the same enemy too often, don't let him learn your secrets.
Epaminondas not only learned the secrets of Sparta, he figured out how to fight back and won. They had met the Thebans on the battlefield too many times and this time they were dealing with a rising military power that, in addition to being strong, was adopting new and very effective military tactics.
Epaminondas had at his disposal a powerful weapon - Athens. After overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants in 403 BC The Athenians slowly but surely restored their fleet and raised a new generation of citizen-soldiers. And they got more stronger democracy. Oddly enough, but defeat in the Peloponnesian War it turned out for Athens almost the best outcome , if you look at it from the point of view of democracy. After the bloody oligarchy of Sparta, democracy in Athens seemed to have found a second wind.
During the first bloody decade of the 4th century BC. Athens was one of Thebes's main allies. also entered into a strong alliance with Corinth, thus creating united front against Sparta.
Corinth was the most important member of the Peloponnesian League. The fact that he joined the axis of Athens - Boeotia - Thebes - Argos was for real for Sparta a serious blow.
In 379 BC. successful uprising marked end of the Spartan oligarchy in Thebes. The Thebans were not alone in hating the regime: there were many other states that could not stand Sparta for other reasons, and therefore were ready to help the Thebans.
Battle of Leuctra
The list of Sparta's enemies grew. A city-state could hate Sparta not only because it was cruel and arrogant, but there was always some other reason. Among Sparta's few remaining allies there was a feeling that the Spartiates were winning wars because sacrificed allies, but not yourself.
When they were not alone in the war, they made it clear that they would fight on the right wing. This meant that the enemy, who would also put his elite troops on the right wing, would not meet the Spartans. Therefore, in many battles the Spartans met weaker units of the enemy. Often we see that the allies are strangely under more pressure than the Spartans. If you want to get rid of distrustful allies, send them to the left wing - the Spartans will deal with them.
Oddly enough, but the city-state, which always tried to isolate itself, which always entered into battle out of extreme necessity, now fought everything known world to maintain their dominion. And all this happened in Boeotia.
If you have a growing population, if your women give birth at 15-18 years old, which is necessary regardless of childhood diseases, a low survival rate is a guarantee that you will not face a disaster.
The number of elite warriors was sharply decreasing, but the ranks of the Spartan system itself were inexorably decreasing. It was easy to fall, almost impossible to get up. You could be expelled from your circle for failing to arrange a dinner for your friends, for faltering in battle, for some other social sins, and this meant the end for you.
A very dangerous one has appeared variety extra people
, who were Spartans by birth and upbringing, but at the same time deprived of Spartan citizenship. They were considered dishonest in a society in which honor was paramount. They brought trouble with them. However, Sparta was forced to condone them, it refrained from any ideological friction, it was even ready to make them new members of the elite. This fact suggests that it is the state has lost contact with reality.
For the first time in its long history, a weakened Sparta will be forced to defend itself on its own soil. Extremely weak Sparta had to withstand the most difficult test. U Epaminondas, a brilliant Theban commander, was born new plan : redraw the map of the Peloponnese and finally bleed Sparta.
He was interested in not just destroying the power of Sparta, but destroy the myth of Spartan omnipotence, i.e. in other words, drive the last nail into the coffin. He understood that Sparta could not exist as before if free the helots.
The Spartans were completely dependent on labor; their entire system depended on this. Without it, Sparta simply would not have the resources to be a significant power.
With the support of the alliance - - Argos Epaminondas began to the first stage of the destruction of Sparta. At the beginning of 369 BC. he arrives in Messinia and announces that Messenians are no longer helots that they are free and independent Greeks. This is a very significant event.
Epaminondas and his troops remained in Messenia for almost 4 months while the liberated helots built a huge wall around the new city-state.
These Messenians were the descendants of many generations of helots who, at the cost of their independence and lives, ensured the prosperity of Sparta. And now they were witnessing the death of the great Spartan polis. The Spartans tried for centuries to prevent the restoration of Messenian independence. This is exactly what happened.
While the helots were building walls, Epaminondas carried out second stage of your fee. Allied forces built fortifications in one of the key strategic centers - which in Greek means “big city”.
