~ ARISTOTLE’S CRITICISMS OF THE CONSTITUTION ~
Although the Spartan constitution was widely admired by writers such as Xenophon and
Plutarch, Aristotle in the Politics identified numerous defects in the Spartan system, judging it by
its failure to maintain Spartan supremacy in the fourth century.
Doc. 6.27 Spartiate Numbers Decline
Aristotle Politics 1270s29-b6 (II, ix)
Prior to this passage Aristotle discusses the inequality of property ownership in Sparta. This
shortage of men, oliganthropia, is reflected in the known figures of Spartiates. Lykourgos was
said to have redistributed the land amongst 9,000 Spartiates. Herodotus has 8,000 Spartiates in
480 BC; and 5,000 of these fought in 479 BC. Xenophon has 700 Spartiates at Leuktra in 371
BC, of whom 400 fell.
1270a29 So although the land was able to support 1,500 cavalry, and 30,000 hoplites, the
number fell below 1,000. And events have themselves shown that the system was faulty: for the
city could not withstand a single blow (Leuktra), but was destroyed because of the shortage of
men. They say that in the time of the earlier kings they gave others a share in the citizenship, and
so there was then no such shortage of men, although they were at war for so much of the time.
They also say that there were once some 10,000 Spartiates; but whether these statements are true
or not, it is better for the city to keep its numbers up through the equalization of property.
However, the law concerning the procreation of children is contrary to this amendment. 1270b1
For the lawgiver, wishing there to be as many Spartiates as possible, offers inducements to the
citizens to have as many children as they can; for they have a law that anyone who has three sons
is exempt from military service, and anyone with four is exempt from tax. Yet it is clear that if
many are born, and the land is correspondingly divided, inevitably many become poor.
Doc. 6.28 The Ephorate
Aristotle Politics 1270b6-35 (II, ix)
1270b6 Moreover, the arrangements concerning the ephorate are also at fault. For this office has
supreme authority in the most important matters, but its members come from the whole people,
so that frequently men who are extremely poor get onto this board, and their poverty used to
make them open to bribery. This has often been demonstrated in the past, and recently in the
affair of the Andrians, in which certain ephors had been so corrupted by money that as far as was
within their power they destroyed the entire city. And because the office is extremely powerful
and equal to that of a tyrant, even the kings are compelled to curry favour with them, which has
further harmed the constitution; for an aristocracy has turned into a democracy… 1270b28 They
also have supreme jurisdiction in cases of importance, although being there by chance, and
accordingly it would be better for them to decide them not on their own judgement but according
M. Dillon & L. Garland, Ancient Greece, 2nd edn, 2005, pp. 164-166.
to the written rules, that is the laws. The ephors’ lifestyle, too, is not in accordance with the aims
of the state; for it is excessively relaxed, while for the rest it is far too excessive in its austerity,
with the result that they are unable to endure it but secretly evade the law and enjoy bodily
pleasures.
Doc. 6.29 The Gerousia
Aristotle Politics 1270b35-1271a18 (II, ix)
1270b35 Their arrangements concerning the powers of the elders are also not faultless. One
might suppose that as long as they are respectable men and sufficiently trained in manly virtue
they would benefit the state, but it should be doubted whether they should possess for life
supreme jurisdiction in cases of importance (for the mind, like the body, is subject to old age);
1271a1 and when they have been trained in such a manner that the lawgiver (Lykourgos?)
himself has no confidence in their being good men, it is dangerous. For those who have had a
share in this office have manifestly been guilty of taking bribes and have been corrupt enough to
give away a lot of public property. Accordingly it would be better if they were accountable; but
now they are not… 1271a9 As for the election of the elders, the way it is decided is childish, and
it is wrong that someone who is going to be thought fit for office should himself canvass it; for
whether he wants it or not the man worthy of office is the man to hold it. Here the lawgiver is
clearly doing what he does elsewhere in the constitution; for he makes the citizens ambitious and
uses this in the election of the elders; for no one would canvass office unless he were ambitious.
And yet nearly all deliberate crimes are caused by men’s ambition and greed.
Doc. 6.30 Spartan Financial Problems
Aristotle Politics 1271a26-37, b10-17 (II, ix)
1271a26 Nor have the regulations concerning the common meals (syssitia), which are called
‘phiditia,’ been well framed by the person who first established them. For the gathering should
have taken place at public expense, as in Crete; but amongst the Lakonians each man has to
contribute, even though some of them are extremely poor and unable to afford this expense, with
the consequence being the opposite of the lawgiver’s intention. For he wanted to make the
system of common meals democratic, but under the current regulations it is not democratic at all.
For it is not easy for the very poor to share in them, but this is their ancestral definition of
citizenship, that anyone who is unable to pay their contribution can not be a citizen… 1271b10
The Spartiates’ public finances are also badly managed. There is never anything in the state’s
treasury even though they are compelled to carry on great wars, and they are bad at paying taxes;
because most of the land belongs to the Spartiates they do not look very closely at each other’s
contributions. The outcome has been quite the opposite of the beneficial state of affairs intended
by the lawgiver, for he has made his city moneyless and its individuals greedy.
M. Dillon & L. Garland, Ancient Greece, 2nd edn, 2005, pp. 164-166.