Ancient Philosophy

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

The Influence of Sparta

To understand Plato and many later philosophers, it is essential to have some knowledge of Sparta. Sparta exerted a dual influence on Greek philosophy: through its reality and through myth, both of which hold significant importance. The reality enabled the Spartans to deliver a military defeat to Athens, while the myth influenced Plato's political theory and the theories of countless subsequent writers. This myth, in its developed form, is contained in Plutarch's "Life of Lycurgus." The ideals that sustained this myth played a crucial role in shaping the theories of Rousseau, Nietzsche, and national socialism. Historically speaking, this myth is even more significant than reality; however, we shall begin with the latter, for reality was the source of the myth.

Laconia, or Lacedaemon, whose capital was Sparta, occupied the southeastern part of the Peloponnesian peninsula. The Spartans were the ruling ethnicity, having conquered this land during the Dorian invasion from the north and relegating the local population to the status of serfs, known as helots. In historical times, all the land belonged to the Spartans, who, however, were prohibited by law and custom from cultivating it themselves, as such labor was deemed degrading, and they were required to remain ever-ready for military service. Helots were neither bought nor sold but were bound to the land, which was divided into parcels; each adult Spartan was allocated one parcel or more. These parcels of land, like the helots, could not be bought or sold and, according to the law, passed from father to son (though they could be bequeathed). Each landowner received from the helot working his plot 70 medimnoi (about 105 bushels) of grain for himself, 12 medimnoi for his wife, and a specified share of wine and fruit annually. All that remained beyond this was the property of the helot. Helots, like Spartans, were Greeks and deeply resented their enslavement. Whenever possible, they revolted. The Spartans maintained a significant secret police force to combat this threat, but in addition to this precaution, they had another means: once a year, they declared war on the helots, allowing their young men to kill anyone they deemed disobedient without facing legal charges for murder. Only the state could free helots, not their masters; their liberation was rare and occurred only for exceptional bravery displayed in battle.

During one period in the 8th century BCE, the Spartans conquered the neighboring land of Messenia, reducing a significant portion of its inhabitants to the status of helots. Sparta lacked "living space," and this new territory temporarily alleviated that source of discontent.

The plots of land belonging to ordinary Spartans were communal lands granted to them by the state; the aristocracy, on the other hand, owned their estates. Free inhabitants of other parts of Laconia, known as perioeci, had no political rights.

The sole occupation of a Spartan citizen was war, for which they were trained from birth. Sickly children, upon inspection by the elders, were put to death; only those deemed healthy were allowed to be raised. All boys were educated in a single large school until they reached the age of twenty; the aim of this education was to make them brave, indifferent to pain, and disciplined. In Sparta, there was no chatter about cultural or scientific education; the only goal was to prepare good soldiers, entirely devoted to the state.

Actual military service began at the age of twenty. Marriage was permitted upon reaching this age, but until the age of thirty, men were required to live in a "house of men" and conduct their marital affairs as though they were illicit and secret. After thirty, they became full citizens. Every citizen was obliged to participate in a communal meal and dine with other members; they had to contribute provisions from their land. According to the political structure of Sparta, there were to be neither needy nor wealthy individuals. It was believed that everyone should live off the produce from their land, which they could not alienate, except for the right to gift it. No one was allowed to possess gold or silver; money was made of iron. Spartan simplicity became proverbial.

The status of women in Sparta was unique. They were not isolated from society, as respectable women in other parts of Greece were. Girls received the same physical training as boys; notably, boys and girls practiced gymnastics together in the nude. "Girls were required to run, wrestle, throw the discus, and hurl the javelin to strengthen their bodies so that their future children would be robust in the womb of their healthy mothers, that their development would be proper, and that the mothers themselves could deliver their burdens successfully and easily due to their physical strength... There was nothing indecent about the nudity of girls. They remained modest and far from temptation." Unmarried men were subjected to a certain kind of disgrace according to Lycurgus's laws, and they were compelled to walk naked in the coldest weather past places where young people exercised and danced.

Women were not allowed to express any emotions detrimental to the state. They could express contempt for cowards, and they were praised if that coward was their son; however, they could not show grief if their newborn child was condemned to death as weak or if their sons were killed in battle. Other Greeks considered Spartan women exceptionally chaste. At the same time, a married woman without children was not to object if the state ordered her to check whether another man might be more fortunate than her husband in producing new citizens. Legislation encouraged childbirth. According to Aristotle, a father of three sons was exempt from military service, while a father of four sons had no obligations at all.

