EARLY HISTORY OF PELOPONNESUS AND SPARTA, DOWN TO THE END OF THE
MESSENIAN WARS, B.C. 668.
In the heroic age Peloponnesus was occupied by tribes of Dorian
conquerors. They had no share in the glories of the Heroic age; their
name does not occur in the Iliad, and they are only once mentioned in
the Odyssey; but they were destined to form in historical times one of
the most important elements of the Greek nation. Issuing from their
mountain district between Thessaly, Locris and Phocis, they overran the
greater part of Peloponnesus, destroyed the ancient Achaean monarchies
and expelled or reduced to subjection the original inhabitants of the
land, of which they became the undisputed masters. This brief
statement contains all that we know for certain respecting this
celebrated event, which the ancient writers placed eighty years after
the Trojan war (B.C. 1104). The legendary account of the conquest of
Peloponnesus ran as follows:--The Dorians were led by the Heraclidae,
or descendants of the mighty hero Hercules. Hence this migration is
called the Return of the Heraclidae. The children of Hercules had long
been fugitives upon the face of the earth. They had made many attempts
to regain possession of the dominions in the Peloponnesus, of which
their great sire had been deprived by Eurystheus, but hitherto without
success. In their last attempt Hyllus, the son of Hercules, had
perished in single combat with Echemus of Tegea; and the Heraclidae had
become bound by a solemn compact to renounce their enterprise for a
hundred years. This period had now expired; and the great-grandsons of
Hyllus--Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus--resolved to make a fresh
attempt to recover their birthright. They were assisted in the
enterprise by the Dorians. This people espoused their cause in
consequence of the aid which Hercules himself had rendered to the
Dorian king, AEgimius, when the latter was hard pressed in a contest
with the Lapithae. The invaders were warned by an oracle not to enter
Peloponnesus by the Isthmus of Corinth, but across the mouth of the
Corinthian gulf. The inhabitants of the northern coast of the gulf
were favourable to their enterprise. Oxylus, king of the AEtolians,
became their guide; and from Naupactus they crossed over to
Peloponnesus. A single battle decided the contest. Tisamenus, the son
of Orestes, was defeated and retired with a portion of his Achaean
subjects to the northern coast of Peloponnesus, then occupied by the
Ionians. He expelled the Ionians, and took possession of the country,
which continued henceforth to be inhabited by the Achaeans, and to be
called after them. The Ionians withdrew to Attica, and the greater
part of them afterwards emigrated to Asia Minor.
The Heraclidae and the Dorians now divided between them the dominions
of Tisamenus and of the other Achaean princes. The kingdom of Elis was
given to Oxylus as a recompense for his services as their guide; and it
was agreed that Temenus, Cresphontes, and Eurysthenes and Procles, the
infant sons of Aristodemus (who had died at Naupactus), should draw
lots for Argos, Sparta, and Messenia. Argos fell to Temenus, Sparta to
Eurysthenes and Procles, and Messenia to Cresphontes.
Such are the main features of the legend of the Return of the
Heraclidae. In order to make the story more striking and impressive,
it compresses into a single epoch events which probably occupied
several generations. It is in itself improbable that the brave
Achaeans quietly submitted to the Dorian invaders after a momentary
struggle. We have, moreover, many indications that such was not the
fact, and that it was only gradually and after a long protracted
contest that the Dorians became undisputed masters of the greater part
of Peloponnesus.
Argos was originally the chief Dorian state in Peloponnesus, but at the
time of the first Olympiad its power had been supplanted by that of
Sparta. The progress of Sparta from the second to the first place
among the states in the peninsula was mainly owing to the military
discipline and rigorous training of its citizens. The singular
constitution of Sparta was unanimously ascribed by the ancients to the
legislator Lycurgus, but there were different stories respecting his
date, birth, travels, legislation, and death. His most probable date
however is B.C. 776, in which year he is said to have assisted Iphitus
in restoring the Olympic games. He was the son of Eunomus, one of the
two kings who reigned together in Sparta. On the death of his father,
his elder brother, Polydectes, succeeded to the crown, but died soon
afterwards, leaving his queen with child. The ambitious woman offered
to destroy the child, if Lycurgus would share the throne with her.
