History of Ancient Sparta in Greece - Assignment Example

NAME TUTOR TITLE DATE Sparta ancient history Introduction Sparta was a part of ancient Greece with a very rich history. It was a military society with one of the strongest armies in ancient Greece (Bakhuizen, 1994). This essay gives answers to four questions selected among the eleven that were provided. All the questions are about Sparta ancient history. The essay therefore is a discussion of the history of Sparta including its battles, conquests and social life in the society. SECTION A Question 2: Herodotus attitude to the Spartans The statement that Demaratus makes to Xerxes adequately encapsulates the attitude of Herodotus to the Spartans. He believes just as Demaratus that the Spartans always fight to death and conquest. He also supports the notion that Spartans are fighters who fear the law than anything else and this is why they fight to the end. Herodotus supports his argument that Spartans fight until they die or conquer with the war of Thermopylae. In this battle there is a lot of evidence to support Demaratus claims that the Spartans obeyed the law to the end. They fought for Sparta in the battle of Thermopylae and died in battle. By connecting the claim of the Spartans fighting to death with the Thermopylae battle Herodotus wants us to see that he believes that Spartans are fierce fighters who would not surrender to the enemy just like Demaratus claims. 300 Spartans less 2 were killed in the battle at Thermopylae as Herodotus reports. Herodotus shows that he is a believer in the fighting prowess of the Spartans and that his attitude towards them is very positive (Bakhuizen, 1994). There is no doubt that Herodotus is aware of the surrender of the Spartans to the Tegiae in the 6th century during the battle of the Fettas. The Spartans were defeated in battle, captured and forced to labour on the land in Arcadia. In 425 also, the Athenians forced the Spartans to surrender to them when they attacked them on the Sphacteria Island. These are indications that what Demaratus was saying is not true and Heredotus knows this. However he chooses to support the claim that the Spartans never surrender to the enemy because he maintains a friendly attitude to them (Cartledge 2003). SECTION B Question 6: Victories and defeats of Sparta in Argolid and Arcadia In the beginning of the 6th century the Spartans were controlling Messenia although they had not succeeded in taking Argolid. When the Arcadians were attacked by the Lacedaemonians who also invaded Phigalia, the Lacedaemonians overpowered the people there and besieged the city. The walls were almost captured when the Phigalians escaped and went to Delphi to enquire of their god concerning their return. The Pythian priestess advised them to go with 100 Oresthasium men who would be killed in the battle but the Phigalians would get back their city. When the news about the oracle reached the Oresthasians they went to fight the Lacedaemonians and won the battle. They expelled the Spartans and the Phigalians recovered their land. The agenda of the Spartans was to duplicate what they did at Messenia at Arcadia and take over the land (Croix, 1972). The Lacedaemonians also rose against Tegea after an oracle had been given to them by the priestess. They went carrying chains because they had believed the deceptive oracle that told them they would win the battle against Tegea. They had confidence that they were going to conquer Tegea but they were defeated. Those who had been captured were bound with the chains they carried into Tegea and forced to labour on the land (Irad 1973). Only a few years passed and the Spartans started a campaign against the Argives who were their true enemies. In 545 these two sides were ready for battle lining up in the Thyreatis district that lies between Argos and Sparta. This district had always been controlled by the Argives. Instead of going into a full battle they decided that both sides produce 300 fighters each to fight each other. They agreed that the side that will win this 600 men fight of the champions will take the Thyreatis. The battle started and the Argives and Spartans fought for a long time. Both sides were losing soldiers but no side was winning. At last only 2 Argive soldiers and one Spartan remained alive. The Argives went away from the battle scene believing that they had gained victory in that battle. The Spartan that remained stripped the dead Argive soldiers of their armour. Because of this both sides claimed a win in the battle. The argument of the Spartans was the stronger one according to the prevailing laws at that time. Their soldier had remained on the battle field to erect a monument of victory to Tropaion (Andrewes, 1952). It was clear that the side that asks the other to allow it back on the battle field to collect their dead for burial had lost the battle. Based on this, the remaining Spartan soldier had accomplished things that his side controlled the battle field when the battle ended. With the two sides clinging on victory they lost the point of battling it out with a small number. This having happened the Spartans and Argives marched out with full armies making it a full force battle. On this occasion the victory was secured by the Spartans and it was clear to all. Because of this victory the Spartans took over the Thyreatis district and their power continued to advance as they conquered more territory (Andrewes, 1956). Section 5 Question 8: Importance of marriage, sex outside marriage, and homosexuality at Sparta Marriage Marriage in Sparta was very important. The Spartans were always under pressure from the state to get male children so they could grow to become warriors to take the place of those who were losing their lives in battle. Those men who did not marry early enough were shamed publicly while those that got multiple sons stood the right to receive a reward. Marriage in Sparta was understood to serve the purpose of companionship and procreation. It was important as a place where healthy male children could be born and nurtured to become warriors for the community (Redfield, 1977). In Sparta, girls were not married off young to elderly men like in other parts of Greece. Women in marriage had greater freedom than those in the rest of Greece even though they were only recognized as mothers and wives. Women had influence and economic power and a high status to go with. This never happened in other Greek cities (Redfield, 1977). Sex outside marriage Young men in Sparta who had married before the age of 30 were not allowed to stay with their wives. They were living in barracks as warriors a way from their wives and this sort of promoted sex outside marriage. Sex outside marriage was their way of satisfying their physical needs before they reached age 30. At age 30 the men could now be allowed to go and