Primary Source Analysis
Document:
Plutarch on Life in Sparta
Author – Who created this?
Plutarch was the Greek historian who created this document. He was
born near Corinth, Greece around 45. C.E.
What do we know about the
He traveled much throughout the
author? What might influence
Mediterranean. He was a skilled writer,
their opinions?
however, only about a third of his work
survived. Because he is originally from
Greece, this may cause him to favor Sparta
in his account.
Place – Where and when
was it created -
This document was created in Sparta
during the time frame when Athens
and Sparta were rivals.
Prior Knowledge
What do we know about
where this was created? What
have we learned about this
topic? Society that may be
relevant?
We know that Athens and Sparta were great rivals and this was just
after the war. Sparta relied heavily on military strength and when boys
turned seven they were taken
into training to prepare for the
army. These boys had the
most control over Sparta, even
more so than their parents
because they were going into
the military.
Audience
Who is the intended
audience? How might they
receive this? – quotes to
support your claims?
The intended audience was for the political leaders, because Plutarch
is showing how bad of a city Sparta is turning out to be because
Lycurgus is taking away their arts, forcing women to stay in shape,
and forcing young boys into military training at the age of seven.
--“For their marriages the women were carried off by force…”
-- “He made the maidens exercise their bodies in running, wrestling,
casting the discus, and hurling the javelin, in order that the fruit of
their wombs might have vigorous root in vigorous bodies and come to
better maturity, and that they themselves might come with vigor to the
fullness of their times, and struggle successfully and easily with the
pangs of child-birth....”
--“he banished the unnecessary and superfluous arts.”
Reason for Creation
What is the purpose of this
document? Read between the
lines, support claims with a
quote
The Main Idea
Support with quotes
Significance
How does this relate to the
big picture? What can it tell
us as historians? Relate to
ESPIRIT if possible
The purpose of this document was to show how Lycurgus had turned
Sparta into a military city, and not letting people live life the way they
want to life it, men were sent off to train for the military and women
were assigned marriages in order to produce the “strongest” offspring
for the future of Sparta.
“He did not permit them to live abroad at their pleasure and wander in
strange lands…”
The main idea of this document is to show how strong of a city Sparta
is and how they will be able to defend any invasion or any attack
because they are such a strong city. They will do anything they can to
keep it that way, even if it means forcing marriages to produce the
strongest children or taking away education and replacing it with
training.
“Of reading and writing, they learned only enough to serve their turn;
all the rest of their training was calculated to make them obey
commands well, endure hardships, and conquer in battle.”
Economically, Lycurgus had gotten rid of any gold and silver and
strictly made iron their currency. Also he had even divided up the land
to promote equality among the people. This shows us how Sparta lived
their lives and how strictly the government wanted a strong city.
Questions?
How well did Spartans accept the idea of having their lives planned out for them?