Lycurgus pretended to consent; but as soon as she had given birth to a
son, he presented him in the market-place as the future king of Sparta.
The young king's mother took revenge upon Lycurgus by accusing him of
entertaining designs against his nephew's life. Hereupon he resolved
to withdraw from his native country and to visit foreign lands. He was
absent many years, and is said to have employed his time in studying
the institutions of other nations, in order to devise a system of laws
and regulations which might deliver Sparta from the evils under which
it had long been suffering. During his absence the young king had
grown up, and assumed the reins of government; but the disorders of the
state had meantime become worse than ever, and all parties longed for a
termination to their present sufferings. Accordingly the return of
Lycurgus was hailed with delight, and he found the people both ready
and willing to submit to an entire change in their government and
institutions. He now set himself to work to carry his long projected
reforms into effect; but before he commenced his arduous task he
consulted the Delphian oracle, from which he received strong assurances
of divine support. Thus encouraged by the god, he suddenly presented
himself in the market-place, surrounded by thirty of the most
distinguished Spartans in arms. His reforms were not carried into
effect without violent opposition, and in one of the tumults which they
excited, his eye is said to have been struck out by a passionate youth.
But he finally triumphed over all obstacles, and succeeded in obtaining
the submission of all classes in the community to his new constitution.
His last act was to sacrifice himself for the welfare of his country.
Having obtained from the people a solemn oath to make no alterations in
his laws before his return, he quitted Sparta for ever. He set out on
a journey to Delphi, where he obtained an oracle from the god,
approving of all he had done, and promising prosperity to the Spartans
as long as they preserved his laws. Whither he went afterwards, and
how and where he died, nobody could tell. He vanished from earth like
a god, leaving no traces behind him but his spirit: and his grateful
countrymen honoured him with a temple, and worshipped him with annual
sacrifices down to the latest times.
The population of Laconia was divided into the three classes of
Spartans, Perioeci and Helots.
I. The SPARTANS were the descendants of the leading Dorian
conquerors. They formed the sovereign power of the state, and they
alone were eligible to honours and public offices. They lived in
Sparta itself and were all subject to the discipline of Lycurgus. They
were divided into three tribes,--the HYLLEIS, the PAMPHILI, and the
DYMANES,--which were not, however, peculiar to Sparta, but existed in
all the Dorian states.
II. The PERIOECI were personally free, but politically subject
to the Spartans. [This word signifies literally DWELLERS AROUND THE
CITY, and was generally used to indicate the inhabitants in the country
districts, who possessed inferior political privileges to the citizens
who lived in the city.] They possessed no share in the government, and
were bound to obey the commands of the Spartan magistrates. They
appear to have been the descendants of the old Achaean population of
the country, and they were distributed into a hundred townships, which
were spread through the whole of Laconia.
III. The HELOTS were serfs bound to the soil, which they tilled
for the benefit of the Spartan proprietors. Their condition was very
different from that of the ordinary slaves in antiquity, and more
similar to the villanage of the middle ages. They lived in the rural
villages, as the Perioeci did in the towns, cultivating the lands and
paying over the rent to their masters in Sparta, but enjoying their
homes, wives, and families, apart from their master's personal
superintendence. They appear to have been never sold, and they
accompanied the Spartans to the field as light armed troops. But while
their condition was in these respects superior to that of the ordinary
slaves in other parts of Greece, it was embittered by the fact that
they were not strangers like the latter, but were of the same race and
spoke the same language as their masters, being probably the
descendants of the old inhabitants, who had offered the most obstinate
resistance to the Dorians, and had therefore been reduced to slavery.
As their numbers increased, they became objects of suspicion to their
masters, and were subjected to the most wanton and oppressive cruelty.
The functions of the Spartan government were distributed among two
kings, a senate of thirty members, a popular assembly, and an executive
directory of five men called the Ephors.
