Province Lakonike
Traveler’s Log
Travelling by ship from Crete to Laconia the traveler will probably stop at the beautiful Kythira Island, where Aphrodite was born. This island has always been an in-between station for the ancient route to and from northwestern Crete and the Peloponnesus. Reaching the edge of the mainland, beautiful scenic small bays and coves contrast the impressive mountain masses in the background. Images such as this, display clearly the isolation of the different parts of the Peloponnesus provided by overlapping mountain ranges and their plateaus and valleys. Though relatively small in size, this part of Hellas has harbored many city-state cultures. Entering the bay to the north where the Eurotas meets the sea and travelling up the valley it forms, between the Taygetos to the west and Parnon to the east, the traveler reaches the glorious, unwalled (until sometime in the third century BC and soon after enslaved) city of Sparta. Perhaps not much in the way of sightseeing, it still holds something spectacular to observe: its people!
Geography
Even though it is still not proven, it is possible that the name Lakonia is composited by the words Las and Konos, meaning stone and cone respectively, inspired by the view of Taygetos’s pyramidal highest peak. The Eurotas valley from north to south dominates the province. The river originates in the mountains and rolls gently to the sea. The reeds from its banks provided the material for the “beds” of the Spartans. The mountains on either side are rough and form a natural barrier that somewhat isolates the province. Taygetos, named after Taygetis a daughter of Atlas, holds the highest peak at over 2400m with a permanent snowcap and a very clear atmosphere that made it ideal for astronomic observation. In fact, Anaximandros installed an observatory and devices used to measure stellar and planetary movement, equinoxes and solstices, according to Cicero and Diogenis Laertios. Parnon is no small mountain just under 2000m and separates Lakonike from Arcadia. Stone and sunlight are ever present in Lakonike and against this background, olive trees, vineyards, orange and other fruit trees complete the scene of the Spartan countryside.
The People, Society and Government
No Dorian is more Doric than the Spartans. That perhaps is all that needs to be said about the Spartan stock. And if contrary to the human condition, which it is, this culture remained so for the better part of three centuries and furthermore it was enforced by law.
A layered society featured the slave land-workers, called helots, at the bottom, whose life was worth only as much as the care they took of their lords’ land and other needs. Notably, they belonged to the state, not to individual Spartans. The second social layer consisted of the perioikoi. These were free and somewhat independent living in settlements around the city itself. They were craftsmen and traders and as such were the only ones that were allowed to travel outside Lakedaimonian dominion. In war they fought as hoplites, although they were not up to the standard of discipline and effectiveness of the core Spartan army. That core consisted of Spartan full citizens, the Homoioi. These were born into their class, but could lose their rights for cowardice in battle or misconduct. They also received especially brave soldiers from lower classes into their numbers, who would usually have to go through the Spartan Agoge first. The general assembly of the Homoioi was the Apella, that voted on a voice, on issues such as campaign leaders or motions put forth by the Kings or the elders. While many details on its function are not clear, its most important task perhaps was electing the five Ephoroi responsible for maintaining public order and general oversight of Lykourgos’s laws. The Ephoroi served for one year at a time. They had the right to remain seated in the presence of the Kings whom they also kept an eye on for any digressions. Even so they were not all powerful. They could not get reelected and they could be judged by the next Ephoroi even to receive the death penalty on extreme occasions. The Apella also voted on a voice for the lifelong members of the Gerousia or the Senate. It included twenty eight men plus the two Kings for a total of thirty. Its responsibilities were mostly legislative and occasionally judicial. The dual kingship formed the top of the Spartan pyramid of power and predated Lykourgos’s reforms. It provided a balance between the two oldest and powerful families in Sparta. The Agiades and the Euripontides.
Lykourgos: In answer to the man who was insistent that he establish a democracy in the State Lycurgus said, "Do you first establish a democracy in your own house."
Charillos: When one of the Helots conducted himself rather boldly toward him, he said, "If I were not angry, I would kill you."
Perhaps the most important institution of the Spartan state was the Agoge. The fundamental principle for any army is discipline. And discipline is an acquired skill. It takes time and training. In Sparta, boys were passed over to the state, at the age of seven and were no longer the responsibility of their parents. Until their twentieth year they were rigorously trained, both physically and mentally. From the age of thirteen years old, they were taught to fight, survive and face adverse weather conditions. They ate the Melanas Zomos, or black broth made of pork, salt, blood and vinegar. They were also encouraged to steal for food and were only punished when caught on the act, not for stealing but for having been caught. They slept on reeds from the banks of the Eurotas and faced all kinds of brutality that makes for the terrible face of war, such as the Diamastigosis a test of endurance and perseverance for the body and the spirit. They were also taught to be brief and concise in their words. This skill was called “lakonizein”. They were also taught to scorn music, art and money. Trade and the arts flourished prior to the reforms. Initially there was no currency and no need for it either since the state provided for everything. Later on, Spartan coins were made of iron and disproportionaly heavy, so that when a lot of money was accumulated it would require a wagon to move it, inevitably drawing attention.
Androcleidas the Spartan, who had a crippled leg, enrolled himself among the fighting-men. And when some persons were insistent that he be not accepted because he was crippled, he said, "But I do not have to run away, but to stay where I am when I fight the opposing foe."
The Spartans gave particular attention to their hair, recalling a saying of Lycurgus in reference to it, that it made the handsome more comely and the ugly more frightful.
Demaratos: In a council meeting he was asked whether it was due to foolishness or lack of words that he said nothing. "But a fool, would not be able to hold his tongue."
When a Spartan soldier was about to strike down an enemy a trumpet sounded recalling him to his unit so he stayed his blow. When asked why he let the man live he replied that is was better to follow an order than to slay an enemy.
Another institution of sorts was the Crypteia. Probably introduced by Lykourgos the Crypteia took place once every year. Young Spartans would be unleashed in the countryside with the objective to kill helots. The Spartans would be unarmed or lightly armed and should seek out the strongest among the helots. This institution introduced the younger Homoioi to bloodshed, which they had perhaps experienced during the Agoge, but also kept the helot population in check, since estimates put it at about twenty times that of the Homoioi.