The political structure of Sparta was complex. There were two kings, belonging to two different families, and their power was inherited. One of the kings commanded the army during wartime, but in times of peace, their authority was limited. At communal banquets, they consumed twice as much as the others, and when one of them died, all mourned him. The kings were members of a council of elders composed of thirty members (including the kings). These 28 elders had to be over sixty years old and were elected for life by the general assembly, but only from the aristocratic Spartan families. The council of elders adjudicated criminal cases and prepared questions for consideration by the assembly. The assembly consisted of all citizens; it could not initiate anything but could vote "for" or "against" any proposed measure. No law could take effect without the assembly's approval. However, while the assembly's consent was necessary, it was not sufficient; the elders and officials had to proclaim their decision for the law to become valid.

In addition to the kings, the council of elders, and the assembly, there existed a fourth branch of governance unique to Sparta: the five ephors. They were elected from the entire citizenry in a manner that Aristotle describes as "excessively childish," and which Barry suggests was essentially a lottery. The ephors represented the "democratic" element within Sparta’s political structure, seemingly intended to serve as a counterbalance to the kings. Each month, the kings would swear an oath to uphold the Spartan constitution, while the ephors would reciprocate, vowing to support the kings as long as they remained faithful to their oath. When one of the kings went to war, two ephors accompanied him to oversee his conduct. The ephors constituted the highest civil court, but they held criminal jurisdiction over the kings.

In later antiquity, it was believed that Sparta owed its political system to a lawgiver named Lycurgus, who was said to have proclaimed his laws in 885 BC. In reality, the Spartan system evolved gradually, and Lycurgus emerged as a mythical figure of divine origin. His name means "wolf driver," and he was of Arcadian descent.

It is somewhat surprising that Sparta inspired admiration among the other Greeks. Initially, it was not significantly different from other Greek cities. In earlier times, Sparta produced poets and actors of equal renown as those found throughout Greece. However, around the seventh century BC, or perhaps even later, its political system (often incorrectly attributed to Lycurgus) crystallized into the form we now examine; everything was sacrificed to the successes in warfare, and Sparta ceased to participate in the contributions Greece made to global civilization. To us, the Spartan state appears as a miniature model of the kind of regime the Nazis might have established had they achieved victory. For the Greeks, it was perceived differently. As Barry notes:

"A foreigner from Athens or a resident of Miletus, visiting in the fifth century BC the expansive villages that formed its modest, unwalled city, must have felt as though he had been transported to an ancient era when people were bolder, better, and simpler, unspoiled by wealth and unconcerned with ideas. For a philosopher like Plato, engaged in the study of the state, the Spartan state seemed the best approximation of an ideal. The ordinary Greek believed that the Spartan political system possessed a strict and simple beauty, resembling a Doric city—majestic like a Doric temple, significantly more noble than his own place of residence, but less comfortable for living."

One reason for the admiration Sparta evoked among other Greeks was its stability. While revolutions erupted in all other Greek cities, the Spartan system remained unchanged for centuries, aside from the gradual increase in the power of the ephors, which occurred lawfully and without violence.

It cannot be denied that for an extended period, the Spartans succeeded in achieving their primary goal: cultivating a populace of invincible warriors. The Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), although formally a defeat for the Spartans, stands as perhaps the finest testament to their valor. Thermopylae was a narrow pass in the mountains where they intended to hold back the Persian army. Three hundred Spartans, along with auxiliary forces, repelled all frontal assaults. Ultimately, however, the Persians discovered a way around the mountains and were able to attack the Greeks from two sides simultaneously. Each Spartan fell at his post. Two were absent due to illness, suffering from an affliction of the eyes that resulted in temporary blindness. One insisted that his helot lead him to the battlefield, where he perished; the other, Aristodemus, deemed himself too ill to fight and did not appear. Upon his return to Sparta, no one wished to speak with him; he was branded "Aristodemus the Coward." A year later, he redeemed himself from disgrace with a courageous death at the Battle of Plataea, in which the Spartans emerged victorious. After the war, the Spartans erected a monument on the battlefield at Thermopylae with the inscription: "Traveler, go tell the Spartans that we lie here, obedient to their laws."

For a long time, the Spartans remained invincible on land. They maintained their supremacy until 371 BC, when they were defeated by the Thebans at the Battle of Leuctra. This marked the end of their military glory.

Excluding warfare, the reality of Sparta never truly matched its theory. Herodotus, who lived during the height of Sparta's power, noted with astonishment that no Spartan could resist a bribe. This occurred despite the fact that disdain for wealth and a love of simplicity were among the core principles instilled in Spartan education. We are told that Spartan women were chaste; yet, on several occasions, a supposed heir to the throne was rejected on the grounds that he was not the biological son of his mother's husband. We hear that the Spartans were unwavering patriots; however, King Pausanias, the victor at Plataea, ended his life as a traitor, bribed by Xerxes. Aside from such scandals, Sparta's politics remained consistently petty and provincial. When Athens liberated the Greeks of Asia Minor and neighboring islands from Persian control, Sparta remained aloof. As long as they believed the Peloponnese was secure, the Spartans were indifferent to the fate of other Greeks. All attempts to create a confederation of the Hellenic world failed due to Sparta’s parochialism.