At the head of the state were the two hereditary kings. The existence
of a pair of kings was peculiar to Sparta, and is said to have arisen
from the accidental circumstance of Aristodemus having left twin sons,
Eurysthenes and Procles. This division of the royal power naturally
tended to weaken its influence and to produce jealousies and
dissensions between the two kings. The royal power was on the decline
during the whole historical period, and the authority of the kings was
gradually usurped by the Ephors, who at length obtained the entire
control of the government, and reduced the kings to a state of
humiliation and dependence.
The Senate, called GERUSIA, or the COUNCIL OF ELDERS, consisted of
thirty members, among whom the two kings were included. They were
obliged to be upwards of sixty years of age, and they held their office
for life. They possessed considerable power and were the only real
check upon the authority of the Ephors. They discussed and prepared
all measures which were to be brought before the popular assembly, and
they had some share in the general administration of the state. But
the most important of their functions was, that they were judges in all
criminal cases affecting the life of a Spartan citizen.
The Popular Assembly was of little importance, and appears to have been
usually summoned only as a matter of form for the election of certain
magistrates, for passing laws, and for determining upon peace and war.
It would appear that open discussion was not allowed and that the
assembly rarely came to a division.
The Ephors were of later origin, and did not exist in the original
constitution of Lycurgus. They may be regarded as the representatives
of the popular assembly. They were elected annually from the general
body of Spartan citizens, and seem to have been originally appointed to
protect the interests and liberties of the people against the
encroachments of the kings and the senate. They correspond in many
respects to the tribunes of the people at Rome. Their functions were
at first limited and of small importance; but in the end the whole
political power became centred in their hands.
The Spartan government was in reality a close oligarchy, in which the
kings and the senate, as well as the people, were alike subject to the
irresponsible authority of the five Ephors.
The most important part of the legislation of Lycurgus did not relate
to the political constitution of Sparta, but to the discipline and
education of the citizens. It was these which gave Sparta her peculiar
character, and distinguished her in so striking a manner from all the
other states of Greece. The position of the Spartans, surrounded by
numerous enemies, whom they held in subjection by the sword alone,
compelled them to be a nation of soldiers. Lycurgus determined that
they should be nothing else; and the great object of his whole system
was to cultivate a martial spirit, and to give them a training which
would make them invincible in battle. To accomplish this the education
of a Spartan was placed under the control of the state from his
earliest boyhood. Every child after birth was exhibited to public
view, and, if deemed deformed and weakly, was exposed to perish on
Mount Taygetus. At the age of seven he was taken from his mother's
care, and handed over to the public classes. He was not only taught
gymnastic games and military exercises but he was also subjected to
severe bodily discipline, and was compelled to submit to hardships and
suffering without repining or complaint. One of the tests to which he
was subjected was a cruel scourging at the altar of Artemis (Diana),
until his blood gushed forth and covered the altar of the goddess. It
was inflicted publicly before the eyes of his parents and in the
presence of the whole city; and many Spartan youths were known to have
died under the lash without uttering a complaining murmur. No means
were neglected to prepare them for the hardships and stratagems of war.
They were obliged to wear the same garment winter and summer, and to
endure hunger and thirst, heat and cold. They were purposely allowed
an insufficient quantity of food, but were permitted to make up the
deficiency by hunting in the woods and mountains of Laconia. They were
even encouraged to steal whatever they could; but if they were caught
in the fact, they were severely punished for their want of dexterity.
Plutarch tells us of a boy, who, having stolen a fox, and hid it under
his garment, chose rather to let it tear out his very bowels than be
detected in the theft.
The literary education of a Spartan youth was of a most restricted
kind. He was taught to despise literature as unworthy of a warrior,
while the study of eloquence and philosophy, which were cultivated at
Athens with such extraordinary success, was regarded at Sparta with
contempt. Long speeches were a Spartan's abhorrence, and he was
trained to express himself with sententious brevity.
A Spartan was not considered to have reached the full age of manhood
till he had completed his thirtieth year. He was then allowed to
marry, to take part in the public assembly, and was eligible to the
offices of the state. But he still continued under the public
discipline, and was not permitted even to reside and take his meals
with his wife. It was not till he had reached his sixtieth year that
he was released from the public discipline and from military service.
