LYCURGUS (SPARTA)

'Lycurgus' (Greek: , ''Lukoûrgos''; 700 BC?–630 BC) was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, who established the military-oriented reformation of Spartan society in accordance with the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. He is referred to by ancient historians Herodotus, Xenophon, and Plutarch. It is not clear if this Lycurgus was an actual historical figure (Bertrand Russell states that he is mythical person of Arcadian origin - his name meaning 'He who brings into being the works of a wolf'); however, many ancient historians^[1] believed Lycurgus was responsible for the communalistic and militaristic reforms which transformed Spartan society, the most major of which was known as The Great Rhetra. Ancient historians place him in the first half of the 7th century BC.

Contents

Biography

Depictions

Notes

References

See also

External links

Biography

According to ancient sources, Lycurgus was a war veteran who, with the support of his comrades, managed to become regent or tutor to the Spartan King Charilaus. He lost an eye in a fight with a political opponent; the opponent was sentenced to serve as his servant for a period of time and became one of Lycurgus' biggest supporters. Among the reforms attributed to Lycurgus are the abolition of gold and silver coinage (probably apocryphal, since coins did not come into use until the 500s BC) and the substitution of iron money, the requirement of eating in commons and living (for unmarried men) in rough-hewn barracks, the destruction of the city walls to promote martial skill, re-dividing Spartan land and forcing it to be worked by Helots, and the system of government that divided power between king, the Spartan citizenry, the gerousia, and the ephors.
He is likewise credited with the Spartan educational system known as the agoge, in which juvenile militia units were responsible for raising children (and intentionally underfeeding them so that they'd learn how to steal food, a practice akin to military survival training). One of the foundations of the agoge was pederasty, which required all men to attend a boy in a (possibly chaste) erotic mentorship, one requested by the boy himself.
According to the legend found in Plutarch's ''Lives'' and other sources, when Lycurgus became confident in his reforms, he announced that he would go to the oracle at Delphi to sacrifice to Apollo. However before leaving for Delphi he called an assembly of the people of Sparta and made everyone, including the kings and senate, take an oath binding them to observe his laws until he returned. He made the journey to Delphi and consulted the oracle, which told him that his laws were excellent and would make his people famous. Being satisfied by this he starved himself to death instead of returning home, forcing the citizens of Sparta by oath to keep his laws indefinitely.^[2]

Depictions

Lycurgus is depicted in several U.S. government buildings of his legacy as a lawgiver. Lycurgus is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in marble bas-reliefs in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol.^[3] Lycurgus is also depicted on the frieze on the south wall of the U.S. Supreme Court building.^[4]

Notes

1. Parallel Lives, , Mestrius, Plutarchus, , , Plutarch lists Eratosthenes, Apollodorus, Timæus, and Xenophon, among others as sources.
2. see the biography of Lycurgus in Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans'', available online at http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/lycurgus.html
3. "Relief Portraits of Lawgivers: Lycurgus." Architect of the Capitol. [1]
4. "Courtroom Friezes: North and South Walls: Information Sheet." Supreme Court of the United States. [2]

References

★ Woodhouse, S.C. ''English-Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language'' (1910) http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/Woodhouse/

★ Rousseau, Jean-Jacques ''The Social Contract'' (1762)

★ Descartes, "Discours de la méthode" (1637)

See also

★ Sparta

★ Agoge

★ Spartan pederasty

★ Parallel Lives (Lycurgus vs. Numa)

External links

★ ★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>.html Plutarch: Life of Lycurgus