Aristotle, writing after Sparta's fall, offers a decidedly hostile account of its political system. What he states diverges so sharply from the views of others that it is difficult to believe he is describing the same land, as he remarks: "...the lawgiver, wishing to harden the state as a whole, entirely succeeded in regard to the male population but neglected to do so concerning the female population: women in Laconia lead lives of complete independence and indulge in luxury... In such a political system, wealth must hold great significance, especially if men are governed by women, as is seen among most of the militaristic tribes. Boldness in daily life offers little benefit; it is needed only in war, but the Laconian women have caused much harm even here... Initially, the free lifestyle of the Laconian women seems to have had some foundation... When Lycurgus, according to tradition, attempted to extend his laws to women, they resisted, compelling him to retreat."

Aristotle further accuses the Spartans of avarice, which he attributes to the unequal distribution of property. He asserts that while land cannot be sold, it can be gifted or bequeathed. He adds that two-fifths of all the land belongs to women. The consequence of this is a significant decline in the number of citizens: it is said that once there were 10,000 individuals in Sparta, but at the time of the defeat inflicted by the Thebans, there were fewer than one thousand.

Aristotle critiques all the institutions of the Spartan state. He asserts that the ephors are often very poor and therefore easily bribed; their power is so great that even the kings must cater to them, transforming the political structure from an aristocracy into a democracy. Furthermore, he notes that the ephors are overly willful, and their way of life does not align with the general spirit of the state, while their strictness toward other citizens is so unbearable that they secretly indulge in illicit physical pleasures.

Aristotle wrote during a time when Sparta was in decline, yet he specifically points out that the evils he describes have existed since ancient times. His tone is so dry and realistic that it is difficult not to believe him, and what he asserts aligns well with contemporary experiences that illustrate the negative outcomes of excessive legal strictness. However, the image of Sparta that endures in the collective imagination is not that of Aristotle's critique but rather the mythical Sparta of Plutarch and the philosophical idealization of Sparta found in Plato's "Republic." For centuries, young people have read these works, igniting an ambitious desire to become like Lycurgus or philosophical kings. As a result, the combination of idealism and a love of power has repeatedly misled individuals, a phenomenon that continues to manifest even today.

The myth of Sparta for medieval and modern readers was crafted by Plutarch. By the time he wrote, Sparta belonged to a romanticized past. The period of Sparta's greatness was as distant from Plutarch's time as Columbus is from our own epoch. A historian studying political institutions must approach Plutarch's claims with great caution, particularly when examining myths. Greece has always influenced the world not directly through political power but by impacting the imagination, ideals, and hopes of people.

Rome constructed roads that largely endure to this day and established laws that serve as sources for many modern legal codes, but it was the Roman armies that rendered these endeavors significant. Although the Greeks were remarkable warriors, they did not achieve conquests because they primarily directed their martial fury against one another. The semi-barbaric Alexander managed to spread Hellenism in the Near East and make the Greek language a literary tongue in Egypt and Syria, as well as in the interior of Asia Minor. The Greeks could never have accomplished this task due to a lack of military strength but rather because of their inability to achieve political unity. The political means of spreading Hellenism were always non-Hellenistic; yet it was the Greek genius that inspired other nations to propagate the culture of those they conquered.

For a historian studying world history, it is not the petty wars between Greek city-states or trivial power struggles among various factions that hold significant importance but rather the memories preserved by humanity after this brief historical episode, akin to a traveler ascending a mountain who, through a long day of struggling against snow and wind, retains the bright memory of the sun rising over the Alps. These memories, gradually fading, left in the minds of people images of certain peaks that sparkled exceptionally in the rays of the dawning day, preserving the knowledge that beyond the clouds, a brilliance still exists, capable of manifesting at any moment. Among these peaks, Plato held paramount importance in the early Christian era, while Aristotle was crucial for the medieval church. However, after the Renaissance, when people began to value political freedom, they chiefly turned to Plutarch. Plutarch profoundly influenced the English and French liberals of the eighteenth century and the founders of the United States; he impacted the Romantic movement in Germany and continued, mainly indirectly, to influence German thought up to the present day. In some respects, his influence was positive; in others, it was detrimental. Regarding Lycurgus and Sparta, it was decidedly negative. What Plutarch said about Lycurgus is significant, and I will briefly touch upon this, even at the risk of repetition.

