''Lycurgus of Sparta'' is a 1791 oil painting attributed to the French painter Jacques-Louis David which is in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Blois, France.

Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to: People * Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC) * Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta * Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...

was a quasi-legendary lawgiver of the state of

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

in the Greek Peloponnese in the 8th century B.C. He was believed to be the younger son of a king of Sparta who became king himself when his elder brother died shortly after their father. His brother's wife was pregnant at the time and Lycurgus dutifully handed over the kingship to the child when it was born. Spartan custom demanded that all new born babies were vetted by a council of elders at a

Lesche Lesche ( grc, λέσχη) is an Ionic Greek word, signifying ''council'' or ''conversation'', and a ''place for council or conversation''. There is frequent mention of places of public resort, in the Greek cities, by the name of ''leschai'' (, the ...

, who ordered that any with disabilities were to be taken to die in the open on a mountainside at Apothetae. One interpretation of David's picture is that Lycurgus was standing in for his brother in showing the new born baby and future king to the council for their approval. Alternatively he is merely organising the screening process for a number of new-born babies.

References

1791 paintings Paintings by Jacques-Louis David