Culture Study of Spartan Society
CULTURE STUDY OF SPARTAN SOCIETY
Michael Labelle HIST111: World History before 1650 Dr. Timothy Hayburn October 11, 2012
Labelle 2 As a culture, the Spartans were very unique in their pursuit for prosperity. Morality, honor, courage, discipline and commitment were evident in every aspect of Spartan lifestyle. The code of ethics, in which Spartan society lived by, were unmatched by any other Greek society and was the embodiment by which they where able to thrive as a culture. As fanatical as the Spartans may have been in their culture, many of their concepts hold true in the modern day society. Concepts such as earning citizenship and “service before self” are just a couple of examples that many societies use as the foundation onto which they hope to design their social structure. Yet, many countries may not be willing to go to the extremes as the ancient Spartan. Ultimately, how were the Spartans able to implement their principles under military style conditions and still flourish as society? Although martial law, or a military society, may invoke thoughts of repressed citizens and extremism with regard to military control, the Spartans managed to institute their principles onto their society that encourage prosperity and enabled a sense of pride from their people. In order to achieve an understanding of this ancient Greek culture, geography, social structure and interaction, the process of indoctrination and training will be examined in order to capture the true essence of this ancient society. Geography of Greece Situated in the northeastern region of the Mediterranean, much of Greece’s physical geography consists of mountainous terrain and a surrounding archipelago. Mostly comprised of individual city-states or polis1, Greece’s cities were principally organized according to alliances in the region. An advantage which Greece had within this region was its location within the Mediterranean and the abundance of islands from which Greece was
Michael Labelle HIST111: World History before 1650 Dr. Timothy Hayburn October 11, 2012
Labelle 2 As a culture, the Spartans were very unique in their pursuit for prosperity. Morality, honor, courage, discipline and commitment were evident in every aspect of Spartan lifestyle. The code of ethics, in which Spartan society lived by, were unmatched by any other Greek society and was the embodiment by which they where able to thrive as a culture. As fanatical as the Spartans may have been in their culture, many of their concepts hold true in the modern day society. Concepts such as earning citizenship and “service before self” are just a couple of examples that many societies use as the foundation onto which they hope to design their social structure. Yet, many countries may not be willing to go to the extremes as the ancient Spartan. Ultimately, how were the Spartans able to implement their principles under military style conditions and still flourish as society? Although martial law, or a military society, may invoke thoughts of repressed citizens and extremism with regard to military control, the Spartans managed to institute their principles onto their society that encourage prosperity and enabled a sense of pride from their people. In order to achieve an understanding of this ancient Greek culture, geography, social structure and interaction, the process of indoctrination and training will be examined in order to capture the true essence of this ancient society. Geography of Greece Situated in the northeastern region of the Mediterranean, much of Greece’s physical geography consists of mountainous terrain and a surrounding archipelago. Mostly comprised of individual city-states or polis1, Greece’s cities were principally organized according to alliances in the region. An advantage which Greece had within this region was its location within the Mediterranean and the abundance of islands from which Greece was
Bibliography: Cartledge, Paul. Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300-362 BC. New York, NY: Routledge, 2002 Cartledge, Paul. Spartan Reflections. London, UK: University of California Press, 2003 Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lacedaemonian (accessed: October 11, 2012) McKay, John, Hill, Bennet, Buckler, John, Beck, Roger, Crowston, Clare, Ebrey, Patricia, and Wiesner-Hanks, Merry. A History of World Societies. Boston, MA: Bedford St. Martins, 2009 Neil, Jenifer, and John H. Oakley. Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Childhood from the Classical Past. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003 Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan women . Oxford, New York : Oxford University Press, 2002. http://apus.aquabrowser.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ (accessed October 14, 2012) Powell, Anton. Athens and Sparta: Constructing Greek Political and Social History from 478 BC. London, UK: Reutledge, 1988. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/nlebk_77284_AN ?sid=394711ef-1adc-43f9-8622-2db87fd942b7@sessionmgr111&vid=1 (accessed October 14, 2012)