The Spartans hoped to maintain their way of life by insulating their city from aliens. Strangers were only allowed to stay with the city under special permission. This was called Xenilasia and was not unique to Sparta; it has also been noted among Cretan Dorians. Women in Sparta enjoyed special priviliges, when compared to other cities. They trained in sports so they might be strong and healthy and bear strong and healthy offspring. Young women were allowed to walk where they pleased unveiled so that suitors could observe their beauty. Not so married women that had to wear a veil at all times and offer their beauty only to their husbands. On that note, young husbands were not allowed to stay with their wives during the day and stormed their own bedrooms at night to enjoy their wives. This kept their passion fresh. On the other hand, if a Spartan could not produce any offspring it was not shameful to ask a fellow Spartan to impregnate his wife so that he too might have sons to offer Sparta.
The Spartans were very religious. All gods statues and images bore arms more often than not so that men would not go before them unarmed. They sacrificed to Heros before battle and especially revered Heracles and quite unexpectedly, Athena, their archrival’s namesake. Athena Optilletis got her epithet from an unfortunate event in her temple, during which Lykourgos, trying to implement his reforms nearly lost an eye when stricken by a rich man who stood to lose his wealth. He retained his vision and attributed his fortune to the goddess (optilos is a doric word for eye). Later on the rich man in question was handed over by the assembly to Lykourgos to kill if he so saw fit. Lykourgos took him into his household and overwhelmed him by means of his virtue to the point that he became Lykourgos greatest admirer.
Cleomenes son of Anaxandridas: When somebody inquired of him why Spartans do not dedicate to the gods the spoils from their enemies, he said, "Because they are taken from cowards."
Cleomenes son of Anaxandridas: When someone said, "Why have you not killed off the people of Argos who wage war against you so often?" he said, "Oh, we would not kill them off, for we want to have some trainers for our young men."
History
Neolithic ceramic evidence near the location of Sparta marks the beginning of inhabitation in this southernmost part of the Peloponnesus. While archaeology is somewhat limited in what it can tell us about the earlier years, myth is not. The Lakedaemonians have a rich mythology for their kingly lineage. A short version of the laconic age of myth has Las, one the first men created by the stones thrown behind them by Deucalion and Pyrra after the Cataclysm, settling in the location of what was to be Sparta, but was then called Las. In the Dorian dialect Las means stone. In the earlier Pelasgean dialect it can be interpreted to mean heavenly spirit. At any rate Las was killed by Achilles when the latter was visiting Sparta as Helen’s suitor. So here the line continues with Menelaos, though Las’s position is not clarified in this version of the myth and the lengthy catalog of mythic kings preceding Menelaos is not incorporated.
The longer version begins with Lelex as the first indigenous king of Sparta who interestingly enough was also considered primogenitor of the Messenians. His dynasty, the lelegides, is short with a total of three kings: himself, Mylis inventor of the mill and Eurotas who gave his name to the river. Eurotas was survived by no son, but had a daughter named Sparta! Sparta married Lakedaemon, a son of Zeus and Taygetis daughter of Atlas the Titan. Thus began the second dynasty and a new name was given the land: Lacedaemonia. Lakedaemon was succeded by Amyklas, founder of the Amykles settlement, who had three sons. Of these Argalos became king first and Kynortas after him. Then Perieres and after him Oibalos who begot Ikarios (Penelope’s father), Tyndareos (Helen and Clytemnestra’s father) and Arnes (mother of Boeotos). In this generation, the pre-Dorian familial connection of what is now the Ionian Islands, Boeotia and the Peloponnesus, is established. Oibalos had another son named Ippokoon (the horse whisperer) who took the throne and exiled his brothers. An invasion mounted by Herakles, but aborted after his injury, is placed at this point in the timeline. A second invasion assisted by the Arcadian Argonaut Kefeus was successful; an echo of the first Dorian incursions. Ippokoon and his offspring were killed and Tyndareos became King, but had no sons. Here ended the second pre Dorian dynasty. Menelaos married Helen, after her brothers the Dioskouroi took turns climbing Olympos and plunging into Hades, and so became King in Sparta introducing the dynasty of the Atreides. This is where myth touches history, as in all probability King Atreus, Menelaos’s father, is the Atarisiyas mentioned in the Hittite royal archives. The Spartan line of the Atreides mirrors the troubled time of the successive Dorian invasions into the realm of the Mycenaean world (also referred to as the invasion of the Herakleidae). Menelaos was one of the few lucky survivors both of the Trojan War and the nostos, the return trip home, the other prominent examples being Odysseas and Nestor. Still he had no sons and his daughter Hermione was married to his nephew Orestis. Orestis ruled over Argos, Mycenae and Lakonia. His son Tisamenos was the last King of the dynasty; he died fighting the Dorian invaders after being confined to Amykles. Of the Dorian Herakleidae, Aristodemos took Lakonia as his own. When he died his sons were not of age to rule, so his brother in law Thyras became steward. Meanwhile he colonized the island Kalliste (most beautiful) which he named after himself, Thyra (Santorini). Entering history….
Aristodemos’s sons who according to some accounts were twins (and they had to be to provide equality to the two lines of kings) were Eurysthenes of the Agiades (leaders) and Prokles of the Eurypontides (wide sea). They became kings to rule jointly. Counting the names of the kings and allowing for an average time of ruling, places the first joint kingship around the 800s BC. This institution was unique; still it is not attributed to Lykourgos’ reforms as other institutions particular to Sparta are. Assuming he is a historical figure - and many ancient sources agree he was, not the least of which is Aristotle - a younger brother of a deceased king and guardian of his nephew Harilaos Eyropontides or Leovotos Agiades. This changes the estimates somewhat and places him later in the late 7th century following a period of instability for Sparta, hence the need for change. At any rate, credited with bringing the Spartans out of the darkness and into the light (of justice) as his name suggests, he is far more appealing as a historic person that entered the realm of myth. It was Lykourgos that transformed Sparta into the unique state that was to survive with little change for centuries. Sparta was destined to enjoy eternal glory and be defined by war.
