Sparta

This side-by-side existence of oligarchic, democratic, and monarchic elements was especially the case in Sparta, which pulled together all three ancient Greek political manifestations into one constitution—having kings, an aristocracy, representatives, and a semidemocratic state assembly all at once. This system provided stability for so many centuries that it attracted the admiration of several philosophers, notably Xenophon and Aristotle, both of whom wrote treatises entitled Constitution of the Lakedaimonians [Spartans]. In modern times, unfortunately, much of what remains is what the later Roman author Plutarch extracted from these works. His Life of Lycurgus provides the most direct information we have about the origins of the Spartan government, although much of it is suspect in terms of historical accuracy.

From Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus:

Of the many innovations enacted by Lycurgus, the first and the greatest was the establishment of the gerousia [council of elders], which, Plato said, being added to the feverish rule of the kings and having equal vote with them in the most important matters of safety, brought rationality to the polity. For the civil government was wavering, and on the one hand was about to have the kings become tyrants, while on the other hand the majority was moving toward democracy. Like a steady keel, Ly-curgus established the rule of the gerousia between these extremes and set the state in balance, and so he had the most dependable arrangement and institution. For there were always 28 elders standing by the kings so as to resist the trend toward democracy, while they also strengthened the people in their resistance of tyranny. Such things Aristotle said concerning the number of the gerousia, that at first there were 30 elders set in place by Lycurgus, but two of them abandoned the project through cowardice. But Spairos says that from the beginning 28 was the number of those sharing Lycurgus's confidence. In my opinion it seems best to accept the 28 elders, so that all together they would be 30—the 28 elders plus the two kings.

Lycurgus was so zealous about his new regime that he got an oracle from Delphi about it, called the Rhetra [Decrees]. It went thus: "Having established a sanctuary for Zeus Sullanious and Athena Sullania, set the tribes into tribes and the subdivisions into subdivisions. Establish 30 elders with the leaders, and from time to time call assemblies between the Babuka and Knakion Rivers, so as to introduce and rescind (decrees). Let the rule and power be with the people.” In these clauses, "set the tribes into tribes and the subdivisions into subdivisions” meant to divide up the multitudes into clans, called phratries by some and obes by others. The "leaders” were the kings, and "calling assemblies” meant to convene the people for civic purposes. So Lycurgus linked the rule and the course of the civil government to Pythian Apollo.. .

When the people were assembled, it was not permitted for anyone to put forth a motion, but the assembly was to decide on matters brought before them by the ger-ousia and the kings. Later, however, when the people distorted and constrained the motions by deleting parts or adding on riders, Polydoros and Theopompos the kings added another clause to the Rhetra, saying: "If the people should adopt a crooked measure, let the elders and leaders put an end to it.” That is, they should not enact

Such a motion, but dismiss it altogether and dissolve the assembly, as it was twisting and altering a motion against the best interests. And the kings persuaded the city that these additions were added on by the god. So the poet Tyrtaios memorialized in these words:

Hearing and performing the words of the god and oracle Brought home from the Pythian

To rule over the council belongs to god-honored kings.

The delightful city of the Spartans is their concern,

Second are the elders, then the men of the people Obeying in turn proper decrees.

In this way, the constitution of Lycurgus came together, but even still the oligarchic element was unfazed and too strong, "swelling and foaming" as Plutarch put it, "so they threw the power of the ephors about the city like a leash." Some 130 years after Lycurgus, the first of the ephors (see below) were established—Elatos and those with him, during the reign of Theopompos. And when the king's own wife berated him, saying that he would hand over to his sons a worse kingship than he had received, he answered her, "Actually a better one, for it will last longer."

The most ambiguous element of Plutarch's narrative is the existence of Ly-curgus himself. In reality, he was probably a mythical character, created by the Spartans to give a divine element to their laws, making them inviolate. So, we really have no idea when or under what auspices the Spartan "constitution" was created, although a date in the seventh century b. c.e. is generally accepted (Whitby 2002, 46).

Other aspects of Plutarch's account are more easily addressed. As he mentioned, Sparta had not one but two kings, one each from the city's two royal families (so the two kings were not brothers or otherwise related). This is probably a result of Sparta's own synoecism between four or five separate villages, two of which already had royal families when the union occurred. Each king had his own agenda, and rather than oppressing the people, the two kings appear to have balanced each other out. This was especially true during times of war (the Spartans' favorite pastime): One king would be the general-in-chief, leading the armies, and the other would remain home tending to the affairs of the city. Besides their civil duties, the kings were also priests, conducting important rituals for all the Spartans.

Gerousia literally means "group of old men," much as the word senate is based on the same root as senior and senile. The gerousia officers were a minimum of sixty years old and were voted in for life by the Spartan demos. These twenty-eight men, together with the two kings, formed the council or boule, which prepared issues, decrees, and laws for consideration by the assembly. They were also the highest law court in Sparta, the only ones who could exile or condemn someone to death (Andrewes 2002, 67). The two kings plus the gerousia formed the monarchic and aristocratic aspects of the Spartan state.

Between the gerousia and the people were five ephors elected on an annual

Basis to serve as the "executive branch" of the Spartan government. For basic duties, the ephors convened both the Spartan boule of kings and elders and the assemblies. In times of war, the ephors were responsible for mustering troops, determining what age groups of soldiers would be sent out to battle, and determining how many would be sent. They also sent messages to those in the field regarding strategy and tactics, although one must imagine that the king who served as commander-in-chief was the ultimate strategist. During periods of crisis, the ephors could act without consulting the assembly. Thus in 405/404, during a siege at the end of the Peloponnesian War, it was the ephors, not the Spartan assembly, who treated with the Athenians, as Xenophon tells us in his Hellenica, Book 2, 2, 13. Finally, the ephors had the right to arrest the kings and put them on trial, as Thucydides records in Book 1, 131, 2: "And first Pausanias was tossed into prison by the ephors—it is possible for the ephors to do this even to the kings." Although this was not a common occurrence, such power did give them considerable leverage with the kings, allowing them to make very strong suggestions about state affairs. In some cases, the ephors could merely fine the kings, as in a story attributed to Theophrastos, when the ephors fined King Archidamus for marrying too short a wife, on the grounds that she would give birth not to kings, but kinglets (Andrewes 2002, 60). Ultimately, the ephors were the voice of the people in the face of the oligarchic powers of the gerousia and the kings. They guaranteed that the laws, and not any individual person, were sovereign in Sparta.

Finally, there was the assembly, the ekklesia. This consisted of the damos— Spartiates, males who were members of a sysition or eating club (see chapter 6) and who were either of or past the age of military service. The Rhetra mentioned in Plutarch is ambiguous about the Spartiates' status in Spartan politics. Apollo himself declared that "rule and power" should be with the people, suggesting that the Spartans were a democratic lot and Apollo a political liberal. But, Spartiates could not propose motions in the assembly meetings, only saying "yea" or "nay" to motions introduced by the boule. Nevertheless, it seems logical that such restrictions were in place during the meeting itself, meaning that no one could simply stand up in the crowd and put forth proposals while in session. Rather, the Spartiates may have been able to bring up matters with the ephors, gerousia, and even kings at times outside of the assemblies, which suggestions would be digested by the boule and then presented to the ekkle-sia. Furthermore, except for times of crisis, matters of both internal and external policy were determined by vote in the assembly. The kings literally could not act in opposition to, or without, the consent of the demos. To do so would result in fine or imprisonment at the hands of the ephors.