Most of what we know of the Spartans is from their arch-rivals, the Athenians. So we have to be a little skeptical of what we hear. Still, we know that they were a city state that was dominated by a small tribe of warriors. They had an underclass of agricultural workers,the helots. These were descendants of the messenians whom they had subjugated in earlier wars. The young men and women of Sparta were separated early on. The men received military training. Women received education as well, unusual in ancient societies. Spartan way of life was austere, based on a system of honor that emphasized valor above all else. They are most famous for the battle of Thermopylae, in which a small band of Spartan braves fought off the invading Persian army.
The Spartans had a contempt for open discourse, the endless speculation on every aspect of life and the universe that was so much a part of Athenian culture. It looked like a waste of time to them; you could say they were “goal oriented”. For a long time the Spartans led a self-contained life, living off the wealth produced by their serfs, largely leaving their neighbors alone. Young Spartan men proved their valor by assaulting and killing in the dark of night any helot who showed any sign of creativity or organizational ability. A terrible situation for the helots but, as it turns out, also for their lords.
For, the lords lived in fear of their serfs who outnumbered them ten to one. Their isolation and natural suspicion of outsiders-the other Greek city states- only compounded this feeling of insecurity. Spartans started to turn their military might on their neighbors. They conquered nearby states, who became their allies in wars with the farther states. Eventually they defeated the Athenians as well, to form a large federation. It looked like brawn had defeated brains.
Then the allies of the Spartans started to notice that they were being taken advantage of. In battle, the spartans would always take the flank that faced the weak divisions of the opponent; the allies always faced the tough veterans. The only thing the Spartans inspired was fear. Their inability to articulate a vision, or their lack of vision, meant that all they could do was replicate their tribal practices in the new lands they had conquered. Whether or not the people in the new lands wanted this. Spartans had only one response to every protest- total warfare.
They did not learn from their mistakes: every battle was fought in the same formation, so that the next time the enemy knew exactly what to expect. Soon their allies turned against them. They figured out that the oppressed helots were the weak link in Spartan security. Once the helots got inspired by the ideals of Athenian freedom and democracy, and learned to organize, they overthrew the Spartans with the help of their former allies.
The Athenians were no match against the Spartans in military might. But their imagination and and eloquence eventually won over the whole Greek civilization. They continued to inspire intellectuals for centuries to come in Europe and the world over. Athenian literature, their philosophy, their democratic values form the foundation of western civilization. Spartans are still used as a model in the militaries. The basic training that all recruits go through is a modernized version of the Spartans training regime for their young men. But other than that, they are an obscure footnote to history.
Indeed, Sparta seems much smaller today than it actually was; and Athens much larger.
Original: April 2005