Messenian Wars: A state of recurring animosity existed between Sparta and its neighbors, a common occurrence with Hellenic states. Messena, Tegea, Sikion and Argos were all in an on-and-off state of war with Sparta. However the conflicts that really changed the balance of power in the Peloponnesus and propelled Sparta to regional power status were the first and second Messenian Wars. The first war was inconclusive, but in the second the Spartans managed to defeat the Messenians who were led by the energetic and perhaps mythical Aristomenes for the better part of fifteen years. The remnants of the Messenians were forced to take refuge at the fortified city of Eira and hold out for a few more years. However, they were both unable to turn the tide and secure a place in the post defeat environment, so they ended up fleeing to Epeiros and Sicily at Zagle, which later was renamed Messena. Aristomenes is said to have fled to Rhodes.
Polydorus: As he was leading out his army to Messene, someone asked him if he was going to fight against his brothers. He said that he was not, but was merely proceeding to the unassigned portion of the land.
The newly conquered lands and the accompanying slaves perhaps provided the Spartan citizens with such means of sustenance as were required in order for them to remain practically lifelong soldiers in the service of the state. It is not inconceivable that this thread of events led to the reforms of Lykourgos, especially since the 8th and 7th centuries BC are considered a tumultuous period of Spartan history. After this conquest Sparta initially tried to expand to the North with mixed results that dictated a change of strategy in favor of political means rather than military. After subduing Tegea and perhaps more importantly Argos, Sparta was manifestly not only the strongest power in the Peloponnesus, but also recognized as such in Hellas. To that effect there was little to no debate when Sparta was granted PanHellenic leadership of both land and naval forces in the landmark conflict that followed: The Persian Wars.
In the meantime an interesting incident occurred that led to a notable change in Spartan law and planted the seed for Hellenic civil war on a grand scale, the magnitude of which had never come to pass until then, but would become all too familiar in centuries to come. While Sparta was trying to expand its sphere of influence beyond the Isthmos, it found a pretext to interfere in Athenian politics and did so not too subtly. A Spartan contingent under King Kleomenes I, marched to Attica in support of a political faction in 510 BC. This led to the exile of “democracy’s father” Kleisthenes but later also to the expulsion of Kleomenes from the city. While a full scale invasion under both Spartan kings and with the assistance of Peloponnesian allies was brewing, the plan fell through and the coalition began to unravel when Corinthos refused to be a part of it and King Dimaratos also decided to abort and return to Lakedaimona. This case of royal discord led to a law stipulating that only one Spartan king would be allowed to campaign beyond the border.
Polycratidas: Polycratidas was sent, along with others, as ambassador to the king's generals, and when these asked whether they were there as private citizens or had been sent as public representatives, he said, "If we succeed, public; if not, private."
Persian Wars: By this time and indeed quite some time before the Spartan army had made its reputation for superiority, if not outright invincibility in Hellas. In 492 BC the Great King Darius advanced victorious through Thrace and Makedonia before returning home. In 490 BC a Persian fleet crossed the Aegean before burning Eretria to the ground and landed at Marathon only to be soundly defeated and forced to return whence it came from. Both these operations took place before any PanHellenic resistance could be organized, so the opportunity was not given for Spartan leadership. In 480 BC however a vast army poured into Thessaly and bottlenecked at Thermopylae (a site of mixed results for attacker and defender both before and since) in the face of a small Spartan led coalition. Part of the defenders fled when they learned that the Persians had found their way around their position. Others, including all 300 Spartans but one (or so tradition would have it), stood their ground and were slain to a man, King Leonidas I with them. The 300 were called “Hippeis” though they always fought on foot, perhaps a relic of old times, just as the Dioskouroi, considered Spartan progenitors are always depicted on horses, an image reminiscent of an oligarch class, wealthy enough to support horses.
Leonidas, son of Anaxandridas: When the Ephors said that he was taking but few men to Thermopylae, he said, "Too many for the enterprise on which we going." His wife Gorgo inquired, at the time when he was setting forth to Thermopylae to fight the Persian, if he had any instructions to give her, and he said, "To marry good men and bear good children."
Leonidas, son of Anaxandridas: When Xerxes wrote, "Hand over your arms," he wrote in reply, "Come and take them".
Diinekes: When someone said, "Because of the arrows of the barbarians it is impossible to see the sun," he said, "Won't it be nice, then, if we shall have shade in which to fight them?"
Paedaretus: When he was not chosen as one of the three hundred, which was rated as the highest honour in the State, he went away cheerful and smiling; but when the Ephors called him back, and asked why he was laughing, he said, "Because I congratulate the State for having three hundred citizens better than myself."
At any rate, the Persians advanced past a neutral Thebes and flooded into Attica. Athens, mostly defenseless was set alight and the Spartans in a characteristically self-serving manner begun fortifying the Isthmos. The Athenians did it again albeit under nominal Spartan leadership and effectively trashed Persian plans for a thorough conquest of Hellas. During the next campaigning season the combined Hellenic forces under Spartan leadership counterattacked in Boetia and destroyed the remaining Persian forces near Plataea, killing in the process their leader Mardonius, a prince and son in law of Xerxes. A full complement of Spartan hoplites was present that day as opposed to the 300-men-limited royal bodyguard of Leonidas I. Mostly Athenian hoplites faced Theban formations on their side of the battlefield, but it was the Spartan heavy hoplite phalanx that led an opportune yet unplanned charge which routed the Persians. Casualties were very heavy on the Persian side. Among the Spartan dead was the survivor of Thermopylae redeemed from shame, but not praiseworthy either, since he charged the enemy line in a non-Spartan frenzy. Another Spartan-led success was the Battle of Mycale, which was rather noteworthy, as naval warfare put Spartans out of their element. It resulted in the destruction of the Persian fleet and thus put an end to the second Persian invasion.
