Early in the 1st millennium BC, the Dorian people of northern Greece conquered what remained of the
crumbling Mycenaean civilization and settled in the southern Greek region of Laconia, where
they founded the legendary city-state of Sparta. A semi-mythical Spartan leader named Lycurgus is
credited with creating Sparta’s constitution and its highly totalitarian social structure.
Lycurgus’ reforms led Sparta to become one of the most dominant military forces in
the ancient world, establishing his legacy as the “Lawgiver of Sparta!”
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The life of Lycurgus is shrouded in mystery in large part because written records were illegal
in Sparta. This is why much of the existing information on Lycurgus derives from a
number of notable Greek figures from outside Sparta such as Herodotus, Xenophon and Plato
But the most extensive account of Lycurgus’ life comes from the 1st
century Greek Platonist philosopher and historian Plutarch. The semi-mythical status of Lycurgus
makes it difficult to verify exactly if and when he lived, but scholars generally point to the early
8th century BC, just as the Greek Dark Ages were ending. This was a time when the kingdom of Sparta
was enduring rampant lawlessness and social chaos. The kingdom was ruled by two hereditary kings who
shared power equally. Lycurgus was the younger brother of one of the two kings at the time,
a man named Polydectes. King Polydectes had no male heir and in the wake of his sudden death early in
his reign, Lycurgus was presumed heir to the throne. It was soon discovered that Polydectes’ wife was
pregnant, calling the line of succession into question. Lycurgus nobly proclaimed that if
male, the infant would be the rightful heir to the throne, and that he would act as regent until the
boy came of age. The child was born male and was named King Charilaus. Lycurgus proved true to his word
and assumed the role of temporary co-ruler. His regency quickly soured after the king’s mother and
several noblemen spread rumors that Lycurgus was plotting to murder the boy-king and permanently
seize power for himself. Choosing to avoid any controversy, Lycurgus decided to leave Sparta
and travel alone until the boy king grew older and produced an heir of his own. His travels took
him to Crete, Egypt, Lydia and India, where he carefully studied the local laws and customs.
The knowledge he gained abroad went on to influence the eventual creation of the Spartan
constitution. For instance, Lycurgus admired the Egyptian practice of separating soldiers from
other social classes and would go on to implement the same custom in the Spartan constitution.
Plutarch states that Lycurgus joined Iphitos, the King of Elis, in commencing the first Olympic
Games in seven-seventy-six BC. The Olympic games continued every four years thereafter, until the Roman Emperor
Theodosius the First banned the pagan games in three-ninety-three AD, in an effort to promote Christianity.
After many years away, Lycurgus began receiving petitions that begged for his return to Sparta,
where great unrest had arisen in his absence. Lycurgus agreed to return, but first visited
the Oracle of Delphi, who told him that "His prayers had been heard and that the state
which observed the laws of Lycurgus would become the most famous in the world." After receiving
went to each of Sparta's leaders to enlist their support. King Charilaus, who was now an adult, readily
agreed to the reforms after quickly realizing that Lycurgus held no interest in usurping his throne.
Lycurgus forbade a written constitution, preferring instead that all Spartan citizens memorize
the laws and refer to them as “The Great Rhetra.” Absolute equality was central to Lycurgus’ laws,
so he abolished all personal wealth and divided Spartan land equally among its citizens. He desired
to eliminate Sparta's reliance on foreign trade, so he banned the use of precious metals such as gold,
silver and bronze as currency and insisted on using iron instead. His reasoning was that foreign
cities such as Athens, Argos and Corinth would be uninterested in trading with Sparta if they did
not own any of these precious metals, forcing Sparta to become completely self-sufficient.
The new constitution kept the ancient custom of rule by two kings but added a Council of Elders
called “The Gerousia,” which was made up of twenty-eight elder aristocrats, each at least sixty years of age.
In an effort to limit the power of the two kings, Lycurgus established a second council made up
of five senior magistrates called “Ephors,” who held power equal to that of the kings.