It was another strong, powerful city, owned by people who had every reason to fear the revival of Sparta. They isolated Sparta. Now Sparta is deprived of the opportunity to regain the power it once had. From that moment on, Sparta became a dinosaur.
The decline of the great polis
Now Epaminondas is ready to invade. He has cornered the Spartans and has 70,000 men at his disposal.
He was a brilliant politician. With the help of authority alone, he created an army of retribution - the first foreign army appeared in the valley Laconia for 600 years. There is a famous saying: in 600 years, not a single Spartan woman ever saw an enemy fire burn out.
Sparta did something it had never done before: it retreated, thereby making itself second-rate state in the Greek world. The very course of history was against Sparta, demography was against Sparta, geography. And luck itself turned away from her when a man like Epaminondas appeared.
After the liberation of Messenia in 370 BC. will never rise to the level of the power it once was in the Greek world. They were ruined by their own success. They lived in something like a greenhouse - a hermetic environment, feeding on their virtues, but they could not resist the corruption and temptations that accompanied luck.
Unlike other city-states, Sparta was shadow of the former power, it has become something of a living museum. During Roman times, Sparta became a kind of thematic museum where you could go and look at the local people and marvel at their strange way of life.
The great historian said that when future generations looked at Athens, they decided that Athens was 10 times larger than it really was, and Sparta was 10 times smaller than it really was.
The Spartans had very little to show the world; their houses and temples were simple. When Sparta lost power, it left behind very little worth noting. While Athens not only survived, it is still admired by the whole world.
Legacy of Sparta
However, the Spartans left heritage. Even before the smoke cleared from the ashes, Athenian thinkers were reviving the more noble aspects of Spartan society in their city-states.
This first appeared in Sparta constitutional government, other Greeks followed their example.
In many Greek cities there were civil wars , in Sparta - no. What was the matter? The ancients couldn't figure out why, just like we can't today. Something allowed Sparta to exist for a very long time, moreover, to create a certain political tradition associated with stability.
They were considered a kind of ideal of the Greek civilization of virtue. That's what they thought Socrates , . Republic concept largely based on the policies of the Spartans. But sometimes they saw in them what they wanted to see. Over the next 20 centuries, philosophers and politicians returned again and again to the glorious past that was once Sparta.
Sparta was idealized during the period of the Italian and its oligarchic government. Political stability of Sparta was presented as a kind of ideal.
In 18th century France, people were simply in love with Sparta. Rousseau declared that it was not a republic of people, but of demigods. During the time many wanted die nobly like the Spartans.
During American Revolution Sparta was the banner for those who wanted to create a stable democratic country. said that he learned more from the history of Thucydides than from local newspapers.
Thucydides tells how a radical democracy, Athens, lost the Peloponnesian War. This is probably why Jefferson and the other framers of the American Constitution preferred Sparta to Athens. pointed to Athenian democracy as a terrible example of what not to have in . Those. true democracy cannot be combined with an aristocratic element, and the good thing about Sparta is that everyone there lives in society, and everyone is first and foremost a citizen.
However, in the 20th century Sparta attracted attention not so much democratic societies, so many leaders who took on the worst aspects of Spartan society. I saw an ideal in Sparta, so the history of Sparta was included in the curriculum.
And his associates spoke very warmly about Sparta. He said that other countries could become helots of the German military caste. It is legitimate to see origins of totalitarianism in Spartan society.
The lessons of Sparta are still felt even in today's society. The Spartans were the creators, the founders of what we call Western military discipline, and it became a colossal advantage in, in, during the Renaissance and remains to this day.
Western armies have a completely different idea of what discipline is. Take a Western army and put it against the Iraqi army, against the army of some tribe, and it will almost always win, even if it is significantly outnumbered. Those. We owe Western discipline to Sparta. We learn from them that honor is one of important components human life. A person can live without honor if the surrounding circumstances make this possible. But a person cannot die without honor, because when we die, we seem to account for our lives.
But speaking of greatness, we must not forget that many people paid a terrible price for what she achieved. They had to suppress human qualities necessary for the full development of personality. At the same time, they doomed themselves to cruelty and narrow-mindedness. What they believed in supremacy and honor at the cost of losing freedom, even their own, is caricature on the true meaning of human life.
In the end it should be said that Sparta got what I deserved. Modern society has one advantage: by studying history, it can take the best from Sparta and discard the worst.