Pausanias son of Kleombrotos: When some people were amazed at the costliness of the raiment found among the spoils of the barbarians, he said that it would have been better for them to be themselves men of worth than to possess things of worth. After the victory at Plataea over the Persians he ordered that the dinner which had been prepared for the Persians should be served to himself and his officers. As this had a wondrous sumptuousness, he said, "By Heaven, the Persian was a greedy fellow who, when he had all this, came after our barley-cake."
The initiative now belonged to the Hellenes. And the Spartans were leading… at first. The fleet fought successfully near Cyprus and Byzantion, which prompted the Ionian coast of Asia Minor to consider rebelling against the Persian yoke. However, the Spartans rejected their pleas and instead sailed home, in their traditional militaristic isolationism, probably satisfied with being considered the best fighting force in Hellas and beyond. Pausanias was at first recalled due to his arrogance and independent ways. But the damage had been done and his replacement was not able to turn the mood. It was Athens that answered the call of the Iones and thus set the foundation for its future maritime “empire”. In 473 BC Tegea seized the opportunity to rebel against Spartan suzerainty as did Argos only to be brought to heel soon afterward in 471 BC. These events perhaps justify Spartan introversion. In 464 BC a great earthquake claimed many lives of Spartan citizens and provided the Helotes an opportunity to rebel against their lifelong masters. It was many years before Spartan authority was fully restored over its power base, but all the while Athenian power grew throughout the Aegean and mainland Hellas. The Spartan opposed where they could and incited dissent among disillusioned Athenian allies with considerable success. It was an antagonism kept at low level intensity and mostly regional conflict, a Cold War of sorts. However, when no alternative remained and the Athenian league was on the verge of growing too powerful to resist, a Spartan army marched to Attica under the pretext of liberating all Greeks and thus initiated the Peloponnesian War. Ironically, in the years of the Helot revolt, mostly well-off Athenian hoplites marched to help the Spartans take a fortified position of the Helots, only to turn back on learning that the Helots were Hellenes just like themselves.
Peloponnesian War: The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) ravaged irreparably the Hellenic world from Sicily to the Euxinos Pontos and let the Persians meddle in Hellenic affairs with their overwhelming wealth. It is roughly divided in three stages and the immediate result was a decisive, but particularly short lived Spartan victory. King Archidamos who had led his people out of their city just prior to the major earthquake of 464 BC, thus saving their lives and subsequently also against the Helots and Perioikoi, was a cautious and reasonable man. He had discussed options with Perikles as his guest in Athens and even faced scrutiny back home because of his interest in negotiation. In the end he invaded Attica and besieged Athens in a very predictable, but reasonable move, in typical Spartan fashion. The Athenians declined battle of course and under Perikles’s guidance counterattacked using their naval and economic superiority… of course. During these operations a Spartan detachment surrendered after being cut off, an unprecedented event of extraordinary importance. In Athens a typhoid plague claimed many lives including Perikles’s. When a truce was agreed upon in 421 BC Athens could claim victory, if only marginally, since the Spartans who had attacked first had achieved very little and a return to status quo ante bellum was accepted.
In this first stage the Spartan general Vrasidas marched in Makedonia to assist Perdikas II of Makedonia, but found himself abandoned by the undisciplined Makedonians of the time and surrounded by the wild raiding Illyrians. He formed a defensive square formation perhaps for the first time in history that, with the uncompromising discipline of his men, allowed him to retreat unmolested by the barbarians. He died in operations against the Athenians in Makedonia. He was buried in Amphipolis, but a cenotaph was awarded him next to the graves of Leonidas I and Pausanias. The place of his death bears his name to this day (General Vrasidas’s Cape). According to Thucydides he fully embodied Spartan ideals. By comparison his counterpart of the time, the Athenian Kleon was enough of a dick to be ridiculed by Aristophanes in his Hippeis. (//strike comment and edit
)
During the second stage of 415 - 413 BC the Athenians were convinced by the multi-talented and charismatic Alcibiades to mount a campaign in Sicily to intervene in a conflict between two cities there, Egesta and Selinounda. Beyond the surface, the objective was to expand the Athenian sphere of influence to the West and deprive the Spartans and their allies of its resources. Three leaders were chosen from all political factions Alcibiades among them. After the fleet sailed, however, Alcibiades was accused of mutilating the Hermaic stelae during a drunken stupor (or rage). These were basically road signs posted at corners and squares, nothing too important except that they featured the face of a major god. Blown out of proportion in the face of public discontent the matter warranted swift justice and Alcibiades was recalled immediately to stand trial. Whether this was provocation or actually his doing has not been determined, but at any rate he then defected to Sparta fearing for his life and with good reason. He was condemned in absentia. What was not evident at the time was that the Athenians were condemning themselves. Alcibiades adapted remarkably well and fast. This new “Spartan” gave a much needed touch of genius to the otherwise mundane Spartan strategic maneuvering, both in the west and the mainland. He suggested that Gylippos a Spartan ex commander then living in Magna Grecia be put in charge of defending Syracuse and Sicily. Also he suggested that Dekeleia in Attica be fortified so that Athens would only be able to resupply by sea. Gylippos was able to turn the tide in Sicily mostly relying on counter-investment efforts, racing time against Athenian fortifications aimed at isolating Syracuse. Both armies ceaselessly fought, harassed, built and destroyed, until Gylippos was able to use part of the Athenian efforts to his advantage. The Athenian expeditionary force found itself surrounded by land. When the fleet was also defeated they surrendered. The commanders were executed and the rest died in the mines under terrible conditions. This was a terrible blow for Athens.
During the third phase 413-404 BC the Spartan endeavors were too grand for their means so they turned to the Persians for financial aid. Athens was in panic even changing its form of government to an oligarchy in 411 BC for a year and a half. It was Alcibiades, who in the meantime had taken refuge in the Persian court in Asia Minor that advised the Persians to keep the war going. A Spartan fleet was built with Persian funds and the theater of operations moved to the northern Aegean and the Hellespont. Perhaps Alcibiades hoped that if Athens were hard pressed the city would pardon and summon him. And it did.
Alcibiades returned to Athens and took command of the fleet. The Athenians won a victory in Abydos in 411 BC and when the Spartans regrouped, a combined land and sea engagement in Kyzikos in 410BC. The Athenian fleet destroyed the Spartan fleet using a stratagem of Alcibiades and the army under Hares defeated the Persians on land. A report back to Sparta read: “The ships are destroyed. Mindaros (the commander) is dead. The men are starving. We know not what to do.”(//Drums in the deep… they are coming!) Democracy was restored in Athens. In 407 BC the Spartans under Lysandros defeated the Athenians with a newly rebuilt fleet using Persian gold near Samos and the Athenians blamed Alcibiades who decided to go on exile. Konon was placed in charge of the fleet, but was hard pressed by the new Spartan admiral, Lysandros’s replacement, Kallikratidas, a somewhat junior commander. Konon was forced to offer battle and suffered a bitter defeat, which resulted in him being hopelessly isolated and barely able to send a message home. The Athenians mobilized all resourced even granting citizen rights to metoikoi and slaves overnight, so that crews might be available for a new fleet sponsored by the molten golden statue of Nike. (//The goddess, not the brand). This makeshift fleet was trained and drilled en route and won the engagement in the Arginouses near Lesbos in 406BC. Conditions appeared unfavorable for the Spartans, but to his deputies’ advice Kallikratidas responded in typical cold laconic manner: “If I die, Sparta will be unharmed. If I shy away from battle, Sparta will be disgraced.” He was right. He died, but Sparta won the war eventually. The victors however had their hands full. Part of the enemy fleet escaped and had to be pursued, Konon was still cut off by some 50 Spartan vessels and almost 5000 of the fleet’s crew were drowning as their commanders were trying to make up their minds. The weather cared little for their deliberations and a storm forced the fleet to abandon any survivors still at sea and take to port. Bodies were seen floating in the sea and ashore as far south as Phokaia. The psychological impact was such that after much deliberating the Athenian authorities sentenced all the generals to death and executed the six that were present in Athens, in typical Athenian fashion. The Spartans sued for peace maintaining the status quo, which was unpalatable to the Athenians since it meant that many islands would not be under their control and they now felt confident enough to finally win the war. Lysandros was back in charge of the Spartan forces even against stipulations of the Spartan constitution. Cyrus the Younger was on friendly terms with him and provided the gold to rebuild the Spartan fleet once more. This fleet annihilated the Athenian fleet in 404 BC at Aigos potamoi and later blockaded Athens by sea. Cut off from land and sea the city was starved to submission and capitulated. Lysandros sent a laconic dispatch home: “Athens has fallen”
Antalcidas: When an Athenian said to him, "You must admit that we have many a time put you to rout from the Cephisus," he retorted, "But we have never put you to rout from the Eurotas."
The invincible Spartan phalanx was given little chance to prove its overwhelming superiority. And while the unwillingness of its enemies to face it is testament to that superiority, the surrender of Spartan hoplites definitely put a dent to its reputation. When the Athenians were not busy killing or neutralizing their successful leaders (as they always did) they enjoyed notable success even in particularly adverse conditions, made possible by the other Athenian advantage over Sparta, wealth. The balance was tipped as many times as needed by the vastly greater Persian wealth and it took a mediocre strategist, but capable negotiator and diplomat, Lysandros, to finalize the outcome.
The iconic Spartan super soldier notwithstanding, people are people. Vrasidas perhaps matched the Spartan role-model, but other important men of the era did not. A brief account on Gylippos and Lysandros follows:
Gylippos was born around 450 BC so that would put him in his mid-thirties when he took command of the Spartan force in Sicily. He is reported in the sources as being a “mothax” which is a term to describe Spartans of non-citizen descent, who are still raised as such, adopted or otherwise. His father was Kleandridas (not the one of Arginouses) a general and an advisor to the young King Pleistoanax that led the siege of Athens during the first stage of the war. Both Kleandridas and Pleistoanax were accused of receiving the secret government fund that Perikles of Athens could use according to law in any way he saw fit without reporting to anyone. The accusation was that they were bribed to lift the siege, but in all probability they were victimized by the rival faction in Sparta to be weakened at home and also to justify why the mighty Spartan army had achieved nothing before returning home and accepting peace. At any rate Kleandridas was condemned to death in absentia and Pleistoanax was severely fined so that, unable to pay, went into exile. Kleandridas had fled to Athens and from there to the Athenian colony in Thurioi. He became a general there and had his share of success. When Alcibiades defected the Spartans charged Gylippos with putting together a task force to relieve Syracuse, which he did, using Corinthian and Leukadian crews. Corinth was directly harmed by the Athenian expedition in Sicily since most trade with the West was conducted by Corinthian merchants. Gylippos was able to turn the tables on the Athenian force and gradually forced them into surrender. He wanted to spare the Athenian leaders but was accused of having a personal financial interest for doing so, since Nikias, one of the Athenian generals was a very wealthy man. This perhaps was an all too familiar accusation for Gylippos. There is however no record of a conviction and no indication either, since he continued to serve Sparta with all citizen rights. Some ten years later in 404 BC Gylippos was tasked by his superior Lysandros with delivering sealed sacks full of money and spoils back to Sparta. He was accused of removing a small part from every sack and then sealing it anew, without knowing that there was a small note in each sack documenting the contents. In fact it was a servant of his that turned him in saying that “many owls gather under his roof”, the owl being featured on many coins of the time. Just like his father he served in war with considerable distinction, but was sentenced to death in absentia for treason involving money - bribery and embezzlement, respectively.