The public mess--called SYSSITIA--is said to have been instituted by
Lycurgus to prevent all indulgence of the appetite. Public tables were
provided, at which every male citizen was obliged to take his meals.
Each table accommodated fifteen persons, who formed a separate mess,
into which no new member was admitted, except by the unanimous consent
of the whole company. Each sent monthly to the common stock a
specified quantity of barley-meal, wine, cheese, and figs and a little
money to buy flesh and fish. No distinction of any kind was allowed at
these frugal meals. Meat was only eaten occasionally; and one of the
principal dishes was black broth. Of what it consisted we do not know.
The tyrant Dionysius found it very unpalatable; but, as the cook told
him, the broth was nothing without the seasoning of fatigue and hunger.
The Spartan women in their earlier years were subjected to a course of
training almost as rigorous as that of the men, and contended with each
other in running, wrestling and boxing. At the age of twenty a Spartan
woman usually married, and she was no longer subjected to the public
discipline. Although she enjoyed little of her husband's society, she
was treated by him with deep respect, and was allowed a greater degree
of liberty than was tolerated in other Grecian states. Hence she took
a lively interest in the welfare and glory of her native land, and was
animated by an earnest and lofty spirit of patriotism. The Spartan
mother had reason to be proud of herself and of her children. When a
woman of another country said to Gorgo, the wife of Leonidas, "The
Spartan women alone rule the men," she replied, "The Spartan women
alone bring forth men." Their husbands and their sons were fired by
their sympathy to deeds of heroism. "Return either with your shield,
or upon it," was their exhortation to their sons when going to battle.
Lycurgus is said to have divided the land belonging to the Spartans
into 9000 equal lots and the remainder of Laconia into 30,000 equal
lots, and to have assigned to each Spartan citizen one of the former of
these lots, and to each Perioecus one of the latter.
Neither gold nor silver money was allowed in Sparta, and nothing but
bars of iron passed in exchange for every commodity. As the Spartans
were not permitted to engage in commerce, and all luxury and display in
dress, furniture, and food was forbidden, they had very little occasion
for a circulating medium, and iron money was found sufficient for their
few wants. But this prohibition of the precious metals only made the
Spartans more anxious to obtain them; and even in the times of their
greatest glory the Spartans were the most venal of the Greeks, and
could rarely resist the temptation of a bribe.
The legislation of Lycurgus was followed by important results. It made
the Spartans a body of professional soldiers, all trained and well
disciplined, at a time when military training and discipline were
little known, and almost unpractised in the other states of Greece.
The consequence was the rapid growth of the political power of Sparta,
and the subjugation of the neighbouring states. At the time of
Lycurgus the Spartans held only a small portion of Laconia: they were
merely a garrison in the heart of an enemy's country. Their first
object was to make themselves masters of Laconia, in which they finally
succeeded after a severe struggle. They next turned their arms against
the Messenians, Arcadians, and Argives. Of these wars the two waged
against Messenia were the most celebrated and the most important. They
were both long protracted and obstinately contested. They both ended
in the victory of Sparta, and in the subjugation of Messenia. These
facts are beyond dispute; but of the details we have no trustworthy
narrative.
