Lakedaimoniōn Politeia, known in English as, Polity of the Spartans is a historical account of the Spartan culture, particularly around the time of Lycurgus, the legendary military reformer, to whom Sparta owes its military personality. Polity of the Spartans was written between 430 and 355 B.C.E. by Xenophon. Xenophon was a student of Socrates, so it is possible that he wrote this work for his fellow philosophers. His education under Socrates is undoubtedly what gave his work an analytical bent and a certain finesse. However, a potential reader of this work could be anyone of the Greek literate elite, as it is not too heavy on high-level philosophy. It is probable that the purpose of Polity of the Spartans is to educate the Spartans on Spartan
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Xenophon then says that he believes this was not a value that Lycurgus singlehandedly implemented into the Spartan culture, but one that developed only after the most important men of Sparta agreed to it. He infers this because it was not a Greek norm to fear the magistrate, therefore it is highly unlikely that this is a natural cultural value of the Spartans. The natural cultural value of the Greeks is democracy, which is why Lycurgus required a somewhat democratic agreement of the most important men of Sparta to forfeit the right of Spartans to a democracy in favour of an oligarchy. Xenophon says that in the other Greek poleis, men view fear of the magistrates as “a badge of slavery,” but in Sparta, fear of the magistrates is an expected, and even required, norm. Xenophon’s explanation for this is that if the most important men in Sparta fear and obey the magistrate, the rest will follow. Most historians believe Lycurgus was a myth, and that changes in politics and culture happened more gradually. Sparta might have given more personal freedom in its early days as a polis, but as the military grew, those freedoms were restricted and military customs began to infiltrate everyday life. Absolute …show more content…
In reading Polity of the Spartans we do not learn only from Xenophon but about Xenophon, and about his own political views in particular. Xenophon was not a Spartan, but an Athenian citizen. Given the tension between Sparta and Athens, and the Athenian preference for democracy, one would expect the bias to tilt towards Xenophon’s native polis of Athens. On the contrary, Xenophon’s Polity of the Spartans is quite a favourable account of Spartan daily and political life. Xenophon went as far as to ignore some mistakes of Sparta in Polity of the Spartans. Athens was war-torn when Xenophon was born, which essentially left him with no Athens to be loyal to. Xenophon was welcomed in Sparta and given a home. He enjoyed the friendship and patronage of King Agesilaus II of Sparta; he went so far as to write the king’s biography after his death. This was highly unusual as the Spartans generally treated foreigners with great caution and disdain. “Non-Spartans admitted into Spartan territory were subject to periodic expulsion, the xenelasia (“driving out of foreigners”), which some contemporaries believed to be a device for preserving Spartan secrets.” Xenophon was not subjected to this treatment, which makes it possible to consider that he may have been exiled from Athens for siding with Sparta. He might have been exiled specifically due to the fact that he lent the
Xenophon then says that he believes this was not a value that Lycurgus singlehandedly implemented into the Spartan culture, but one that developed only after the most important men of Sparta agreed to it. He infers this because it was not a Greek norm to fear the magistrate, therefore it is highly unlikely that this is a natural cultural value of the Spartans. The natural cultural value of the Greeks is democracy, which is why Lycurgus required a somewhat democratic agreement of the most important men of Sparta to forfeit the right of Spartans to a democracy in favour of an oligarchy. Xenophon says that in the other Greek poleis, men view fear of the magistrates as “a badge of slavery,” but in Sparta, fear of the magistrates is an expected, and even required, norm. Xenophon’s explanation for this is that if the most important men in Sparta fear and obey the magistrate, the rest will follow. Most historians believe Lycurgus was a myth, and that changes in politics and culture happened more gradually. Sparta might have given more personal freedom in its early days as a polis, but as the military grew, those freedoms were restricted and military customs began to infiltrate everyday life. Absolute …show more content…
In reading Polity of the Spartans we do not learn only from Xenophon but about Xenophon, and about his own political views in particular. Xenophon was not a Spartan, but an Athenian citizen. Given the tension between Sparta and Athens, and the Athenian preference for democracy, one would expect the bias to tilt towards Xenophon’s native polis of Athens. On the contrary, Xenophon’s Polity of the Spartans is quite a favourable account of Spartan daily and political life. Xenophon went as far as to ignore some mistakes of Sparta in Polity of the Spartans. Athens was war-torn when Xenophon was born, which essentially left him with no Athens to be loyal to. Xenophon was welcomed in Sparta and given a home. He enjoyed the friendship and patronage of King Agesilaus II of Sparta; he went so far as to write the king’s biography after his death. This was highly unusual as the Spartans generally treated foreigners with great caution and disdain. “Non-Spartans admitted into Spartan territory were subject to periodic expulsion, the xenelasia (“driving out of foreigners”), which some contemporaries believed to be a device for preserving Spartan secrets.” Xenophon was not subjected to this treatment, which makes it possible to consider that he may have been exiled from Athens for siding with Sparta. He might have been exiled specifically due to the fact that he lent the