Lysandros was a very capable political figure and a decent commander, yet unscrupulous and overly ambitious. His connections in the Persian court allowed him to build a powerful fleet which he handed over to his replacement Kallikratidas saying: “I give you a powerful fleet that rules the Aegean”, to which the new admiral replied: ”If so, take it from Samos to Miletos”, which were firmly in Athenian hands. Before withdrawing from his command Lysandros returned what remained of the Persian funds that had been allocated for the construction and maintenance of the fleet. He thus reassured authorities at home that he wasn’t taking any gold for his own, impressed the Persian with this gesture and stayed on good terms with them, made things harder for his successor and also sent a clear message that if he was being recalled (even as lawfully as he was), Sparta could not enjoy the full benefit of his services. When Kallikratidas was killed at the Battle of Arginouses, Lysandros was given free reign over the Spartan forces, but was not given the official title thus bypassing a legal obstacle. Such tricks were not beneath the upstanding Spartans. Lysandros used his influence with Cyrus the Younger and secured the funds needed to rebuild the fleet. Under his military leadership the Spartans captured the last Athenian fleet in 404BC and were therefore able to besiege it by land and sea into surrender. Having brought the Peloponnesian War to an end, Lysandros brought down the long walls of Athens, which had stood in the way of many a Spartan invasion. He installed a garrison and an oligarchy in Athens. Taking advantage of the turbulent political situation of the time he tried to overthrow the highly celebrated king Agisilaos II (also known as the Great), but failed. This was perhaps in self-defense since the Agiades seized every opportunity to curb his power and influence. He died in combat at the battle of Aliartos during the Boeotian War in 395BC. A true Spartan to the end he allegedly declared “Where there is no lion-hide, there is a fox-hide” displaying his skill in laconic speech. Lysandros is also an interesting case because he is the first verifiable example of a statesman receiving divine honors during his lifetime. This took place in Samos during the Lysandreia in his honor and it happened repeatedly. Previous examples oddly enough (or not) were Olympic winners. The same divine offers had been offered to Agisilaos II but he turned them down.
Clearly factional infighting was not an Athenian prerogative.
Lysandros: In answer to the Argives, who were disputing with the Spartans in regard to the boundaries of their land and said that they had the better of the case, he drew his sword and said, "He who is master of this talks best about boundaries of land."
Three years after the end of the war, in 401 BC Cyrus cashed in his favors. He was going to march against his brother the Great King. To that end he required a substantial hoplite force, which was provided by the Spartans in return for his support during the war. These however were not Spartans, but mercenaries under a Spartan commander, Klearchos. The army marched east and the mercenaries were initially tricked, then convinced to keep marching east all the way to the empire’s heartland not far from Babylon. Battle was given near Kounaxa and Cyrus was killed. The myrioi (10K) won their part of the engagement, but moved far ahead of the main front forming the fatal opening on Cyrus’s right. The hoplites were practically unmolested after the battle, but found themselves isolated far away from home, farther than any Hellenic force had ever been. Eventually they were led to safety by an Athenian, Xenophon, who also wrote the account of their hardship and achievement.
Korinthian War (395-387BC): The Spartans enjoyed considerable power in the years after the Peloponnesian War. In fact they were strong enough to attack the Persians in Asia Minor and wrest control of some cities from them. That gave enough cause for the Persians to support a new anti-Spartan alliance between Athens, Thebes, Argos and Corinth. The Spartans won victories on land but their fleet, essential to operations across the Aegean was badly damaged in the battle of Knidos against a mercenary Hellenic-Phoenician fleet that the Persian provided for the Athenians, a privilege reserved for the Spartans until that time. The Spartans did not give up easily, but when Konon raided the Peloponnesian coast he stirred the age-old fear of helot rebellion. Peace was in order. And it came to pass… for a while.
Agisilaos (the Great): Inasmuch as the Persian coinage was stamped with the figure of a bowman, he said, as he was breaking camp, that he was being driven out of Asia by the king with thirty thousand bowmen; for such was the number of gold pieces brought to Athens and Thebes.
Theban (Boeotian) War: The Spartans gave up the cities of the Ionian coast and Cyprus to have peace with the Persians and therefore concentrated their efforts in the mainland. In 382 BC, on a detour during a campaign Olynthos in Chalcidice, a Spartan force under Phoibidas destroyed the Theban acropolis, the Kadmeia, and installed a pro-Lakedaimonian faction in power. This was in clear violation of the peace agreed upon just five years before. The Thebans rebelled and war ensued, during which the Spartans unsuccessfully attacked the port of Piraeus, thus forcing the Athenians to the Theban side. The Spartans were the dominant regional power so they had the initiative, but they largely failed to achieve their goals, i.e. the complete submission of Thebes. Later in 376 BC they were defeated in a sea battle off of Naxos by a combined fleet lead by the Athenians and again in 374 BC in Alysia in Western Hellas. In 375BC the Theban Sacred Band of 300 men with cavalry support was able to defeat a larger Spartan force of nearly 800 hoplites in an unexcpected battle in Tegyra, as Pelopidas, the famous Theban commander, was trying to retake Orchomenos when it was vacated of its Spartan garrison. It was a proud victory for the Thebans and one that brought prestige to the Sacred Band. The result of the aforementioned facts was that the Spartans were not able to avert the formation of the “Koino ton Boeoton” or the Second Athenian League. In 371 BC after negotiations in Sparta, the Thebans would not surrender their consolidated position in Boeotia and the Spartans decided to invade once more, this time under Kleomvrotos I. The two armies fought at Leuctra where the phalanx in Echelon formation, invented by Epaminondas gave the victory to the Thebans. The other great Theban general and statesman Pelopidas was also present and was leading the Sacred Band of 300 men. The Spartans and their allies fielded about 11000 men, while the Thebans nearly half that number. However, the Spartans had the majority of the 1000 dead on their side, since they were fiercely engaged by the elite and strategically hard-pressed Thebans. These casualties were a terrible blow to the Spartans, not only for their ability to project power outside their heartland, but also to internal stability. During the winter of the next year the Spartan King Agisilaos II, launched an assault against Arcadia, which was stirring up. The Arcadians, predictably, reached to the Thebans for help and they answered the call. Epaminondas marched to Messenia, where the helots had revolted again, and fortified their capital Messena. The Spartans mobilized their forces against the invaders and met them in the battle of Mantinea. An uncommon occurrence was that Athens’ proximity to Boeotia forced it to side with the Spartans in this particular conflict. Feigning a degree of unpreparedness Epaminondas was able to both surprise them and effectively use the Echelon formation, which his enemies did expect him to employ, but were unable to counter under the circumstances. The Spartan front collapsed and victory went to the Thebans albeit at the price of losing their leader Epaminondas. When his companions remarked that he left no heir behind, he replied that he was leaving behind two daughters: Leuctra and Mantineia. Two years later Pelopidas died too, leaving the nascent Theban Hegemony headless and doomed to be very short lived.
