WHY SPARTA? 

WHY THE GREATEST LAWMAKER LYCURGUS?

If i had to note three virtues of the Spartan way of life, these would be the following:

Freedom

Equality

Shamefulness (αιδώς)

1. Freedom

1.1.—The full-time free public schooling for all Spartan boys, was to ensure that healthy and well-trained and schooled citizens could better defend their own freedom, the freedom of the City and the freedom of others!

….. and to ensure teamwork and comradery amongst the citizens!

1.2.— and respect & obedience to the Laws!!

2. Equality 

2.1. The right of all full citizens of Sparta to be selected for public offices (Senate, Ephorate)

2.2. The full-time free public schooling for all Spartan boys

2.3. The common mess systems where Spartans had to have dinner in small groups, rather than each in his own home with his own friends

2.4. The original land redistribution scheme of Lycurgus (around 800 BC)!

2.5. The allowance for each Spartan to use the tools and beasts of other Spartans and to castigate the children of others when misbehaving!

3. The virtue of αιδώς! 

Feeling shame when you are less than what is expected of you …

When you show to be something less than what the Kings or the other officials, or the Spartan society and the public expects of you!!

II 

• Sparta was much more than our hero-King Leonidas and the «300»!
• It is the real source and ‘mother’ of all modern ‘Western’ democratic political systems (see below):

1. For the first time in the history of mankind, Sparta developed a well-crafted REPUBLICAN-type Constitution = all-inclusive democratic constitution, where all social classes participated in the political system and the decision-making process, thus ensuring that all social classes felt ‘included’ and thus also protecting land-property rights!

{In pure DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS, the majority composed mostly of the poorer classes could more easily vote against and over-tax and expropriate the wealth of the rich! REPUBLICAN SYSTEMS had more safeguards!

• For the first time in the history of humanity, the Spartan Consitution created ‘citizens’ (πολίτες) with political rights and obligations, rather than ‘subjects’ (υπήκοοι)!

2. The lower-income classes and the common folk were satisfied because the all-people’s General Assembly (the Apella), was mandated to be the highest authority, whenever it convened — 230 years before Solon legislated his major democratic reforms in Athens!

All Spartans, poorer and wealthier, who undertook the Spartan public education and agogé, were part of the όμοιοι= the peers, or similars = the body of citizens that had equal voting rights and equal rights to hold office! 

3. The old aristocracy class was represented by the two ancient and highly respected Royal houses of Sparta, with one king from each of the two royal houses holding office simultaneously, in a unique dual kingship system.

3.1. For the first time in the history of mankind the system of Constitutional Monarchy emerged with very limited executive powers for the kings. 

3.2. The two kings presided over the Spartan Senate, as the Vice President of The United States presides over the US Senate! (This idea was copied from the Spartan constitution by the founding fathers and framers of the US Constitution, per The Federalist Papers)!

3.3. The Romans also copied this idea from Sparta, by having two members for each of their top posts = two consuls, two censors, etc.

3.4. The US Constitution also prescribes for a President and a Vice President, following the Spartan model of two kings. All other Countries, including Greece, only have a President!

3.5. The two kings were also Commanders-in-Chief in times of war! (This idea was also copied from the Spartan constitution for the USA President, by the founding fathers and framers of the US Constitution)!

3.6. The kings were Commanders-in-Chief, only at times of war, but war was a matter to be decided by the people’s assembly and the 5 ephors, and not by some military elite or junta! 

3.7. The Dual Kingship system ensured that each Royal House would keep watch over the other, so that they wouldn’t be tempted to abuse their powers and become despots (the first-ever system of checks & balances)! 

3.8. The coronation of each king was only subject to scrutiny and approval by the Senate and the ephors and the Apella (the people’s assembly) - only in very few cases of ‘biological’ dispute, or allegations of treason!

4. The Spartan constitution appealed also to the more conservative wealthier classes with the creation of the Senate, whereby 28 Senators over 60 years old would be elected for lifeby voice by the people’s Assembly!

-USA Senators may not elected for life, but their tenure / term is for six years (same as for French Senators - French Deputies serve five-year terms), which is three times more than the terms of Members of The House of Representatives (2 years, copying the overall Spartan logic)!

               Senators (Term) Deputies (Term)

USA            100 (6)             435 (2) 

France        348 (6)             577 (5)      

Italy             206 (5)             400 (5)

• As the two Kings presided over the Senate (bringing the total membership of the Senate to 30) - as the Vice President of the United States, presides over the USA Senate!!!

5. About 100 years later, as the kings were engaged in the Messinian wars outside Sparta for longer periods of time, the Spartans somehow introduced the institution of the body of the all-powerful 5 Ephors (commissioners), who represented the dēmos (the common citizens) of Sparta.

