Historical sources on ancient Sparta

Extract A

"There is so much uncertainty in the accounts which historians have left us of Lycurgus, the lawgiver of Sparta, that scarcely anything is [stated] by one of them which is not called into question or contradicted by the rest. Their [opinions] are quite different as to the family he came of, the voyages he undertook, the place and manner of his death, but most of all when they speak of the laws he made and the commonwealth which he founded." 

Extract B

"Be this as it will, Sous certainly was the most [famous] of all his ancestors, under whose [leadership] the Spartans made slaves of the Helots, and added to their [territories], by conquest, a good part of Arcadia." 

Extract C

"Lycurgus was of another mind; he would not have masters bought out of the market for his young Spartans, nor such as should sell their pains; nor was it lawful, indeed, for the father himself to breed up the children after his own fancy; but as soon as they were seven years old they were to be enrolled in certain companies and classes, where they all lived under the same order and discipline, doing their exercises and taking their play together. Of these, he who showed the most [leadership] and courage was made captain; they had their eyes always upon him, obeyed his orders, and underwent patiently whatsoever punishment he [gave]; so that the whole course of their education was one continued exercise of a ready and perfect obedience." 

Extract D

"Reading and writing they gave them, just enough to serve their turn; their chief care was to make them good subjects, and to teach them to endure pain and conquer in battle. To this end, as they grew in years, their discipline was [increased to match]; their heads were close-clipped, they were accustomed to go barefoot, and for the most part to play naked." 

Extract E

"Hence it was natural for them to think and speak as Gorgo, for example, the wife of Leonidas, is said to have done, when some foreign lady, as it would seem, told her that the women of Lacedaemon [Sparta] were the only women in the world who could rule men; 'With good reason,' she said, 'for we are the only women who bring forth men.'" 

Contextual information:

Plutarch was a Greek historian and philosopher who lived from approximately 46 to 120 CE. He wrote the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies comparing famous Greek and Roman figures, during the period of the Roman Empire. The Life of Lycurgus was written around 75 CE and draws on earlier Greek sources, many of which are now lost, to describe the legendary Spartan lawgiver and the society he created. 

Bibliographical reference:

Plutarch. (75 CE/1859). Lycurgus. In A. H. Clough (Ed.), Plutarch's lives (J. Dryden, Trans., Chapters 1, 2, 14, 16). Little, Brown and Co. (Original work written c. 75 CE; translation originally published 1683, revised 1859) 

Copyright: Public domain. 

"Archidamus, the son of Zeuxidamus, after an [well-known] reign over the Lacedaemonians [Spartans], left behind him a son, Agis, by Lampido, a woman of honourable family; and a much younger son, Agesilaus, by Eupolia, the daughter of Melesippidas. The kingdom belonged to Agis by law, and it was thought that Agesilaus would pass his life in a private [position]. He was therefore given the so-called 'agoge,' or course of public training in Sparta, which, although [strict] in its mode of life and full of hardships, educated the youth to obedience. For this reason it was, we are told, that Simonides gave Sparta the [title] of 'man-subduing,' since more than in any other state her customs made her citizens obedient to the laws and [manageable], like horses that are broken in while yet they are colts. From this [required] training the law exempts the heirs-[to the throne]." 

Contextual information:

This passage comes from a different biography within Plutarch's Parallel Lives, written around 75 CE. The Life of Agesilaus tells the story of King Agesilaus II of Sparta (c. 444–360 BCE), and in its opening section provides one of the clearest ancient descriptions of the agoge, the Spartan education and training system, by name. 

Bibliographical reference:

Plutarch. (75 CE/1917). Agesilaus. In B. Perrin (Trans.), Plutarch's lives (Vol. 5, Chapter 1, Sections 1–2). Harvard University Press. (Original work written c. 75 CE) 

Copyright: Public domain.

Extract A

"In other states the girls who are destined to become mothers and are brought up in the approved fashion, live on the very plainest fare, with a most [small] allowance of [treats]. Wine is either withheld altogether, or, if allowed them, is [mixed] with water. The rest of the Greeks expect their girls to imitate the [inactive] life that is typical of [craftspeople] — to keep quiet and do wool-work. How, then, is it to be expected that women so brought up will bear fine children? But Lycurgus thought the labour of slave women sufficient to supply clothing. He believed motherhood to be the most important function of freeborn woman. Therefore, in the first place, he insisted on physical training for the female no less than for the male sex: moreover, he [set up] races and trials of strength for women competitors as for men, believing that if both parents are [physically fit] they produce more [healthy] offspring." 