These two defeats weighed heavily on the scarce human resources available to the Spartans and they never quite recovered. From that point on they were restricted to their homeland and its surroundings with only a few attempts at former glory.
When Agesilaus was wounded in battle by the Thebans, Androcleidas said to his face, "You have your just reward for the lessons in fighting you have given to that people who had no desire to fight and no knowledge even of fighting." For it appeared that they had been made warlike by the continual campaigns of Agesilaus against them.
Agisilaos II ruled from 444 to 361 BC. In 396 BC he campaigned in Ionia against the Persians to free Hellenic cities. Starting with Ephesos he marched on to Phrygia despite entering negotiations with the satrap Tissafernis. The satrap Pharnavazos was there with a strong cavalry force and Agisilaos was forced to fall back to Ephesos. Later on he set out again reaching the river Paktolos, where he defeated a Persian force. The new satrap of Karia Tithraustis convinced him to leave Karia by paying him 30 talants. In 394 BC, while preparing for a campaign deep in Asia he received a message to return, because Sparta was in danger. He reached Koroneia in Boeotia, where he fought a combined army of Thebans and Athenians. They had received gold from the Persians to attack, so that Agisilaos would be forced to leave Persian lands. He won the battle, if only marginally. He then campaigned in Egypt leading a mercenary force. He died in Cyrene, as he was preparing to return to Sparta. Agisilaos agreed to the humiliating terms of the Antalkideios Peace. Xenophon, an Athenian, states in his work that it is hard to write praise worthy of Agisilaos, nevertheless he will attempt.
Agisilaos (the Great): When he was still a boy, at a celebration of the festival of the naked boys the director of the dance assigned him to an inconspicuous place; and he obeyed, although he was destined to be king, saying,e"Good! I shall show that it is not the places that make men to be held in honour, but the men the places."
Agisilaos (the Great): Desiring to bring about the war against the Persian for the sake of setting free the Greeks living in Asia, he consulted the oracle of Zeus at Dodona, and when the god bade him to go on, he reported the answer to the Ephors. And they bade him go to Delphi and ask the same question. Accordingly he proceeded to the prophetic shrine and put his question in this form: "Apollo, are you of the same opinion as your father?" And Apollo concurring, Agesilaus was chosen, and began the campaign.
Agisilaos (the Great): Being asked once how far the bounds of Sparta extended, he said, with a flourish of his spear, "As far as this can reach."
Agisilaos (the Great): When someone else wished to know why Sparta was without walls, he pointed to the citizens in full armour and said, "These are the Spartans' walls."
Agisilaos (the Great): In answer to a man who said that the Spartans were becoming pro-Persian, Agesilaus said that rather the Persians were becoming pro-Spartan!
Agisilaos (the Great): On his way home from Egypt death came to him, and in his last hours he gave directions to those with him that they should not cause to be made any sculptured or painted or imitative representation of his person. "For if I have done any goodly deed, that shall be my memorial; but if not, then not all the statues in the world, the works of menial and worthless men, will avail."
Phillip and Alexander
In the years that followed the Theban hegemony, Phillip managed to be widely recognized as leader of the Hellenes. The Spartans had only taken part in blockading Thermopylae against him in 353 BC, but that was as far as they went… or could go. They never fought him directly. Even so, instead of a compromise, they were adamant and would not accept an overlord. Still, Phillip knew better than to just invade Lakonike for the sake of pride. The Spartans were too weak to pose a threat by themselves or in a coalition that wasn’t eminent anyway, but would fight fiercely in their homeland and probably to the death, taking as many of the invaders as possible. If anything, the Spartans could prove quite useful in the coming invasion of Asia Minor. So prudent King Philip tried a mixture of persuasion and threat. He sent an envoy with a reasonable message: ”Would you prefer I came as a friend or an enemy?” To which the Spartans replied: “Neither”. Then Philip sent a new message, more a bluff than a threat: “If I invade I will raze Sparta to the ground.” The Spartans coolly called his bluff. They replied “If”. Philip did not invade. Neither did Alexander after him. The Spartans would not take part in any coalition which they would not lead. Alexander later sent 300 Persian suits of armor with the inscription: “Alexander son of Philip, and the Hellenes, excluding Spartans, from the barbarians that dwell in Asia”. They were not moved. But they did rebel.
Antipatros
In 331 BC Alexander the Great had been marching for three years in triumph through the mighty Persian Empire. King Agis III of Sparta decided it was the time for rebellion and contacted the Persians for aid and to coordinate their actions. The Macedonian regent Antipatros had just quelled a rebellion in Thrace when he received word of the rebellion brewing in the south. In a swift march that was trademark of the military machine organized by Philip he reached Peloponnesus with 40000 men to deal with the 22000 of the Spartan coalition. They clashed in Megalopolis and the Spartan force was no match for the Makedones, even if it hadn’t been outnumbered. More than 5000 died on the Spartan side including King Agis III and more than 3500 fell for the victorious Antipatros. Alexander the Great called this the Battle of Mice in contempt.
