Plutarch and Xenophon on Spartan Society

đź“ŚCategory: Ancient Greece, History, Philosophers, Philosophy
đź“ŚWords: 691
đź“ŚPages: 3
đź“ŚPublished: 17 January 2022

Sparta was renowned as being the most powerful state in Greece, however, many may argue this came at the detriment of the people. Before Lycurgus’ reforms, Sparta was riddled with anarchic unrest and uncertainty. Lycurgus, a famous lawgiver and Spartan king, was beloved by the people of Sparta and adopted a democratic government that allowed an environment in which the militaristic nature of Sparta thrived.  Xenophon and Plutarch are famous philosophers who analyzed Spartan society after Lycurgus’ reforms. Their documentations of this society both took pride in the preeminence in which Sparta operated, however neither fully addressed the morality of the actions that it took to obtain this dominance. With this in mind, both Xenophon and Plutarch maintained a similar position on Spartan society however Plutarch addresses some aspects of cruelty through a more in depth description of occurrences in daily spartiate life. 

Historians have argued for centuries about everything that is true about the man known as Lycurgus. Various accounts have been given about his entire existence. Plutarch offers a depiction of Lycurgus’ life, which includes accounts that most can agree upon. Lycurgus was the son of Eunomus and was part of a long lineage that was ill-prepared for proper kingship of Sparta. This issue led to his father being killed in a brawl and later, his eldest son Polydectes was killed at the throne. Lycurgus became the sole heir to the throne until it was discovered his brother’s widow was pregnant. Lycurgus was presented with an offer made by the mother that if she were to abort the pregnancy then he would in turn marry her while king. Lycurgus deceptively agreed to these terms and then rejected the mother when the baby was born. Lycurgus planned to act as a regent until the baby came of age. The mother’s brother, Leonidas, accused Lycurgus of his trickery and how he intended to become king. Lycurgus, anxious about the uncertainty of his well-being, fled Sparta.

Lycurgus developed his reforms by travelling to different Mediterranean nations and observing the native’s way of life and implementing Spartan laws based on his own experiences. Xenophon praised Lycurgus for this, “I certainly admire him and consider him in the highest degree a wise man, since it was not copying other states, but by deciding on an opposite course to the majority that he made his country outstandingly fortunate” (Spartan Society, 194). Lycurgus’ reforms consisted of a stern manner in which the Spartiates carried themselves, the removal of personal wealth and equality of citizens. 

Spartan society operated based on deontological ethics as rules were blunt and not to be broken under any circumstances; this is most evident in Plutarch’s account of young boys being taught to steal. Instead of focusing on the morality of whether stealing is right or wrong, their attention is instead directed toward the efficiency in which they enact stealing. “The care which the boys take over their stealing is illustrated by the story of the one who had stolen a fox cub and had it concealed inside his cloak: in order to escape detection he was prepared to have his insides clawed out and bitten out by the animal, and even to die” (Plutarch, Lycurgus, 23). This story illustrates the selflessness and dedication these young boys were conditioned to achieve, a true show of loyalty to Sparta. Plutarch then goes on to say, “This tale is certainly not incredible, Judging from Spartan ephebes today. I have witnessed many of them dying under the lashes they received at the altar of Artemis and Orthia” (Lycurgus, 23). Plutarch states that the death of the boys is miniscule when compared to what the ephebes (youthful men in military training) endure.  With this statement, Plutarch solidifies that he views the rules cemented in Sparta as absolute and that this loyalty is to be expected for breaking such rules. Xenophon also addresses the young boys being taught to steal however rather than outwardly supporting this type of punishment offers an insight towards the thought process of Lycurgus. “Someone might ask then, if he considered theft a good thing, why on earth did he inflict many lashes on the boy who was caught? My answer is, because - as in every other branch of instruction - people chastise anyone who does not respond satisfactorily” (Xenophon, Spartan Society, 197). This response from Xenophon displays that he believes that receiving lashes should seem slightly unusual and warrants an explanation while Plutarch does not acknowledge the death of the young boys.

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