Sparta was the most brutal civilization in human history. Around the dawn of Greek history, while it was still going through its classical period, Sparta was already experiencing radical social and political revolutions. As a result, the Spartans came to the idea of complete equality. Literally. It was they who developed the key concepts that we partially use to this day.
It was in Sparta that the ideas of self-sacrifice in the name of the common good, the high value of duty and the rights of citizens were first voiced. In short, the goal of the Spartans was to become as ideal people as far as is within the power of a mere mortal. Believe it or not, every utopian idea that we still think about today has its origins in Spartan times.
The most a big problem The problem with studying the history of this amazing civilization is that the Spartans left very few records and did not leave behind monumental buildings that could be examined and analyzed.
However, scholars know that Spartan women enjoyed the rights to freedom, education and equality in such high degree, which women of no other civilizations of that time could boast of. Each member of society, woman or man, master or slave, played his own special valuable role in the life of Sparta.
That is why it is impossible to talk about the famous Spartan warriors without mentioning this civilization as a whole. Anyone could become a warrior; it was not a privilege or obligation for certain social classes. A very serious selection took place for the role of a soldier among all citizens of Sparta, without exception. Carefully selected applicants were trained to become ideal warriors. The process of hardening the Spartans was sometimes associated with very harsh methods of training and went to extremely extreme measures.
10. Spartan children were raised from an early age to participate in wars
Almost every aspect of Spartan life was under the control of the city-state. This also applied to children. Each Spartan infant was brought before a board of inspectors who checked the child for physical defects. If something seemed out of the norm to them, the child was removed from society and sent to his death outside the city walls, thrown from the nearby hills.
In some fortunate cases, these abandoned children found their salvation among random wanderers passing by, or they were taken in by “gelots” (lower class, Spartan slaves) working in the nearby fields.
IN early childhood those who survived the first qualifying stage bathed in baths with wine instead. The Spartans believed that this strengthened their strength. In addition, it was customary among parents to ignore the crying of their children so that they would get used to the “Spartan” lifestyle from infancy. Such educational techniques delighted foreigners so much that Spartan women were often invited to neighboring lands as nannies and nurses for their iron nerves.
Up until the age of 7, Spartan boys lived with their families, but after that the state itself took them away. The children were moved to public barracks, and a training period called “agoge” began in their lives. The goal of this program was to train young men into ideal warriors. IN new mode included physical exercise, training in various tricks, unconditional loyalty, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, developing pain tolerance, hunting, survival skills, communication skills and moral lessons. They were also taught to read, write, compose poetry and speak.
At the age of 12, all boys were stripped of their clothing and all other personal belongings except for a single red cloak. They were taught to sleep outside and make their own beds from reed branches. In addition, boys were encouraged to rummage through garbage or steal their own food. But if the thieves were caught, the children faced severe punishment in the form of flogging.
Spartan girls lived with their families even after the age of 7, but they also received the famous Spartan education, which included dancing lessons, gymnastics, throwing darts and discus. It was believed that these skills helped them best prepare for motherhood.
9. Hazing and fights among children
One of the key ways to mold boys into ideal soldiers and develop a truly stern disposition in them was to provoke them into fights with each other. Older boys and teachers often started quarrels among their students and encouraged them to get into fights.
The main goal of agoge was to instill in children resistance to all the hardships that would await them in war - cold, hunger or pain. And if someone showed even the slightest weakness, cowardice or embarrassment, they immediately became objects of cruel ridicule and punishment from their own comrades and teachers. Imagine that someone is bullying you at school, and the teacher comes up and joins the bullies. It was very unpleasant. And in order to “finish off”, the girls sang all sorts of offensive chants about the guilty students right during ceremonial meetings in front of high-ranking dignitaries.
Even grown men did not avoid abuse. The Spartans hated fat people. That is why all citizens, including even kings, participated daily in joint meals, “sissitia,” which were distinguished by their deliberate meagerness and insipidity. Along with daily physical activity this allowed Spartan men and women to keep themselves in good shape throughout their lives. Those who stood out from the mainstream were subject to public censure and even risked being expelled from the city if they did not rush to cope with their inconsistency with the system.