The five Ephors were elected annually by the Popular Assembly; these were the only political
offices that were open to all Spartan citizens. This made Ephor elections in Sparta extremely
competitive and adversarial. Lycurgus’ greatest innovation as a lawmaker was in his reform of
Spartan society itself. He established the social class of elite soldiers known as “Spartiates,” who
made up the core of the Spartan army. They were Spartan citizens who held the right to vote in
elections but were forbidden from ever leaving Sparta without being given direct orders to do so.
The second class of people in Spartan society, known as the “Períoikoi”, consisted of craftsmen
and merchants. They could not vote or become Spartan citizens, but were allowed to travel
in and out of Sparta without restriction. At the bottom of Spartan society were state-owned serfs,
known as “Helots.” They were predominantly used for manual labor and habitually mistreated,
humiliated and even hunted for sport by Spartans. A Spartan secret police called
"The Krypteia" recruited the brightest and most promising young Spartan men for special missions
in which they ambushed and brutally murdered unsuspecting helots. The Krypteia’s primary purpose
was to prevent potential uprisings by finding and assassinating the most outspoken helots. Plutarch
called the Krypteia an "injustice" and struggled with the idea that Lycurgus, a Spartan commander whom
he greatly admired, had created such a barbaric organization. Most other Greek cities felt pity
for Spartan slaves, including Athens where they had the saying: “In Sparta, the free man is more
a free man than anywhere else in the world, but the slave more a slave.” Lycurgus also introduced
a rigorous state-sponsored education referred to as “the Agoge” for Spartan children aged seven to thirty.
Bullying and fighting was encouraged among Spartan boys to ensure resilience on the battlefield.
They were also regularly underfed to encourage stealing, but would be severely beaten and shamed
if discovered. Plutarch wrote “So seriously did Spartan children go about their stealing, that
a boy, having stolen a young fox and hid it under his cloak, let it tear out his guts with its teeth
and claws and died right there, rather than be discovered as a thief.” The Agoge focused on a
broad range of topics such as military tactics, hunting, wrestling, public speaking, reading, writing,
singing and even dancing. After graduating the Agoge at thirty years old, Spartans were allowed
to live with their wives and begin families. Lycurgus introduced the custom of all Spartan men,
including kings and aristocrats, eating their meals together in mess halls called “the Syssitia.”
This was done to develop a sense of equality and kinship among Spartan soldiers during peacetime.
Spartan mess halls would serve bland and insufficient portions to encourage slim
athletic physiques. Overweight Spartans were often publicly ridiculed and even banished from society.
Lycurgus believed that only physically fit women can bear children strong enough to become
capable Spartan warriors. Any newborns deemed to be unhealthy were thrown into a chasm at the foot of
Mount Taygetus according to Plutarch. Spartan women enjoyed many more rights and freedoms compared to
their Greek counterparts partly because Helots performed many of the domestic duties ordinarily
expected of wives. Spartan women were highly educated and participated in a variety of sports
such as javelin, discus, and horseback riding. Spartan women were allowed by law to inherit and
own land, which led them to amass so much wealth that they eventually owned two-thirds of Sparta’s
agricultural land. After finishing his many reforms, Lycurgus decided to leave Sparta and visit the
Oracle of Delphi again. Before leaving, Lycurgus made everyone in the kingdom, including the Kings,
gather together and take binding oaths swearing to continue observing the new constitution until
his return to Sparta. Upon once again visiting the Oracle, and once again being told that his
laws would make Sparta famous, Lycurgus decided to starve himself to death; thereby never returning to
Sparta and forcing his people to keep their oaths indefinitely. In the centuries following his death,
the Spartan state grew much more powerful, thanks to the militaristic system established by Lycurgus.
Sparta would go on to participate in several epic battles during the Persian invasions
of Greece and the Peloponnesian War several centuries later. Thereafter, Sparta became an
even greater power within the Mediterranean world, dominating southern Greece and even
invading Persian territory in Asia Minor. Through unparalleled wisdom and knowledge, Lycurgus
Through unparalleled wisdom and knowledge, Lycurgus
forged the laws that made Sparta one of the most legendary civilizations in the ancient world!
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