sire children with their wives. Even for the married sex was for procreation and not for affection or intimacy. Husbands were only required by law to relate with their wives for sake of bearing healthy children to join the army. In other Greek places away from Sparta, the men were allowed by the society to have sex with prostitutes or boys since faithfulness in marriage was not upheld. In Sparta the situation was a bit different since men could have sex with their wives as much as possible for them to get male children. Homosexuality however existed alongside heterosexual activity (Redfield, 1977). Homosexuality In the Laws, Plato says that male homosexuality in Sparta was tolerated and practised widely. Aristotle says in politics that the men of Sparta were under the rule of women. He goes a head to say that this problem was common in all military societies apart from those that valued male homosexuality. The implication here is that homosexuality was a way of escaping from being ruled or dominated by the woman. Sex with women was seen as a tool which the women used to manipulate their husbands. Aristotle’s observation is that Sparta has very little homosexuality that cannot women from ruling their men. Homosexuality therefore was used to show the independence of men from women dominance and manipulation. It allowed the men to have control over the women because they did not need the women for sex after all and therefore women could have nothing to use as a bargaining tool whenever they wanted to pin the men down (Cartledge 2003). Homosexuality was also used as a way of growing the boys up. Boys left home at age 7 and were expected to begin engaging in homosexuality with older males at age 12. This according to Cartledge was a regular part of the system of upbringing or education for the boys. The system took away the emphasis from family life for the boys and through this they got devoted to military life (Cartledge 2003). Sparta was different from the rest of Greece because when the boys left home they could not come back even in time of peace. They were not allowed to engage in civilian activities like farming as would happen in other parts of Greece. The homosexuality for males in Sparta was less compared to that found in other Greek cities (Cartledge 2003). SECTION C Question 11: How Epaminondas and the Thebans defeated Cleombrotus and the Spartans at the battle of Leuctra.
  When Cleombrotus the King of Sparta saw that Thebans were not willing to give freedom to Boeotian city states and that they had a purpose of engaging in battle, he was encouraged to move into Boeotia with his troops. The two sides armed and the battle was on the way. There was an open plain which prompted the two armies to make a move. Lacedaemonians sent their cavalry to the front of their infantry squares(Bakhuizen, 1994). This move was imitated by the Thebans. The horses of the Thebans had been trained very highly and were very efficient because of their war with Thespiae and the orchomenians. The cavalry of the Lacedaemonian was not at its best at this time. The richest people kept the horses. At the calling of the levy, a trooper could emerge and take he horse with the arms he was given. These troopers however were not able bodied men. The Lacedaemonians had a heavy infantry that advanced through 3 sections giving a depth to the entire line of less than twelve. The Thebans organized themselves in a close order of more than fifty shields in depth. Victory over the division of the Spartan king would allow them to overcome the rest (Bakhuizen, 1994). At this moment Cleombrotus had not started leading his division to attack the enemy when he was noticed by the enemy troops. There was a collision between the cavalries and the Lacedaemonian cavalry was worsted very speedily. As they tried to flee they were involved with the heavy infantry on their side and the Theban regiments had launched fierce attacks. There is evidence to prove that in the beginning Cleombrotus and the divisions with him gained the victory in the war. This is true when we reason that he could not have been brought back still alive unless his division had been controlling the scene for the time (Lewis, 1977). When Deinon the Polemarch and a certain member of the council of the king called Cleonymous had been brought down the cavalry and the adjutants of the polemarch together with the other started retreating because of the pressure placed on them. The Lacedaemonian left wing having notice the defeat of the right borne was forced to swerve. Despite the many deaths that had taken place in that battle and with the brokenness they had experienced they grounded their arms when they had gone over the trench that served as a protection of their camp on the front side. Their camp was on a steep incline. Some Lacedaemonians witnessed the disaster and could not tolerate it. They therefore decided that they were not going to let their enemies erect a trophy or recover those who had died (Bakhuizen, 1994).This could only be done through another battle. The polemarchs saw that almost 1000 of the troops of the Lacedaemoians had been killed. They also saw that 400 of the 700 regular Spartans on the field had been killed and that the allies had a lot of despondency amongst them and that they were disinclined to fight for a longer time they convened a council of the representatives that were the most able to represent the defeated army so that they could deliberate on what to do. They agreed to pick the dead bodies under the flag of truce and this prompted them to send a herald who treated for terms. This made the Thebans to set up their trophy and give back the bodies under the truce (Hodkinson and Powell 2006). Conclusion In conclusion, many things have been discussed about the history of ancient Sparta in Greece. Sparta was a strong military society with its warriors having engaged in several battles. This essay has examined various aspects of the Sparta society in ancient Greece especially its war activities. Featuring in the essay is also a discussion on the role of marriage, homosexuality and sex out of wedlock in Sparta. Four questions drawn from the 3 sections provide have been answered. References Andrewes, A. 1952. ‘Sparta and Arcadia in the Early Fifth Century’ Phoenix 6, 1-5. Hodkinson S.and Powell A. (eds.), 2006. Sparta and War, Swansea. Lewis, D.M 1977. Sparta and Persia, Leiden. Bakhuizen, S.C. 1994. ‘Thebes and Boeotia in the Fourth Century BC’ Phoenix 48, 307-330. Redfield, J. 1977. ‘The Women of Sparta’ Classical Journal 73, 146-161. Cartledge P. 2003. Spartan reflections. University of Carlifornia Irad M., Myth and Territory in the Spartan Mediterranean,Cambridge University Press. Croix, G.M 1972. The Origins of the Peloponnnesian War, London. Hammond, G. L 1996. ‘Sparta at Thermopylae’ Historia 45 , 1-20. Read More