8. Endurance competition
An integral part Ancient Sparta and at the same time one of her most disgusting practices was the Endurance Contest - Diamastigosis. This tradition was intended to honor the memory of the incident when residents from neighboring settlements killed each other in front of the altar of Artemis as a sign of veneration of the goddess. Since then, human sacrifices have been performed here every year.
During the reign of the semi-mythical Spartan king Lycurgus, who lived in the 7th century BC, the rituals of worship at the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia were relaxed and included only the flogging of boys undergoing agoge. The ceremony continued until they completely covered all the steps of the altar with their blood. During the ritual, the altar was strewn with pine cones, which the children had to reach and collect.
The older children were waiting for the younger ones with sticks in their hands, beating the children without any compassion for their pain. The tradition at its core was the initiation of little boys into the ranks of full-fledged warriors and citizens of Sparta. The last child standing received great honors for his manhood. Children often died during such initiation.
During the occupation of Sparta by the Roman Empire, the tradition of Diamastigosis did not disappear, but lost its main ceremonial significance. Instead, it became simply a spectacular sporting event. People from all over the empire flocked to Sparta to watch the brutal flogging of young boys. By the 3rd century AD, the sanctuary had been converted into a regular theater with stands from which spectators could comfortably watch the beatings.
7. Crypteria
When the Spartans reached the age of 20 or so, those who were tagged as potential leaders were given the opportunity to participate in the Krypteria. It was a kind of secret police. Although in to a greater extent we were talking about partisan detachments that periodically terrorized and occupied neighboring Gelot settlements. Best years These units occurred in the 5th century BC, when Sparta had approximately 10,000 men capable of fighting, and the civilian Gelot population outnumbered them by a few.
On the other hand, the Spartans were constantly under threat of rebellion from the Gelotes. This constant threat was one of the reasons why Sparta developed such a militarized society and prioritized the belligerence of its citizens. Every man in Sparta was required by law to be raised as a soldier from childhood.
Each fall, young warriors were given the chance to test their skills during an unofficial declaration of war against enemy Gelot settlements. Members of Crypteria went out on missions at night, armed only with knives, and their goal was always to kill any Geloth they encountered along the way. The larger and stronger the enemy, the better.
This annual massacre was carried out to train neighbors to obey and reduce their numbers to a safe level. Only those boys and men who participated in such raids could expect to receive higher rank and privileged status in society. The rest of the year, the "secret police" patrolled the area, still executing any potentially dangerous Gelot without any proceedings.
6. Forced marriage
And although it can hardly be called something frankly terrifying, forced marriages by the age of 30 today would be considered unacceptable and even frightening by many. Until the age of 30, all Spartans lived in public barracks and served in the state army. Upon reaching the age of 30, they were released from military duty and transferred to the reserve until the age of 60. In any case, if by the age of 30 one of the men did not have time to find a wife, they were forced to marry.
The Spartans considered marriage important, but not the only way to conceive new soldiers, so girls were not married off until they were 19 years old. Applicants must first have carefully assessed their health and physical fitness their future life partners. And although it was often decided between the future husband and father-in-law, the girl also had the right to vote. After all, according to the law, Spartan women had equal rights with men, and even much greater than in some modern countries to this day.
If Spartan men married before their 30th birthday and while still in military service, they continued to live separately from their wives. But if a man went into the reserves while still single, it was considered that he was not fulfilling his duty to the state. The bachelor faced public ridicule for any reason, especially during official meetings.
And if for some reason the Spartan could not have children, he had to find a suitable partner for his wife. It even happened that one woman had several sexual partners, and together they raised common children.
5. Spartan weapons
The bulk of any ancient Greek army, including the Spartans, were “hoplites”. These were soldiers in bulky armor, citizens whose weapons were spent at a considerable expense so that they could participate in wars. And while the warriors of most Greek city-states lacked sufficient military and physical training and equipment, Spartan soldiers knew how to fight all their lives and were always ready to go to the battlefield. That's all for now Greek city-states built protective walls around their settlements, Sparta did not care about fortifications, considering its main defense to be hardened hoplites.
The main weapon of a hoplite, regardless of its origin, was a spear for the right hand. The length of the copies reached about 2.5 meters. The tip of this weapon was made of bronze or iron, and the handle was made of dogwood. This particular tree was used because it had the necessary density and strength. By the way, dogwood wood is so dense and heavy that it even sinks in water.