—The Ephors were chosen by the dēmos (probably by lot, thus giving pretty much the same chances to all regular Όμοιοι citizens to hold such a powerful office), for a single, one-year term only, with overwhelming civil and executive powers. This system probably also appeased the lower income classes, as the lot system gave equal chances of being elected to all!

6. For the first time in the history of mankind, the Spartan constitution of Lycurgus prescribed full-time free public schooling for all Spartan boys, but also exercising for all Spartan girls!!

-The idea was to ensure that healthy and well-trained and schooled citizens could better defend their own freedom, the freedom of the City and the freedom of others!

7. Lycurgus also instituted the common mess systems were Spartans had to have dinner in small groups, rather than each in his own home!

• To be allowed membership to these groups, the other members would vote to accept you, or not accept you, and candidates had to demonstrate their ability to contribute to the common dinner table.
• This instilled a sense of unity and equality amongst them, a sense of common purpose, but more importantly allowed them to better understand who is who, the vices and virtues of each other, so when the time came to distribute positions of responsibility, the best would take over!

{This idea of knowing each other and of knowing who is who was, of course, also reinforced by the system of common public education!}

This idea was also copied 4 centuries later by Plato and Aristotle: they both argued that citizens, to make the right choices should know each other’s who is who!

“τὸ τὰς ἀρχὰς διανέμειν κατ᾽ ἀξίαν ἀναγκαῖον γνωρίζειν ἀλλήλους, ποῖοί τινές εἰσι, τοὺς πολίτας, ὡς ὅπου τοῦτο μὴ συμβαίνει γίγνεσθαι, φαύλως ἀνάγκη γίγνεσθαι τὰ περὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς κρίσεις. περὶ ἀμφότερα γὰρ οὐ δίκαιον αὐτοσχεδιάζειν” [Arist. 1326b 16-19] 

«παρασκευάζωσι καὶ φιλοφρονῶνταί τε ἀλλήλους μετὰ θυσιῶν καὶ οἰκειῶνται[738ε] καὶ γνωρίζωσιν, οὗ μεῖζον οὐδὲν πόλει ἀγαθὸν ἢ γνωρίμους αὐτοὺς αὑτοῖς εἶναι. ὅπου γὰρ μὴ φῶς ἀλλήλοις ἐστὶν ἀλλήλων ἐν τοῖς τρόποις ἀλλὰ σκότος, οὔτ᾽ ἂν τιμῆς τῆς ἀξίας οὔτ᾽ ἀρχῶν οὔτε δίκης ποτέ τις ἂν τῆς προσηκούσης ὀρθῶς τυγχάνοι: δεῖ δὴ πάντα ἄνδρα ἓνπρὸς ἓν τοῦτο σπεύδειν ἐν πάσαις πόλεσιν, ὅπως μήτε αὐτὸς κίβδηλός ποτε φανεῖται ὁτῳοῦν, ἁπλοῦς δὲ καὶ ἀληθὴς ἀεί, μήτε ἄλλος τοιοῦτος ὢν αὐτὸν διαπατήσει.»[Plato Laws 738 d-e]

8. To be a full όμοιοςcitizen, it was not enough to be a resident (κάτοικος) of the area:

• you had to have both your parents be full Spartans.
• you should have partaken and completed the agogè public schooling
• you should have been accepted as a regular member of one of the public dining groups.
• you should not owe money to the State
• you should not have lost your citizen privileges because of cowardly or dishonorable behavior,

9. For the first tine in the history of mankind, Lycurgus invented and proceeded with a full land redistribution exercise (αναδασμός) to ensure that his political reforms were reinforced by greater economic equality!!
10. For the first tine in the history of mankind, Lycurgus provided for the schooling of girls! 

Spartan women, even though they did not have voting rights, appeared to be highly revered (especially as compared to the women in Athens and all other cities), and by the 4th century BC, provably owned almost half of the land of Sparta! 

And lets keep in mind, that 

(1) Sparta was not run by some sort of military junta, but political power fully rested with the people and the Institutions as described above!

(2) Sparta’ constitution was inimitable, unique, meritocratic, and allowed for non-violent successions of power!

(3) In fact, Sparta seems to be the only state where succession was not accompanied by domestic civil strife and violence - as everywhere else in the world!

(4) Power rested clearly with the ‘political’ authorities:

—The two kings

—The Senate

—The five Ephors &

—The Apella!

….. not with some military elite!

Military leaders were the product of the agogē and competition for honors amongst the younger generation!

They were fully under the control of the political authorities• and NOT part of a permanent military aristocracy !!!

Nothing like Prussia or pre-WW2 Japan!