Reform of Spartan Society and the Laws of Lycurgus

Due to the continual wars at the time, and the constant threat of revolt of the helots, some changes needed to be made. Lycurgus instituted reforms that reshaped the Spartan way of life. Backed by letters from the oracles he initiated many reforms.

First, he canceled all debts and divided the land into 9000 even parcels for each of the Spartans. The Helots belonged to the state and were assigned to the parcel. Gold and silver coins were outlawed and replaced with iron coins of such a low denomination that it would be too heavy to accumulate wealth. This almost eliminated theft as well as eliminating foreign trade.

Sparta had been ruled by two kings and committee. The reforms set up the Gerousia, made up of 28 elders plus the two kings. Voting was taken by which side yelled the loudest, and not by the number of votes. The day to day governing came from the Ephorate, a group of 5 Ephors, citizens who were elected for 1 year without being able to be re-elected. They would listen to the Gerousia, but were not bound by their decisions.

All citizens would work for the benefit of the state. Parents would raise children until the age of 7. Then they would be put in the apoge, or school. They would be assigned a mentor who would advise them through their school years. At 18 they would be "exiled" for one year to survive on their own. They were encouraged to steal from the Helots, but would be beaten if they were caught. At 19 they were issued a shield with the words "Come home with this in victory, or on it." They then became a Spartiate, or citizen. The shield was the most important thing that they would own: a helmet or greaves were for their personal protection, but the shield protected their brothers as well.

The Spartans, as most Greeks, fought Hoplite style. The carried a large round shield that was made of wood with bronze covering the front. The back was hollowed out and had a shield stand attached to keep the shield upright and ready to use at a moment's notice. They wore a bronze helm to protect their heads, as well as bronze greaves to protect their lower legs. Each soldier went into battle with an 8-foot long spear, and a xiphos -- a short leaf bladed sword for close combat. Javelins were also used. Archers were not very common, as arrows had limited effect in this type of warfare, although the Spartans sometimes hired archers. Calvary was also unusual among the Spartans at this time.

Warriors brought with them on campaign two sticks with their name carved into them, the equivalent of dog tags. They were made of wood so that they had no value in case the dead were looted. One stick was placed in a bowl before the battle, and then picked up after the battle -- the sticks that remained in the bowl after the battle named those that had died. The other stick was tied to the wrist of the Spartan to identify his body incase he was unrecognizable in death. The Spartans had a policy that they would not loot the bodies of a defeated army, nor would they pursue them.

The Spartans were very religious people. The primarily worshiped Apollo, though they prayed to Athena before battle. In several cases they refused to march to battle because it was a religious holiday. They would wait until after the holiday. Due to this policy the Spartans even missed the Battle of Marathon. Sacrificial animals would be taken with them on the march and sacrificed before the battle started. The entrails would be read for an omen. Sometimes they would sacrifice several animals until they received an omen.

Unlike other Greek city-states, Sparta did not have any walls around the city. In part the walls weren’t needed because they had little to steal, in part it was Sparta’s remote location, deep in the mountains and far from the sea. Mostly, it was the reputation of the warriors of Sparta. When one Athenian questioned the Spartan king about the lack of walls, the Spartan king responded "Our shields are our walls." The Athenian asked how many warriors they had and the response was "Enough". Another Spartan King replied to the question about the city without walls, saying that "The bodies of our young men are our walls and their spear points are our borders.

The Spartans were not known to be people of many words. They did not tolerate people that spoke with long flowery speeches, instead they preferred people to be direct and to the point. They also had a pointed sense of humor. When two envoys from the Persian king Darius came to get water and soil samples as a token of submission, they were thrown down the well and told that they could get there samples from the bottom.

The role of the women of Sparta was much more liberated than that of the women of the other "Greek cities of the time. They were expected to manage the family estate while the husband was off on campaign. Lycurgus believed that the women had to be strong and brave to be able to give birth to strong and brave sons. In order to achieve this, Spartan women were allowed to travel about the City in the course of their duties, while the women of other Greek cities were confined to the most private rooms of their own houses. Spartan women were even allowed (and expected) to exercise at the gymnasia. The gymnasia was the "village green" at the center of the city where exercise was practiced. It was called the gymnasia from the word gymnos, which means naked, for the exercise was generally done while naked. When a foreigner commented about the strength of Spartan women as the only women that can handle men, the reply was that it was because only Spartan women give birth to real men.

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