In his left hand the warrior held his round shield, the famous “hoplon”. The 13-kilogram shields were used primarily for defense, but were sometimes used in close combat strike techniques. Shields were made of wood and leather, and covered with a layer of bronze on top. The Spartans marked their shields with the letter "lambda", which symbolized Laconia, a region of Sparta.
If a spear broke or the battle became too close, the hoplites from the front would take up their "xipos", short swords. They were 43 centimeters long and were intended for close combat. But the Spartans preferred their “kopis” to such xipos. This type of sword inflicted particularly painful slashing wounds on the enemy due to its specific one-sided sharpening along the inner edge of the blade. The kopis was used more like an axe. Greek artists often depicted Spartans with copis in their hands.
For additional protection, soldiers wore bronze helmets that covered not only the head, but also the back of the neck and face. Also among the armor were chest and back shields made of bronze or leather. The soldiers' shins were protected by special bronze plates. The forearms were covered in the same way.
4. Phalanx
There are certain signs of what stage of development a civilization is at, and among them is how peoples fight. Tribal societies tend to fight chaotically and haphazardly, with each warrior swinging his ax or sword as he pleases and seeking personal glory.
But more advanced civilizations fight according to thoughtful tactics. Each soldier plays a specific role in his squad and is subordinate to the overall strategy. This is how the Romans fought, and the ancient Greeks, who included the Spartans, fought this way. By and large, the famous Roman legions were formed precisely according to the example of the Greek “phalanxes”.
Hoplites gathered into regiments, “lokhoi,” consisting of several hundred citizens, and lined up in columns of 8 or more rows. This formation was called a phalanx. The men stood shoulder to shoulder in close groups, protected on all sides by comrade shields. In the spaces between the shields and helmets there was literally a forest of spears sticking outward with their peaks.
The phalanxes were characterized by highly organized movement thanks to rhythmic accompaniments and chants, which the Spartans learned intensively at a young age during training. It happened that Greek cities fought among themselves, and then in battle one could see spectacular clashes of several phalanxes at once. The battle continued until one of the troops stabbed the other to death. It could be compared to a bloody skirmish during a rugby match, but in ancient armor.
3. Nobody gives up
The Spartans were raised to be extremely loyal and despised cowardice above all other human shortcomings. Soldiers were expected to be fearless in all circumstances. Even if we are talking about the last straw and until the last survivor. For this reason, the act of surrender was equivalent to the most intolerable cowardice.
If, under some unimaginable circumstances, a Spartan hoplite had to surrender, he would then commit suicide. The ancient historian Herodotus recalled two unknown Spartans who missed an important battle and committed suicide out of shame. One hanged himself, the other went to certain expiatory death during the next battle in the name of Sparta.
Spartan mothers were famous for often telling their sons before battle, “Come back with your shield, or don’t come back at all.” This meant that they were either waiting for victory or dead. Moreover, if a warrior lost his own shield, he also left his comrade without protection, which jeopardized the entire mission and was unacceptable.
Sparta believed that a soldier had fully fulfilled his duty only when he died for his state. The man had to die on the battlefield, and the woman had to give birth to children. Only those who fulfilled this duty were entitled to be buried in a grave with their name engraved on the headstone.
2. Thirty Tyrants
Sparta was famous for the fact that it always sought to extend its utopian views to neighboring city-states. First there were the Messenians from the west, whom the Spartans conquered in the 7th - 8th centuries BC, turning them into their slaves, the Gelots. Later, Sparta's gaze turned even to Athens. During the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BC, the Spartans not only subjugated the Athenians, but also inherited their naval supremacy in the Aegean region. This has never happened before. The Spartans did not raze the glorious city to the ground, as the Corinthians advised them, but instead decided to mold the conquered society in their own image.
To do this, they established a “pro-Spartan” oligarchy in Athens, infamously known as the regime of the “Thirty Tyrants”. The main goal of this system was the reformation, and in most cases the complete destruction of the fundamental Athenian laws and orders in exchange for the proclamation of the Spartan version of democracy. They carried out reforms in the field of power structures and reduced the rights of most social classes.
500 councilors were appointed to perform judicial duties that had previously belonged to all citizens. The Spartans also elected 3,000 Athenians to "share power with them." In fact, these local managers simply had slightly more privileges than other residents. During the 13-month regime of Sparta, 5% of the population of Athens died or simply fled from the city, many other people's property was confiscated, and crowds of supporters of the old system of government of Athens were sent into exile.
The former student of Socrates, Critias, leader of the Thirty, was recognized as a cruel and completely inhumane ruler who set out to turn the conquered city into a reflection of Sparta at any cost. Critias acted as if he were still at his post in the Spartan Cryptea, and executed all the Athenians whom he considered dangerous to the establishment of the new order of things.
300 standard bearers were hired to patrol the city, who ended up intimidating and terrorizing the local population. About 1,500 of the most prominent Athenians who did not support the new government forcibly took poison - hemlock. Interestingly, the more cruel the tyrants were, the more resistance they encountered from local residents.
As a result, after 13 months of the brutal regime, a successful coup took place, led by Thrasybulus, one of the few citizens who escaped from exile. During the Athenian Restoration, the 3,000 aforementioned traitors were granted amnesty, but the remaining defectors, including those same 30 tyrants, were executed. Kritias died in one of the first battles.
Mired in corruption, betrayal and violence, the short reign of the tyrants led to strong distrust of the Athenians towards each other even for the next few years after the fall of the dictatorship.
1. The famous Battle of Thermopylae
Best known today from the 1998 comic book series and the 2006 film 300, the Battle of Thermopylae, which took place in 480 BC, was an epic massacre between the Greek army led by the Spartan king Leonidas I and the Persians led by King Xerxes.
Initially, the conflict arose between these two peoples even before the accession of the mentioned military leaders, during the reign of Darius I, the predecessor of Xerxes. He greatly expanded the boundaries of his lands deep into the European continent and at some point turned his hungry gaze to Greece. After the death of Darius, Xerxes almost immediately after assuming his rights as king began preparations for the invasion. This was the greatest threat Greece had ever faced.
After much negotiation between the Greek city-states, a combined force of approximately 7,000 hoplites was sent to defend the Thermopylae Pass, through which the Persians planned to advance into all of Hellas. For some reason, in the film adaptations and comics, those same several thousand hoplites were not mentioned, including the legendary Athenian fleet.
Among the several thousand Greek warriors were the celebrated 300 Spartans, whom Leonidas personally led into battle. Xerxes assembled an army of 80,000 soldiers for his invasion. The relatively small Greek defense was due to the fact that they did not want to send too many warriors too far to the north of the country. Another reason was a more religious motive. In those days the sacred days were just passing. Olympic Games and Sparta's most important ritual festival, Carneia, during which bloodshed was prohibited. In any case, Leonidas realized the danger facing his army and called together 300 of his most devoted Spartans, who had already given birth to male heirs.
Located 153 kilometers north of Athens, the Thermopylae Gorge provided an excellent defensive position. Only 15 meters wide, sandwiched between almost vertical cliffs and the sea, this gorge created a great inconvenience for the numerically superior Persian army. Such limited space did not allow the Persians to properly deploy their full power.
This gave the Greeks a significant advantage along with the defensive wall already built here. When Xerxes finally arrived, he had to wait 4 days in the hope that the Greeks would surrender. That did not happen. Then he sent his envoys one last time to call on the enemy to lay down their arms, to which Leonidas replied “come and take it yourself.”
Over the next 2 days, the Greeks repelled numerous Persian attacks, including a battle with an elite detachment of “Immortals” from the personal guard of the Persian king. But betrayed by a local shepherd, who showed Xerxes about a secret bypass route through the mountains, on the second day the Greeks still found themselves surrounded by the enemy.
Faced with such an unpleasant situation, the Greek commander disbanded most of the hoplites, except for 300 Spartans and a few other selected soldiers, to make a last stand. During the last attack of the Persians, the glorious Leonidas and 300 Spartans fell, honorably fulfilling their duty to Sparta and its people.
To this day, in Thermopylae there is a sign with the inscription “Traveler, go tell our citizens in Lacedaemon that, keeping their covenants, here we died in bones.” And although Leonidas and his people died, their joint feat inspired the Spartans to gather their courage in the subsequent Greco-Persian wars overthrow the evil occupiers.
The Battle of Thermopylae forever secured Sparta's reputation as the most unique and powerful civilization.
Sparta was one of the most important Greek city-states in the ancient world. The main difference was the military power of the city.
Professional and well-trained, Spartan hoplites, with their characteristic red cloaks, long hair and large shields, were the best and most feared fighters in Greece.
Warriors fought in the most important battles ancient world: in and Plataea, as well as in numerous battles with Athens and Corinth. The Spartans also distinguished themselves during two protracted and bloody battles during the Peloponnesian War.
Sparta in mythology
Myths say that the founder of Sparta was Lacedaemon, the son of. Sparta was an integral part and its main military stronghold (this role of the city in is especially indicative).
The Spartan king Menelaus declared war after Paris, the son of the Trojan rulers Priam and Hecuba, kidnapped his future wife, Helen, from the city, who was bequeathed to the hero herself.
Elena was the most beautiful woman in Greece, and there were a lot of contenders for her hand and heart, including the Spartans.
The history of Sparta
Sparta was located in the fertile Eurotas valley in Laconia, in the southeastern Peloponnese. The area was first inhabited during the Neolithic period and became an important settlement established during the Bronze Age.
Archaeological evidence suggests that Sparta was created in the 10th century BC. At the end of the 8th century BC, Sparta annexed most of neighboring Messenia and its population increased significantly.
Thus, Sparta occupied about 8,500 km² of territory, which made it the largest polis in Greece, a city-state that had influence on the general political life of the entire region. The conquered peoples of Messenia and Laconia had no rights in Sparta and had to submit to harsh laws, such as serving as unpaid mercenaries in the war effort.
Another social group of Spartan residents were the helots, who lived on the territory of the city and were mainly engaged in agriculture, replenishing Sparta’s supplies and leaving themselves only a small percentage for the work.
Helots had the lowest social status, and in the event of martial law being declared, they became liable for military service.
Relations between the full citizens of Sparta and the helots were difficult: uprisings often raged in the city. The most famous occurred in the 7th century BC; because of him, Sparta was defeated in a clash with Argos in 669 BC. (However, in 545 BC, Sparta managed to take revenge at the Battle of Tegea).
Instability in the region was resolved by Spartan statesmen through the creation of the Peloponnesian League, uniting Corinth, Tegea, Elis and other territories.
In accordance with this agreement, which lasted from approximately 505 to 365. BC. League members were obliged to provide their warriors to Sparta at any time necessary. This unification of lands allowed Sparta to establish hegemony over almost the entire Peloponnese.
In addition, Sparta expanded more and more, conquering more and more new territories.
Reunification with Athens
The troops of Sparta managed to overthrow the tyrants of Athens, and as a result, democracy was established in almost all of Greece. Often the warriors of Sparta came to the aid of Athens (for example, in a military campaign against the Persian king Xerxes or in the battle of Thermopylae and Plataea).
Often Athens and Sparta argued over the ownership of territories, and one day these conflicts turned into the Peloponnesian Wars.
Long-term hostilities caused damage to both sides, but Sparta finally won the war thanks to its Persian allies (almost the entire Athenian fleet was then destroyed). However, Sparta, despite its ambitious plans, never became the leading city in Greece.
Ongoing aggressive policy Sparta in central and northern Greece, Asia Minor and Sicily again dragged the city into a protracted military conflict: the Corinthian Wars with Athens, Thebes, Corinth and from 396 to 387. BC..
The conflict resulted in the "King's Peace", in which Sparta ceded its empire to Persian control but still remained the leading city in Greece.
In the 3rd century BC, Sparta was forced to join the Achaean confederation. The final end of Sparta's power came in 396 AD, when the Visigoth king Alaric captured the city.
Spartan army
Great attention was paid to military training in Sparta. From the age of seven, all boys began to study martial art and lived in barracks. The compulsory set of subjects was athletics and weightlifting, military strategy, mathematics and physics.
From the age of 20, young people entered the service. Harsh training transformed the Spartans from fierce and strong soldiers, hoplites, into those ready to demonstrate their fighting power at any moment.
Therefore, Sparta did not even have any fortifications around the city. They simply didn't need them.