The ''Lacedaemonion Politeia'' ( grc-gre, Λακεδαιμονίων Πολιτεία), known in English as the ''Polity'', ''Constitution'', or ''Republic of the Lacedaemonians'', or the ''Spartan Constitution'',Hall 204.Marincola 349.Lipka 9: "Both arguments carry all the more weight since the ''SC'' is the only surviving Spartan constitution". is a treatise attributed to the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

historian

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

, describing the institutions, customs, and practices of the ancient

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 ...

ns.Proietti 44–58.Xenophon, ''Hellenica'' 73–74. The work examines the reasons for Sparta's power and renown, despite the city state's sparse population. There are fifteen chapters: the first thirteen enumerate the practices and institutions that made Sparta great; the last two describe Sparta's decline and the survival of its monarchy. The ''Polity'' dates to the period between 387 and 375 BC, and is the only contemporary account of the Spartan political system which survives. Together with

Plutarch's Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ...

Life of Lycurgus Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

", it provides the most detailed surviving description of the Spartan state, and is considered the best source of information about Spartan women during

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

Authorship and dating

The ''Polity of the Lacedaemonians'' is included in the collection of Xenophon's works that have survived, and its attribution to Xenophon is supported by a mention to that effect in the works of

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

.Xenophon, ''Hellenica'' 73. The consensus of the majority scholarly opinion of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is that Xenophon is the author of the work.Lipka 6: "Despite these doubts, the majority of scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries regarded the SC as genuine". Any imperfections are considered minor in comparison to its overall structure and composition, and are attributed to publication errors and editing by others through the centuries, or even to distressing events in Xenophon's life. Based on the contents of the work, Chapterxiv is dated at 378BC, about the time of the

Second Athenian League The Second Athenian League was a maritime confederation of Aegean city-states from 378 to 355 BC and headed by Athens, primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and secondly, the Persian Empire. Background In 478 BC, Athens found ...

in 375BC. The chapters prior to that are dated to within the nine years before 378BC, i.e. 387–378 BC.Xenophon, ''Hellenica'' 74.

Motivation

In the introduction, Xenophon writes: It is theorised that Xenophon's attention was focused on Sparta following a military victory of some sort by that state. It appears that the event most likely to have impressed Xenophon was the victory of Sparta over Athens during the Peloponnesian War, which occurred when Xenophon was a young man. He describes all Spartan laws and practices as deriving from Lycurgus's reforms which were also believed to have been sanctified by

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

at Delphi. The majority of modern scholars categorise the work as an

encomium ''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is ''laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the c ...

for Sparta.

Content and structure

The work consists of fifteen chapters, numbered I to XV. In the first thirteen chapters, Xenophon examines the attributes of the Spartan state that contributed to making Sparta such a powerful and renowned city in ancient Hellas.Proietti 45. The last two chapters diverge from that focus and concentrate instead on the decline of Sparta, and then on the survival of the monarchy in the declining state.Proietti 44–45. In Chapter I Xenophon enumerates the parenting methods used by the Spartans to create strong children. ChaptersII–IV describe the education of the Spartan children as a lifelong process that starts when they are very young and continues into adulthood. Xenophon explains how this educational process produces humble and law-abiding citizens who at the same time can be daring and ingenious. He also mentions that the Spartans practiced hunting for most of their lives. ChapterV describes the Spartan institutions that produce citizens who are moderate in their habits, possess good public manners, and are physically strong through regular exercise. Chapter VI explains Spartan egalitarianism, and Spartans' indifference to economic status, as well as their willingness to help those of lesser means. ChapterVII discusses the Spartans' utter disregard for money, their keen interest in civic duty, and their commitment to the freedom of Sparta. ChapterVIII describes the Spartans' deference and obedience to their laws and authorities, and the power of the Spartan government to administer justice. Chapter IX refers to the Spartan sense of honour, which compelled them to prefer an honourable death in battle to surrendering. ChapterX details how Spartan society promotes good citizenship though public awards, while ChaptersXI to XIII detail Spartan military strategy, leadership, and ethos. In Chapter XIV, Xenophon changes direction, and instead of further explaining the things that made Sparta great, he enumerates how the contemporary state of Sparta has become corrupt, and no longer obeys the laws of

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' ...

. In the same chapter, Xenophon further explains how this decline in Spartan morals and prestige has caused the other Greek states to no longer look up to Sparta for leadership, but instead to team up against Sparta to prevent it from ruling over the rest of Greece. In ChapterXV, Xenophon ends by telling how, despite its decline, the city state has remained faithful to the institution of the king.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

''Constitution of the Lacedaimonians''
trans. E. C. Marchant and G. W. Bowersock

trans. H. G. Dakyns {{Authority control Works by Xenophon Sparta Ancient Greek law 3rd-century BC history books Ancient Greek constitutions