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Tours: Spartan Politics
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Learn the nuances of Sparta's unique political system.
Sparta's political system differed from most of Greece's.
One of its most distinctive features was that it was ruled by two kings.
These kings belonged to two dynasties: the Eurypontids and the Agiads, both of which were said to be descended from Herakles.
Both kings shared equal powers, and disputes between them required the intervention of special magistrates known as ephors.
However, if one of the kings were more charismatic or experienced, they could influence the weaker king's choices.
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Xenophon, who wrote the biography of the Spartan king Agesilaos, attests that the two kings and the ephors exchanged vows on a monthly basis. He writes that the ephors swore to preserve the kingship, but only on the condition that the kings followed the laws of Sparta.
Originally, Sparta's two kings always came from different houses, until Hellenistic period when Kleomenes III abolished the kingship of Sparta and placed his brother on the second throne.
Spartan kings had several responsibilities and functions.
As lifetime magistrates, they were technically Sparta's priests and strategists, and their duties encompassed everything from politics to justice.
Originally, both kings would lead military campaigns in times of war.
However, from 507 BCE onwards, only one of the two kings could be head of the army.
On the battlefield, kings were accompanied by three hundred elite soldiers for protection.
But being a king wasn't only about working and fighting. They enjoyed special privileges as well.
Spartan kings lived at the expense of the city, owned royal estates in the surrounding perioikic cities, and received the majority of the spoils of war.
When they passed away, they were buried with special honors, and the population mourned them for a period of ten days.
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During the Classical period, various kings of Sparta (Kleomenes, Pausanias, Archidamos, Agis II) were accused by the Gerousia of trying to pursue their own personal external policies.
Furthermore, during the Greco-Persian Wars, the kings also ran the navy as navarchs (admirals), giving them power not only in their own lands, but away from them as well.
The double-kingship and the supervision of the kings by the ephors, as well as other measures, were demostrative of Sparta's efforts to control the kings and limit their power.
The kings of Sparta enjoyed many important religious honors.
They were in charge of sacrifices both during military campaigns and at home.
The kings received double portions of the meat at all communal meals, and they were also the first to pour libations.
They also personally conducted public sacrifices as priests, which helped remind their subjects of their divine connection to Herakles and Zeus.
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One of the Spartan king's religious duties was appointing the Pythians — the people who received prophecies from the Oracle at Delphi. Pythians were extremely important to Sparta, as they received supposed "foreknowledge" that could help the kings prepare their military campaigns.
Spartan kings were also believed to be descendants of Zeus. Because of this, they served as high-priests of Zeus, and enjoyed special privileges during religious rituals, as well as on the battleifled.
The ephors, or overseers, were give magistrates elected by the Spartan assembly. They were chosen from amongst Spartan citizens over thirty, and served for one year with no possibility of re-election.
The ephors played a large part in administrating the city, and were considered the most democratic agents in the Spartan political system.
They had judicial power, and ordered the dispatching of the Spartan army during wars.
They also met and negotiated with representatives from other states, in addition to running the agoge, the Spartan education system.
While not as powerful as the two kings, the ephors still held great sway over Sparta's affairs.
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There are four different theories about the origins of the ephors.
The first ties them to the lawgiver Lykourgos, who conceived them as guardians of the polity. The second proposes that they were formed by king Theopompos after the First Messenian War. According to the third theory, the ephors were former administrative officers who took advantage of the kings' absence during wartime to acquire more power for themselves. The last theory dates the creation of the ephors to the middle of the 6th century BCE and credits Chilon, an ephor and one of the seven sages of Greece, with forming a group meant to protect the people from the ambitions of the kings and the threat of tyranny.
Although these theories are still discussed among researchers, it is generally agreed that the instituition of ephors probably appeared around the 8th century NCE, but only acquired its political purpose of the defending the rights of citizens in the 6th century BCE. This development made the ephors the most democratic element of Sparta's political system.
The Gerousia was the Spartan council of elders. It was made up of the two current kings, as well as twenty-eight elders called gerontes.
They were Spartan citizens over the age of sixty - the cut-off age for military duty.
They were elected for life by the Spartan assembly.
The Gerousia, similar to Athens' boule, handled legislative and financial matters.
It could submit bills and motions to the assembly, and could also cancel assembly decisions with the power of veto.
To ensure that the right of veto did not weaken the assembly, Ephors were introduced to keep the Gerousia in check and maintain a steady balance of power.
This allowed Sparta to include more just elements in its political system.
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According to Plutarch, the Great Rhetra was a Delphic Oracle brought to Sparta by Lykourgos, the legendary lawgiver. The oracle allegedly gave Lykourgos the "Eunomia" (good laws) of Sparta, a term that has been erroneously used to describe the Spartan constitution. However, various sources indicate the Eunomia was not a constitution, and instead mainly alluded to citizens obeying Sparta's laws.
In a more general sense, the Great Rhetra referred to changes and modifications of existing constitutions and institutions in the Spartan government.
While its exact origins are unknown, the text suggested that the people should be divided into phylai (tribes) and obe (vague territorial subdivisions(. It also outlined Sparta's constitutional body in detail, including references to the Gerousia's probouleutic power, and their right to exercise veto when required.
The Great Rhetra seems to have empowered the people of Sparta, providing hoplites with the political power to contribute to the government. This power helped avert tyranny, which was common in other cities of the archaic period, where famous tyrants such as Pheidon of Argos, Orthagoras of Sikyon, and Kypselos of Korinth imposed their rule.
The Spartan assembly, or the apella, was made up of Spartan citizens who were over thirty years old.
Its exactl meeting place remains unknown, but it was presided over by a special member of the ephors called the "Eponymous Ephor".
The apella had limited authority, since any decision it made could be overruled by the Gerousia, but thanks to the efforts of the ephors, it still played an important role in Spartan society.
The apella dealt with topics like foreign affairs, war declarations, peace negotiations, and more.
They also elected ephors and Gerousia members, and could both grant political rights to foreigners and remove them from Spartan citizens.
Unlike the myraid sources on the functions of the Athenian assembly, the exact details of the apella's decision-making process are unknown.
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Lykourgos, the legendary lawgiver of Sparta who supposedly lived in the middle of the 8th century BCE, is a figure who lingers between history and myth.
Lykourgos is mentioned by ancient authors such as Herodotos, Xenophon, and Plutarch, but it is not certain if he actually existed, or if he is a symbolic figure attached to the reform of the social and political institution of Sparta.
In Lykourgos' biography, Plutarch mentions the lawgiver traveled in Krete, Asia Minor, and Egypt. he then returned to Sparta before visiting the oracle at Delphi to receive Sparta's new laws.
Plutarch writes that after bringing the reforms to Sparta, Lykourgos returned to Delphi to make a sacrifice to Apollo. This is the last time any of the sources mention him.
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