“Using sources you have studied, assess the social and political features
of Spartan Society that made it unique throughout Greece”
Spartan society is portrayed by modern and ancient sources as austere and militaristic
and to be constructed on the principles of survival of the fittest, class-based hegemony
and, to a degree, socialism. Both ancient sources, “clearly…the most powerful and
most famous state in Greece (Xenophon, p. 194) and modern, “the original utopia”
(Cartledge, 2002, p. 22) have a great appreciation for Spartan society. Significantly,
Sparta was incredibly different from all the other Greek states regardless of their
relative geographical proximity. It can be seen how considerably distinct Spartan
society was from the rest of Greece by looking at social features such as the presence
of a strong class system and the unique role of women, and the political framework of
Spartan society. By looking at these elements of Sparta and comparing it to the other
Greek city states, the sheer austerity and dissimilarities of the society can be easily
identified.
Social components of Spartan society made it quite distinct from the rest of the Greek
city states. Most significant of these was the class system of Sparta, upon which the
whole society was dependent on to function. Sparta had two primary social classes:
the homoioi or Spartiate who were the full members of the state and the servant Helot
class. Additionally the Spartan state had the Perioeci, who supplemented the lack of
craftsmen and economic functionaries among the Spartiate class. What was unique
about the Spartan social structure in comparison to the rest of Greece was that
typically Greek states would have a citizen class that was free to go down their
avenue of life, and mostly “important foreigners of barbarians” (Cartledge, 2002, p.
67) would work for them. Instead, in Sparta a Sparitate was expected to live a
rigorous militaristic life that only allowed the fit to survive. A Spartiate would be
examined for his strength from birth, where if “the baby was puny…they dispatched it
to what was called ‘the place of rejection’…considering it better both for itself and the
state” (Plutarch, p. 20). From the age of seven to about eighteen they would be
brought up by the Agoge, a thorough militaristic training program for the young
Spartiates. For the rest of their life they would be involved in constant drilling and
training, as Plutarch puts it, “Spartiates training extended into adulthood, for no one
was permitted to live as he pleased” (Plutarch, p. 29). On the other side of the coin
were the Helots, “serf-like peasants” who “provided the economic basis of their
unique lifestyle” (Cartledge, 2002, p. 27). What was truly different of the Helots to
the other Greek slave classes was that they “shared their masters’ culture and
language” (Cartledge, 2002, p. 67) and essentially, were a “Greek ethnic group
enslaved en masse” (Cartledge, 2002, p. 67). The Spartiate and Helot classes highlight
the significant uniqueness of the Spartan state to the rest of Greece, as while the other
Greek states allowed a more liberal lifestyle for its populace and used foreigners for
slaves, the Spartiates were held to a military law-code for their life and used the
conquered Messenians to supply their servant class so that they could be entirely
focused on their military routine.
As well as the strong class system of Sparta, the unique role of women in Spartan
society is characteristic to its uniqueness to the other Greek states. As Xenophon puts
it, “elsewhere girls who are prospective mothers and considered to be well brought up
are fed the plainest practicable diet… [they] require girls to be sedentary” (Xenophon,
p. 194). Spartan women were brought up very differently to other Greek women.
Rather than being “sedentary”, Spartan women were “required…to take physical
exercise just as much as males” (Xenophon, p. 194) and to contest the men in strength
and speed. The overall aim of this was to prepare women for “the challenge of
childbirth” (Plutarch, p. 17), as in Spartan society “the production of children was the
most important duty of free women” (Xenophon, p. 194). Additionally, women were
bred to be “fit partners for the men and fit mothers of future Spartan warriors”
(Cartledge, 2002, p. 63). By this token, Spartan women were not given a place in the
army, but were “formally educated and socialised” (Cartledge, 2002, p. 63). Along
with their unique role of procreation in Spartan society, women also played a role in
the maintenance of managing the household and the kleros. As the kleros and the
Helots attached to it was the means of production in Spartan society, Spartan women
were able to distinguish themselves from other Greek women by their accessibility to
wealth. Pomeroy claims that by Aristotle’s time women owned two-fifths of the land
and that Spartan women were the wealthiest women in mainland Greece (Pomeroy, p.
82). This demonstrates how women in Sparta had two unique roles, compared to other
Greek women: they were brought up for the purposes of childbirth, and they had a
profound access to the collection of wealth. Further, it demonstrates how unique
Spartan society was in ancient Greece.
The political framework also was a unique construct to Spartan society. Rather than
being a conventional form of monarchy or a new democracy like their Greek
neighbours, the Spartan political system took elements from monarchy, oligarchy and
democracy. The monarchical element was represented by the two kings of the Agiad
and Europontid royal families. Kings had the role of chief priest, and “by virtue of his
divine descent, should perform all the public sacrifices on the city’s behalf”
(Xenophon, p. 211). Kings also presided over the ekklesia with the gerousia of thirty
elders, whom represented the oligarchic element of the Spartan political framework.
Additionally, five ephors; executive members of the Spartan political body, further
represented this oligarchic element. Processes in the ekklesia of putting notions to the
people and allowing a vote of ‘acclaim’ for elders by the people reflected the
democratic aspect of Sparta’s political system. In addition to the system itself, what
was particularly Spartan in this system was that it prevented the state from falling into
a state of tyranny from the monarchs or from the people (Plutarch, p. 8). Instead, it
struck a fine balance between the two. Plutarch comments on this system as being
greater to the other Greek political systems, “initially their circumstances and those of
the Spartans had been equal…however they did not prosper very long, but through
their insolence of their kings…and the non-cooperation of their masses…they threw
their institutions into complete turmoil” (Plutarch, p. 10). Plutarch’s quote
demonstrates not only how unique the political framework was to the other Greek
states, but how effective the Spartan system was compared to theirs. Moreover, the
Spartan political system was incredibly significant in terms of its uniqueness to Sparta
in Greece.
While “the Spartans were considered in antiquity to be intriguing, extreme and even
alien” (Cartledge, 2002, p. 22), their austerity and uniqueness brought them a greater
level of social and political success. This can be seen in relation to the strong class
system, the role of women, and the political framework of Spartan society. Spartan
soldiers were revered throughout Greece, Spartan women were considered “the most
beautiful in all Greece” (Cartledge, 2002, p. 50) and Spartan governments remained
more stable than their Greek counterparts, as demonstrated by Plutarch. Therefore, the
social and political qualities of Spartan society were incredibly significant to the
uniqueness of the Spartan state, and to its success as a state.