When someone said to Astycratidas, after the defeat of Agis their king in the battle against Antipater in the vicinity of Megalopolis, "What will you do, men of Sparta? Will you be subject to the Macedonians? he said, "What! Is there any way in which Antipater can forbid us to die fighting for Sparta?"
The devastating defeat in the hands of Antipatros drove a point home and during the Lamian War of 323-323 BC the Spartans remained neutral.
Later in 294 BC, under Archidamos IV, Sparta tried to stop a roaming Demetrios I, the Besieger, as the latter was attempting to reestablish his power base in Makedonia. A shadow of its former power Sparta was defeated twice and there was nothing to block the way to the city itself. However, Demetrios upon receiving alarming news turned his attention to Lysimachos and Ptolemy who were counterattacking against his holdings in Asia Minor and Cyprus respectively.
Archidamus: When he invaded Arcadia, he learned that the Eleans were supporting the Arcadians, and so he sent this letter to them: "Archidamus to the Eleans. Quiet is a good thing."
In 280 BC a force campaigning near Delpoi, under Areus I, was scattered and soundly defeated by the Aitolians. In 272 BC Areus I, was in Crete that still maintained links with the Doric Spartans. At that time Pyrrhos of Epeiros returned from his Italian campaign and assaulted the hastily built fortifications prepared by the King’s son Akrotatos and manned (so to speak) by women and old men next to what remained of an able fighting force in the city. The invaders were repulsed and their King was killed ingloriously in Argos. In 264 BC during the Chremonideian War, Areus I, died in battle against Antigonos Gonatas. In 263 BC his son and successor Akrotatos attacked Mantineia in Arcadia and was killed in the battle that followed against the Arcadians. His death effectively put the Spartans out of the war. In 244 BC an Aitolian force raided through Lakonike and took many captives, as many as 50000 according to some reports. Agis IV tried to effect reforms to remedy the many problems of the Spartan polity at the time. Wealth was accumulated in the hands of less than a hundred families and the Spartan citizens “Homoioi “ numbered around 700, a far cry from the almost 10000 at the height of Spartan power. Striking debt and land redistribution did not sit well with the ruling elite and the King stood a parody of trial and was summarily executed. The son of the other King, the executed King’s enemy in many ways, was Cleomenes III. In 229 BC he led an attack on Megalopolis. The Achaean League’s general, Aratos, was quite famous at the time and while he took a cautious approach against the King he was defeated. Cleomenes III seized the political momentum offered by his victory and leaving the Spartan citizens in camp took the mercenary part of his army and marched to Sparta. He took control of all power structures in Sparta and in the process killed four of the five Ephoroi and dissolved the institution. Debt was stricken and land was redistributed allowing more people to participate in civil life and of course share the burden and honor of military service. Sfairos, a stoic from the Bosporos and consultant of the King was charged with reinvigorating Lykourgian law and practice that had become dead letter by that time. Tellingly, he was not a Spartan. The masses took hope, but the elite observed in apprehension. Cleomenes III took to the field again with considerable success and Ptolemaic funding. Aratos turned to Makedonia for help and Antigonos III Doson was more than happy to oblige. The Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC (
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...ttle-paintings) put Cleomenes’s ambition to rest after a crushing defeat. He fled to Alexandreia, where he commited suicide in 219 BC. The other King Eukleidas died a Spartan’s death, killed in the battle. Antigonos entered Sparta in triumph, a shame never before suffered by its inhabitants. The institution of the Ephoroi returned, but a child, Pelopidas, was named king of Sparta. In fact tyrants, hailing from the royal houses nevertheless, under the pretext of being stewards to the throne, ruled in Sparta and one of the first of them was ironically called Lykourgos.
From this point on, Sparta interacted with the Achaean League and its strategos Philopoimen, an admirer of the other bane of Sparta, Epaminondas. Philopoimen fought in Sellasia in charge of Achaean cavalry and was instrumental in bringing about the Spartans’ defeat. Later in 207 BC in the battle of Mantinea, he also defeated and beheaded another steward of King Pelopidas, Mahanidas. Navis seized power in Sparta after that using mercenary troops and held on to it until 192 BC. Navis saw the need for further social reforms, which he did manage to effect. Striking debt, redistributing land and freeing slaves were all measures to that effect and he applied them to cities under his power such as Argos granted to him by the Makedonian King Phillip V, in return for his alliance. In 195 BC the Romans invaded Sparta with many allies from Hellenic cities and forced Navis to capitulate and accept their humiliating terms, including demolishing a significant part of the wall that he had ordered to be built around Sparta. In 192 BC Navis tried his luck again. He attempted to reconquer lands in the Peloponnesus, but his advance was checked once more by Philopoimen, who had defeated him twice in the past. The Spartan army was crushed and Navis was brutally killed by Aetolian troops under Philopoimen receiving multiple sword and spear wounds. After the battle, Philopoimen forced Sparta to join the Achaean League and in 188 BC to even accept its laws (bye bye ever-desired autonomia). The Achaean League was a roman ally, but in a couple of decades’ time, the senate decreed a number of cities out of the League, Sparta included, practically declaring war on the League. In 146 BC the Romans defeated an army and destroyed Corinth. All lands south of Makedonia were incorporated in the province of Achaea. Roman aristocrats visited Sparta in the years that followed, as tourists to observe their iconic way of life. Antiquity’s most disciplined soldiers, by any measure, had become a stop for sightseeing.
Strategy
The land of the Spartans offers a link between mainland Hellas and Crete, but it is not unique that way. Securing Lakonike is usually a closing chapter rather than a beginning of a campaign in the region. To the right faction though it offers an invaluable resource: its men.
Re: Regional Descriptions: Help the EBII Team
-Silentium... mandata captate; non vos turbatis; ordinem servate; bando sequute; memo demittat bandum et inimicos seque;
donated by ARCHIPPOS for being friendly to new people.
donated by Tellos Athenaios as a welcome to Campus Martius
Originally Posted by Brennus
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks