The Way of Life in Sparta
The Peloponnesian League: an alliance of Peloponnesian cities with Sparta as the leading city. Sparta had a separate alliance with each city. ‘…we believe that the allies met as a council and could in fact overrule Sparta in a military decision. Thus Sparta, it would appear, relied on it command of influence and respect rather than outright military power in order to have its voice heard within its own band of most important allies.’ Welch, p. 169
Paul Cartledge: his work in the 1970s involved building on the archaeological reports of many digs in Sparta and Laconia, argued that there was a slow change in Spartan practices, not the sharp break that a ‘revolutionary lawgiver’ model implies.
Hooker and Hodkinson have analysed patterns of Spartan religion and systems of landholding and transference of wealth to allow us to assess features of the communal and economic life of Sparta.
Spartan Religion
In the Carneia festival, a group of young men called ‘grape-cluster runners’ chased after a man wearing a garland. To catch him meant good luck for the harvest. J.T.Hooker, ‘The Ancient Spartans’, believes this part of the festival is very ancient as we don’t normally associate the Spartan mentality with worrying about the success of a harvest.
The Hyakinthia: Hooker proposes the festival as a ritual for the dead in general (represented by Hyakinthos) combined with a thanksgiving for life (represented by Apollo).
R. Parker, ‘Spartan Religion’, analyses the place of religion in Sparta and states that in Sparta, the gods were to be obeyed unquestioningly and in all details. The gods stood at the very top of the chain of command which all Spartans were taught to respect completely.
Kathryn Welch, ‘Spartan Society’ (in ‘Societies From the Past’)
‘There were certain features of Spartan religion which made it different from the rest of Greece, … Sparta worshipped the spirits of Fear and Laughter. Modern scholars have debated whether the
Paul Cartledge: his work in the 1970s involved building on the archaeological reports of many digs in Sparta and Laconia, argued that there was a slow change in Spartan practices, not the sharp break that a ‘revolutionary lawgiver’ model implies.
Hooker and Hodkinson have analysed patterns of Spartan religion and systems of landholding and transference of wealth to allow us to assess features of the communal and economic life of Sparta.
Spartan Religion
In the Carneia festival, a group of young men called ‘grape-cluster runners’ chased after a man wearing a garland. To catch him meant good luck for the harvest. J.T.Hooker, ‘The Ancient Spartans’, believes this part of the festival is very ancient as we don’t normally associate the Spartan mentality with worrying about the success of a harvest.
The Hyakinthia: Hooker proposes the festival as a ritual for the dead in general (represented by Hyakinthos) combined with a thanksgiving for life (represented by Apollo).
R. Parker, ‘Spartan Religion’, analyses the place of religion in Sparta and states that in Sparta, the gods were to be obeyed unquestioningly and in all details. The gods stood at the very top of the chain of command which all Spartans were taught to respect completely.
Kathryn Welch, ‘Spartan Society’ (in ‘Societies From the Past’)
‘There were certain features of Spartan religion which made it different from the rest of Greece, … Sparta worshipped the spirits of Fear and Laughter. Modern scholars have debated whether the