Lycurgus, as Plutarch states, traveled extensively to study various institutions in order to provide laws for Sparta. "He wished, it is said, to compare the simplicity and severity of the Cretan way of life with the luxury and effeminacy of the Ionians," favoring the laws of the former while rejecting the lifestyle of the latter. In Egypt, he learned of the advantages of separating soldiers from the rest of the population, and upon returning from his travels, he "introduced this in Sparta and, by establishing a separate class of craftsmen and laborers, became the founder of a class of true, pure citizens."

He equally divided the land among all Spartan citizens to "eradicate pride, envy, crime, luxury… wealth and poverty" in the city. He prohibited the use of gold and silver money, allowing only the minting of iron coins of such low value that "to save the house ten minas required a large storage facility…" Thus, he expelled from Sparta "all useless and superfluous crafts," as there was not enough money to pay those who practiced them; by this same law, he made any external trade impossible. Rhetoricians, brothel keepers, and jewelers, who disdained the iron currency, avoided residing in Sparta. Then Lycurgus ordered that all citizens eat the same food together.

Like other reformers, Lycurgus considered the education of children "the highest and best task for a legislator." And similar to all who primarily aimed to strengthen military power, he was concerned with maintaining a high birthrate. "Already all that we have discussed thus far served as a motivating cause for marriage: I mean the solemn processions of the maidens, their nudity, their exercises in wrestling before the eyes of the young men, who came here not for 'geometric' but for 'erotic' purposes, to speak in Plato's language…"

The custom of treating marriage during the first few years as if it were a secret affair "…preserved in both spouses a fervent love and a new desire to possess one another…" — such is, in any case, Plutarch's opinion. He further explains that a person was not thought poorly of if he, being old and having a young wife, allowed a younger man to have children with her. "It was also lawful for an honorable man, loving another man's wife… to request her husband to permit him to lie with her and to also plow this fertile ground and sow the seeds of beautiful children." There should not have been foolish jealousy, as "Lycurgus did not like children to belong to individuals; they were to be common for the common good; for this reason, he also wanted those who were to become citizens not to be born from just anyone, but only from the most honorable individuals." He further explains that this principle is applied by peasants to their livestock.

When a child was born, the father would bring it before the elders of his clan; if the infant was found healthy, it was returned to the father for nurturing; if it was weak, it was cast into a deep chasm filled with water. From birth, children underwent rigorous conditioning, which was beneficial in some respects; for instance, they were not swaddled. At the age of seven, boys were taken from their homes and placed in a closed school, where they were divided into groups, each led by the one who exhibited greater understanding and courage. They learned reading and writing only as necessity dictated; the remainder of their education aimed solely at instilling absolute obedience, endurance, and the art of conquering. Much of their time was spent playing together in the nude. Upon reaching twelve years, they no longer wore shirts. They were perpetually "dirty and unkempt." They did not bathe in warm water; this luxury was permitted only a few days each year. They slept on beds made of reeds, with a mixture of the plant known as "hedgehog foot" added during winter. They were taught to steal and punished if caught—not for the theft itself, but for the clumsiness that led to their capture.

Same-sex love among men, as well as among women, was an accepted custom in Sparta, and its role in the upbringing of youths was acknowledged. The lover of a boy was respected or disrespected depending on the boy's conduct. Plutarch recounts that one lover was fined for the cowardice displayed by his boy, who cried out in pain during a wrestling match.

At every stage of a Spartan's life, their freedom was circumscribed. "Education continued until maturity. No one had the right to live as they pleased; rather, the city resembled a camp, governed by a strictly defined way of life and activities aimed solely at the common good. In general, the Spartans considered themselves not as belonging to themselves but to their homeland... One of the advantages bestowed by Lycurgus upon his fellow citizens was that they had ample free time: they were strictly forbidden from engaging in trades, and accumulating wealth was unnecessary—no one envied or paid attention to riches. The land was cultivated by the helots, who paid a set tribute."

Plutarch then narrates a tale of an Athenian condemned for idleness. Upon learning of this, a Spartan requested, "Show me the man condemned for his love of freedom."

Lycurgus, Plutarch continues, "trained his fellow citizens to neither wish nor know how to live apart from one another; rather, they were to dwell together like bees, gathering around their leader..." Spartans were not permitted to travel, and foreigners were allowed into Sparta only on business, as there was fear that external customs would corrupt the virtuous Lacedaemonians.

Plutarch speaks of a law that permitted Spartans to kill helots whenever they wished, yet he refused to believe that such a dreadful custom could be attributed to Lycurgus. "At the very least, I do not dare ascribe the establishment of such a horrifying custom as the cryptia to Lycurgus, considering the gentleness of his character and his justice in all matters..." Apart from this law, Plutarch extols the political system of Sparta.

The influence of Sparta on Plato, to whom we shall devote particular attention in due course, will become abundantly clear from the description of his Utopia, which will be the focus of the next chapter.