Ancient Societies - Spartan society to the Battle of Leuctra 371BC

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1 HSC Ancient History Year 2017 Mark Pages 30 Published May 2, 2018 Ancient Societies - Spartan society to the Battle of Leuctra 371BC By Chenyue (99.75 ATAR)

2 Powered by TCPDF ( Your notes author, Chenyue. Chenyue achieved an ATAR of in 2017 while attending Sefton High School Currently studying Commerce/Law at The University of New South Wales Achievements: Sefton High School Dux Second in NSW - Ancient History 2017 Tenth in NSW - History Extension 2017 First internally for English Advanced Economics Modern History Ancient History and History Extension Chenyue says: Hi, I'm Cherie and I completed my HSC in 2017 with an ATAR of I achieved Band 6 results for all my subjects that I am selling notes for. In specific, I came second in the state for Ancient History and tenth in the state for History Extension. I am also available for tutoring:

3 1. The geographical setting a. the geographical setting, natural features and resources of ancient Sparta located in the Eurotas River Valley an area known as Laconia o rich alluvial plain good for agriculture in the mountainous landscape of the Peloponnese Sparta was surrounded on three sides by rugged mountains: Mt. Taygetus, Arcadian mountains, Parnon ranges o its physical isolation contributed Spartan insularity from the rest of the Greek world o provided natural protection from invaders; did not have city walls as a result unlike other Greek polis Laconia greatly relied upon the neighbouring region of Messenia o softened repetition of Laconia with milder climate and greater fertility Michell resources were abundant once Messenia was conquered following the Second Messenian War in the 700s BC o crops such as barley, wheat, olives and figs o livestock such as sheep and pigs were grazed o boars could be hunted in the mountains o iron, copper and tin for bronze could be mined 1. The geographical setting b. significant site: Sparta acropolis was built on a low spur but Sparta did not have a town centre like other Greek cities o neither built in a compact form nor adorned with magnificent temples and public edifices, but composed of villages after the old fashion of Hellas Thucydides statues and memorials dedicated to prominent individuals at the base of the acropolis suffered earthquakes due to a nearby geological fault temples, Temple of Artemis Orthia and the Temple of Athena were located on the outskirts of town in comparison to other Greek towns in which temples featured prominently Sparta did not have city walls like other Greek city states because they had the natural protection of mountain ranges

4 2. Social structure and political organisation a. the issue of Lycurgus (the Great Rhetra) Lycurgan reforms led to the creation of a new Spartan constitution praised as a krasis of royal, oligarchic and democratic elements by later Greek writers Lycurgus is extremely problematic for modern day historians because there isn t much known about him: o Plutarch viewed him as Lycurgus the lawgiver ; him, Herodotus, Aristotle and other contemporary Greek writers assert that Lycurgus was a real historical figure o modern historians doubt his existence as a single individual, moreso a figure of Spartan myth the very existence of Lycurgus is strongly open to debate Michell the Great Rhetra is the text obtained by Lycurgus from the Delphic Oracle at Delphi aspects of Lycurgan reform: o introduction of a council of elders elected by the people in order to provide a balance between royal tyranny and democracy o land reform to remove arrogance, envy, crime Plutarch land was put together and redistributed more equally o common messes (syssitia) were introduced to promote further equality o gold and silver coinage were invalidated to discourage greed and the accumulation of wealth à iron bar system of currency introduced notion of Eunomia order and good government, which was the basis of Spartan society along with its military ethos o made many writers admire Sparta

5 2. Social structure and political organisation b. roles and privileges of the two kings Sparta s retainment of the monarchy meant that its two kings, who came from the Agiad and Europontid families, continued to have prominent roles and privileges in Spartan society. Religious roles and privileges: priests of the city who worshiped Zeus Lacedaemonios or Zeus Uranious depending on which family they came from expected to make sacrifices to Apollo, the god of war, every month and before battle o privileged by receiving better seats at ceremonies and were allowed to receive the skins of any animal that was sacrificed limited by religion as they had to have divine favour to stay in power as the ephors would watch the skies every seven years o should a star shoot from one sector, they conclude that the kings have committed some fault relating to religion and are suspended from their office Plutarch Social roles and privileges: received double portions at the syssition o so that they would have something to offer as a mark of respect Xenophon kept order as only one king was sent into battle o this dissuaded rebellion, especially from an increasingly agitated helot population Military roles and privileges: the king that went into war was the supreme commander and received a portion of the spoils of war privileged as they also had a supreme force of 100 as their personal bodyguards ephors were assigned to keep watch over the kings o e.g. Leotychides was exiled in 476BC because he had accepted bribes role declined with the growth of other political bodies o it became the public assembly s decision to declare war while the ephors took charge of organising troops o as public opinion grew more articulated, it became customary for other organs to have a share in deciding questions of war and peace Sealey Judicial and political roles and privileges: legal adoption, finding marriage partners for heiresses without fathers and the management of public highways were the only judicial and political roles of the two kings they could be tried by the ephors for unconstitutional behaviour o an easy-going acquiescence in whatever the ephors desired was the safest for a king Michell part of the gerousia although there is nothing to indicate this was a source of special influence Sealey balanced by the growing political and judicial power of the ephors

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