Download Spartan Man

Spartan Man
Horseman at War
Spartan Man
Carving of Athena found in Sparta
Spartan Shepherd
Spartan Woman Running
From Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War”
1.27 The policy of Sparta was not to exact tribute from her allies, but merely to secure their subservience to
her interests by establishing oligarchies among them; Athens, on the contrary, had by degrees deprived hers
of their ships, and imposed instead contributions in money on all except Chios and Lesbos. Both found their
resources for this war separately to exceed the sum of ther strength when the alliance flourished intact.
From Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War” – Speech by Archidamus, King of
Sparta
3.29 "I have not lived so long, Spartans, without having had the experience of many wars, and I see those
among you of the same age as myself, who will not fall into the common misfortune of longing for war from
inexperience or from a belief in its advantage and its safety. This, the war on which you are now debating,
would be one of the greatest magnitude, on a sober consideration of the matter. In a struggle with
Peloponnesians and neighbours our strength is of the same character, and it is possible to move swiftly on the
different points.”
From Plutarch’s “Lycurgus” on Sparta
In order to the good education of their youth (which, as I said before, he thought the most important and
noblest work of a lawgiver), he went so far back as to take into consideration their very conception and birth,
by regulating their marriages. For Aristotle is wrong in saying, that, after he had tried all ways to reduce the
women to more modesty and sobriety, he was at last forced to leave them as they were, because that in the
absence of their husbands, who spent the best part of their lives in the wars, their wives, whom they were
obliged to leave absolute mistresses at home, took great liberties and assumed the superiority; and were
treated with overmuch respect and called by the title of lady or queen. The truth is, he took in their case, also,
all the care that was possible; he ordered the maidens to exercise themselves with wrestling, running,
throwing, the quoit, and casting the dart, to the end that the fruit they conceived might, in strong and healthy
bodies, take firmer root and find better growth, and withal that they, with this greater vigour, might be the
more able to undergo the pains of child-bearing.
From Plutarch’s “Lycurgus” on Sparta
Nor was it in the power of the father to dispose of the child as he thought fit; he was obliged to carry it
before certain triers at a place called Lesche; these were some of the elders of the tribe to which the child
belonged; their business it was carefully to view the infant, and, if they found it stout and well made, they
gave order for its rearing, and allotted to it one of the nine thousand shares of land above mentioned for its
maintenance, but, if they found it puny and ill-shaped, ordered it to be taken to what was called the
Apothetae, a sort of chasm under Taygetus; as thinking it neither for the good of the child itself, nor for the
public interest, that it should be brought up, if it did not, from the very outset, appear made to be healthy and
vigorous.
The Parthenon, Athens
Athenian Woman tying her Sandal
Statue of the Greek Goddess Athena from the Parthenon in Athens
A recreation of an Athenian Merchant Ship
A carving of the Athenian Democratic Assembly
Athenian speaker Demosthenes on the need for skepticism when voting on war.
"There are all kinds of devices invented for the protection and
preservation of countries: defensive barriers, forts, trenches,
and the like... But prudent minds have as a natural gift one safeguard
which is the common possession of all, and this applies especially
to the dealings of democracies. What is this safeguard? Skepticism.
This you must preserve. This you must retain. If you can keep this,
you need fear no harm."
From Plato’s “Apology” – Socrates speaking to a court in Athens
Well, as I was saying, they have hardly uttered a word, or not more than a word, of truth; but you shall hear
from me the whole truth: not, however, delivered after their manner, in a set oration duly ornamented with
words and phrases. No indeed! but I shall use the words and arguments which occur to me at the moment;
for I am certain that this is right, and that at my time of life I ought not to be appearing before you, O men of
Athens, in the character of a juvenile orator - let no one expect this of me. And I must beg of you to grant me
one favor, which is this - If you hear me using the same words in my defence which I have been in the habit
of using, and which most of you may have heard in the [political assembly room], and at the tables of the
money-changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised at this, and not to interrupt me. For I
am more than seventy years of age, and this is the first time that I have ever appeared in a court of law, and I
am quite a stranger to the ways of the place; and therefore I would have you regard me as if I were really a
stranger, whom you would excuse if he spoke in his native tongue, and after the fashion of his country; - that
I think is not an unfair request. Never mind the manner, which may or may not be good; but think only of
the justice of my cause, and give heed to that: let the judge decide justly and the speaker speak truly.
From Plato’s Republic
For men born and educated like our citizens, the only way, in my opinion, of arriving at a right conclusion
about the possession and use of women and children is to follow the path on which we originally started,
when we said that the men were to be the guardians and watchdogs of the herd.
True.
Let us further suppose the birth and education of our women to be subject to similar or nearly similar
regulations; then we shall see whether the result accords with our design.
What do you mean?
What I mean may be put into the form of a question, I said: Are dogs divided into hes and shes, or do they
both share equally in hunting and in keeping watch and in the other duties of dogs? or do we entrust to the
males the entire and exclusive care of the flocks, while we leave the females at home, under the idea that the
bearing and suckling their puppies is labour enough for them?
No, he said, they share alike; the only difference between them is that the males are stronger and the females weaker.
But can you use different animals for the same purpose, unless they are bred and fed in the same way?
You cannot.
Then, if women are to have the same duties as men, they must have the same nurture and education?
Yes.
The education which was assigned to the men was music and gymnastic. Yes.
Then women must be taught music and gymnastic and also the art of war, which they must practise like the
men?
That is the inference, I suppose.
I should rather expect, I said, that several of our proposals, if they are carried out, being unusual, may appear
ridiculous.
No doubt of it.
Yes, and the most ridiculous thing of all will be the sight of women naked in the palaestra, exercising with the
men, especially when they are no longer young; they certainly will not be a vision of beauty, any more than
the enthusiastic old men who in spite of wrinkles and ugliness continue to frequent the gymnasia.
Yes, indeed, he said: according to present notions the proposal would be thought ridiculous.
But then, I said, as we have determined to speak our minds, we must not fear the jests of the wits which will
be directed against this sort of innovation; how they will talk of women's attainments both in music and
gymnastic, and above all about their wearing armour and riding upon horseback!