Extract B

"In other states, I suppose, all men make as much money as they can. One is a farmer, another a ship-owner, another a merchant, and others live by different [trades]. But at Sparta Lycurgus forbade freeborn citizens to have anything to do with business affairs. He insisted on their regarding as their own concern only those activities that make for [the freedom of the city-state]." 

Extract C

"It is probable also that these same citizens helped to set up the office of Ephor, having come to the conclusion that obedience is a very great blessing whether in a state or an army or a household. For they thought that the greater the power of these [officials] the more they would impress the minds of the citizens. Accordingly, the Ephors are [able] to fine whom they choose, and have authority to [demand] immediate payment: they have authority also to deprive the [other officials] of office, and even to imprison and [bring] a [serious] charge against them." 

Extract D

"Further, all rise from their seats when the King appears; only the Ephors do not rise from their official chairs. And they exchange oaths monthly, the Ephors on behalf of the state, the King for himself. And this is the King's oath: 'I will reign according to the established laws of the state.' And this the oath of the state: 'While you abide by your oath, we will keep the kingship [secure].'" 

Contextual information:

Xenophon was an Athenian soldier, historian, and student of the philosopher Socrates, who lived from approximately 430 to 354 BCE. He spent considerable time living among the Spartans after being exiled from Athens, and was a personal friend of the Spartan king Agesilaus II. His Constitution of the Lacedaemonians is the only surviving first-hand account of the Spartan political system written during the period when Sparta was at the height of its power. 

Bibliographical reference:

Xenophon. (c. 375 BCE/1925). Constitution of the Lacedaemonians. In E. C. Marchant (Trans.), Xenophon: Scripta minora (Sections I.3–4, VII.1–2, VIII.3–4, XV.6–7). Harvard University Press. (Original work written c. 387–375 BCE) 

Copyright: Public domain.

Extract A

"Meanwhile Demaratus, son of Ariston, was bringing charges against Cleomenes at Sparta. He too, like Cleomenes, was king of the Spartans, but he belonged to the lower house — not indeed that his house was of any lower origin than the other, for both houses are of one blood — but the house of Eurysthenes is the more honoured of the two, [because] it is the elder branch." 

Extract B

"The wife of Aristodemus, whose name (they say) was Argeia… within a little while after their coming into the country, gave birth to twins. Aristodemus just lived to see his children, but died soon afterwards of a disease. The Lacedaemonians [Spartans] of that day determined, according to custom, to take for their king the elder of the two children; but they were so alike, and so exactly of one size, that they could not possibly tell which of the two to choose… The [priestess at Delphi] made answer, 'Let both be taken to be kings; but let the elder have the greater honour.'" 

Contextual information:

Herodotus was a Greek historian born in the city of Halicarnassus (in modern Turkey) around 484 BCE. He is often called "the Father of History" because his Histories is regarded as the first work of historical writing in the Western tradition. Book VI of his Histories deals with the period leading up to the Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) and includes detailed descriptions of Spartan customs and the origins of its dual kingship. 

Bibliographical reference:

Herodotus. (c. 430 BCE/1858). The history of Herodotus (G. Rawlinson, Trans., Book VI, Sections 51–52). John Murray. (Original work written c. 430 BCE) 

Copyright: Public domain.

Extract A

"For I suppose if Lacedaemon [Sparta] were to become [abandoned], and the temples and the foundations of the public buildings were left, that as time went on there would be a [tendency] with [future generations] to refuse to accept her fame as a true [sign] of her power. And yet they occupy two-fifths of Peloponnese and lead the whole, not to speak of their numerous allies without." 

Extract B

"The history of this period has been also written by the same Thucydides, an Athenian, in the [time] order of events by summers and winters, to the time when the Lacedaemonians [Spartans] and their allies put an end to the Athenian empire, and took the Long Walls and Piraeus. The war had then lasted for twenty-seven years in all." 

Extract C

"I lived through the whole of it, being of an age to [understand] events, and giving my attention to them in order to know the exact truth about them. It was also my fate to be an exile from my country for twenty years after my command at Amphipolis; and being present with both parties, and more especially with the Peloponnesians by reason of my exile, I had [the opportunity] to observe affairs somewhat particularly." 

Contextual information:

Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian who lived from approximately 460 to 400 BCE. He personally fought in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) and began writing his history at the outbreak of the conflict, believing it would be a war of special importance. After losing the city of Amphipolis to the Spartan general Brasidas in 424 BCE, he was exiled from Athens and spent the remaining years of the war observing events from both sides. His account is considered one of the earliest works of evidence-based historical writing. 

Bibliographical reference:

Thucydides. (c. 400 BCE/1874). The history of the Peloponnesian War (R. Crawley, Trans., Book I, Section 10; Book V, Section 26). J. M. Dent. (Original work written c. 431–400 BCE) 

Copyright: Public domain.