By the time the Roman Empire controlled Greece in the second century B. C.E., Sparta was no longer a military powerhouse. Instead it had become a kind of tourist attraction, due not only to its once-legendary military prowess among the Greek city-states, but also its unique society.
The Spartans believed the god Apollo approved their form of government through the oracle at Delphi, and it was lawgiver Lycurgus whom Sparta credited with implementing it-although when Lycurgus lived or whether he actually existed is not known for sure. But by 600 B. C.E. the Spartan social system seems to have been firmly in place.
Greek tradition claimed the Spartans descended from the Dorians, the invaders who supposedly swooped down from the north at the beginning of the Dark Age. Sparta began as a few villages that grew into a city-state and eventually conquered the southern Peloponnesian area of Laconia. Sparta was the only Greek polis that kept a monarchy, setting up a system with two kings, perhaps as an early compromise between the larger villages. These two rulers had equal power, and one focused on wars and foreign affairs while the other dealt with domestic issues. They also served as the religious leaders of the polis.
The Spartan governing body consisted of the kings and a council of 28 male citizens. Collectively, the kings and the council members were called the Council of Elders. Any male over age 60 could enter the elections for the council, but most members came from the aristocracy. Sparta also had an assembly of all male citizens over the age of 30, which voted on the laws proposed by the Council of Elders. The council, however, had supreme power, as it could reject decisions made by the assembly.
The Spartan government also had five ephors, which means “overseers.” Each year the male citizens elected new ephors, who supervised the kings and the council by keeping track of laws and making sure they were followed. The ephors provided some check on the power of the aristocracy. Sparta’s laws were not written down, but were learned by children in song form and passed down orally over the generations.
No Place for Debate
Unlike Athenian citizens, Spartans were not allowed to debate in their assembly. They simply voted yes or no on the laws presented to them. Spartans were expected to obey the law and not question their rulers' actions. They were said to dislike debate and rhetoric. The Spartan tendency to use simple language or seldom speak led to the English word laconic, which means using as few words as possible, sometimes to the point of being rude. The word laconic traces its roots to Laconia, the region of Greece that Sparta dominated.
World History