The FIRST MESSENIAN WAR lasted from B.C. 743 to 724. During the first
four years the Lacedaemonians made little progress; but in the fifth a
great battle was fought, and although its result was indecisive, the
Messenians did not venture to risk another engagement, and retired to
the strongly fortified mountain of Ithome. In their distress they sent
to consult the oracle at Delphi, and received the appalling answer that
the salvation of Messenia required the sacrifice of a virgin of the
royal house to the gods of the lower world. Aristodemus, who is the
Messenian hero of the first war, slew his own daughter, which so
disheartened the Spartans, that they abstained from attacking the
Messenians for some years. In the thirteenth year of the war the
Spartan king marched against Ithome, and a second great battle was
fought, but the result was again indecisive. The Messenian king fell
in the action; and Aristodemus, who was chosen king in his place,
prosecuted the war with vigour. In the fifth year of his reign a third
great battle was fought. This time the Messenians gained a decisive
victory, and the Lacedaemonians were driven back into their own
territory. They now sent to ask advice of the Delphian oracle, and
were promised success upon using stratagem. They therefore had
recourse to fraud: and at the same time various prodigies dismayed the
bold spirit of Aristodemus. His daughter too appeared to him in a
dream, showed him her wounds, and beckoned him away. Seeing that his
country was doomed to destruction, Aristodemus slew himself on his
daughter's tomb. Shortly afterwards, in the twentieth year of the war,
the Messenians abandoned Ithome, which the Lacedaemonians razed to the
ground, and the whole country became subject to Sparta. Many of the
inhabitants fled into other countries; but those who remained were
reduced to the condition of Helots, and were compelled to pay to their
masters half of the produce of their lands.
For thirty-nine years the Messenians endured this degrading yoke. At
the end of this time they took up arms against their oppressors. The
SECOND MESSENIAN WAR lasted from B.C. 685 to 668. Its hero is
Aristomenes, whose wonderful exploits form the great subject of this
war. It would appear that most of the states in Peloponnesus took part
in the struggle. The first battle was fought before the arrival of the
allies on either side, and, though it was indecisive, the valour of
Aristomenes struck fear into the hearts of the Spartans. To frighten
the enemy still more, the hero crossed the frontier, entered Sparta by
night, and affixed a shield to the temple of Athena (Minerva), with the
inscription, "Dedicated by Aristomenes to the goddess from the Spartan
spoils." The Spartans in alarm sent to Delphi for advice. The god
bade them apply to Athens for a leader. Fearing to disobey the oracle,
but with the view of rendering no real assistance, the Athenians sent
Tyrtaeus, a lame man and a schoolmaster. The Spartans received their
new leader with due honour; and he was not long in justifying the
credit of the oracle. His martial songs roused their fainting courage;
and so efficacious were his poems that to them is mainly ascribed the
final success of the Spartan arms.
Encouraged by the strains of Tyrtaeus, the Spartans again marched
against the Messenians. But they were not at first successful. A great
battle was fought at the Boar's Grave in the plain of Stenyclerus, in
which they were defeated with great loss. In the third year of the war
another great battle was fought, in which the Messenians suffered a
signal defeat. So greet was their loss, that Aristomenes no longer
ventured to meet the Spartans in the open field. Following the example
of the Messenian leaders in the former war, he retired to the mountain
fortress of Ira. The Spartans encamped at the foot of the mountain; but
Aristomenes frequently sallied from the fortress, and ravaged the lands
of Laconia with fire and sword. It is unnecessary to relate all the
wonderful exploits of this hero in his various incursions. Thrice was
he taken prisoner; on two occasions he burst his bonds, but on the
third he was carried to Sparta, and thrown with his fifty companions
into a deep pit, called Ceadas. His comrades were all killed by the
fall; but Aristomenes reached the bottom unhurt. He saw, however, no
means of escape, and had resigned himself to death; but on the third
day perceiving a fox creeping among the bodies, he grasped its tail,
and, following the animal as it struggled to escape, discovered an
opening in the rock, and on the next day was at Ira to the surprise
alike of friends and foes. But his single prowess was not sufficient
to avert the ruin of his country. One night the Spartans surprised
Ira, while Aristomenes was disabled by a wound; but he collected the
bravest of his followers, and forced his way through the enemy. Many
of the Messenians went to Rhegium, in Italy, under the sons of
Aristomenes, but the hero himself finished his days in Rhodes.
The second Messenian war was terminated by the complete subjugation of
the Messenians, who again became the serfs of their conquerors. In
this condition they remained till the restoration of their independence
by Epaminondas in the year 369 B.C. During the whole of the intervening
period the Messenians disappear from history. The country called
Messenia in the map became a portion of Laconia, which thus extended
across the south of Pelponnesus from the eastern to the western sea.