The Hardening of Archaic Sparta

The references to Archaic Sparta that we have in literature are projections of an idealized city state back through time. This “Spartan Mirage,” a term coined by the scholar F. Ollier from his 1933 work Le Mirage Spartiate, began in the 5^th century BCE and has saturated the history of Sparta. The scholarship on Archaic Sparta tends to focus on the semi- mythological lawgiver Lycurgus who, according to Plutarch, instituted not only the Great Rhetra but also reforms promoting a sober way of living. The Lycurgan reforms, however, are difficult to date and do not seem to have taken full effect until the Classical period. Scholars, in an attempt to remedy this problem, have developed abstract theories on how Sparta came into existence, but most of these theories are essentially criticisms of later literature that discuss Archaic Sparta.

To remedy this problem it is necessary to make the primary evidence from Archaic Sparta the basis for theory building. Consequently, the first part of this paper is a survey of the most important archaeological and literary evidence between the 9^th and 6^th centuries BCE. After laying out this evidence, I analyze works by major scholars about Archaic Sparta, highlighting major theories that have developed about the beginnings of Sparta’s militaristic state. Lastly, I present the conclusions I have made through this comparison and suggest approaches that can be taken in the future.

The analysis of this evidence is hindered by the reliance upon ancient scholars writing hundreds of years after the time period, and especially by credulous reliance on reports of the Lycurgan reforms. Even though there is not an abundance of primary evidence, the archaeological and literary information make it clear that Archaic Sparta had a blossoming culture. There was a flourishing art scene in Sparta between the 9^th and 6^th centuries which does not align with Plutarch’s descriptions of the Lycurgan reforms and the supposedly austere society during the Archaic age. This contradiction between the literary sources and the archaeological record shows that Archaic Sparta had a very gradual evolution into the hardened military state culturally. Setting a rigid date for the end of the flourishing Spartan culture is not only impossible but dangerous.

. The vast number of theories proposed by the scholars surveyed is testament to the insolubility of the problem, but by using the primary evidence and opening up Sparta to comparison with other city states eventually we will be able to more accurately describe Spartan history. This paper attempts to begin this important task through a variety of analyses and suggestions for future studies.