For by such things Lycurgus thought good counsel was not promoted, but rather discouraged, since the serious purposes of an assembly were rendered foolish and futile by vain thoughts, as they gazed upon statues and paintings, or scenic embellishments, or extravagantly decorated roofs of council halls. …Between these they held their assemblies, having neither halls nor any other kind of building for the purpose. For before this the civil polity was veering and unsteady, inclining at one time to follow the kings towards tyranny, and at another to follow the multitude towards democracy but now, by making the power of the senate a sort of ballast for the ship of state and putting her on a steady keel, it achieved the safest and the most orderly arrangement, since the twenty-eight senators always took the side of the kings when it was a question of curbing democracy, and, on the other hand, always strengthened the people to withstand the encroachments of tyranny. His work included biographical sketches of famous Greeks and Romans such as Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Cicero, as well as Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver.Īmong the many innovations which Lycurgus made, the first and most important was his institution of a senate, or Council of Elders, which, as Plato says, by being blended with the "feverish" government of the kings, and by having an equal vote with them in matters of the highest importance, brought safety and due moderation into counsels of state. Unfortunately, though he was an incredibly prolific writer, less than a third of his original writings survive, and only fragments of his most noted work, Parallel Lives. By nature an optimist, Plutarch is noted for his uplifting accounts and philosophical observations. The Greek historian Plutarch was born near Corinth in Greece around 45 C.E., and was a great traveler throughout the eastern Mediterranean. (Historians are not sure there was an actual Lycurgus, though the changes he is credited with are real.) 800-600 B.C.E., the Spartan "lawgiver," Lycurgus, is credited with establishing what amounted to a military state in Sparta. Ruling over a much larger but subservient population provided numerous challenges to the Spartan government, so changes were made to Spartan politics. The early Spartans quickly outgrew their original city and then conquered the surrounding peoples, forcing them into a serf-like position. FrisianDude has not attempted to answer the OP's question, and has merely asked some follow-up questions.The city of Sparta was Athens' great rival in Greece during the fifth century B.C.E. In all cases, it is permitted to ask additional questions to clarify the OP's submission or to follow it up. I have a follow-up question, though to what extent was money used at all in ancient Sparta? Given that Spartans were supposed to have dined and made their food together, how necessary was money? Were Spartans paid for marching (and fighting) in a campaign? Were they paid for attending those political thingies?Īnd, posting follow-up questions to an OP's questions is a perfectly legitimate thing to do in r/AskHistorians, as per our official rules: However, the remainder of it is just some follow-up questions to expand on the OP's question: I agree that this opening wasn't the best way to start this response. Seems unlikely to me, but I really can't say. This comment was reported for moderator action, probably because of the first two sentences:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |