Lecture 6: The Myth of Sparta

In the 6th of 17 lectures in his "Civilizing the Barbarians" course, Stepanov introduces the ancient Greek historian Plutarch. He describes Plutarch as "the greatest historian" and a member of a short canon of books that all people should read (which you are now studying). He mentions that Plutarch was a Greek from the village of Chaeronea, who was proud of his heritage and was a friend of the Emperor and many other people. He was recognized as a great writer in his time, and his works were well-preserved and studied throughout the Byzantine Empire. He regained popularity during the Renaissance period and was widely read by people all over Europe, particularly in France where his work had a great influence on Montaigne and Rabelais.

Plutarch's book "Lives" also known as "Parallel Lives" was a collection of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, where he wrote about Lycurgus of Sparta and many other famous men. The biography of Lycurgus is generally considered to be one of the most important and detailed sources of information on the political and social organization of ancient Sparta. Stepanov relays Plutarch's opinion that Lycurgus created a system of government designed to block any progress. This system included a council of elders, called the senate of Dorian elders, who could only propose laws and were elected through a democratic process. He also created the idea of ephors, a group of five citizens who were elected annually and had the power to veto any decisions made by the other branches of government. Lycurgus believed in equalizing the distribution of wealth in society by putting all the land in the state together and dividing it equally among citizens. He also believed in equalizing consumption by creating a system where every able-bodied man had to join a group called a "mess" where they would eat food together, making sure that everyone had equal access to it. Stepanov also mentions that Lycurgus believed in physical strength, both in women and men, and therefore created a society where women had equal access to physical exercise and training with weapons, something that Plutarch found uncomfortable. He also describes the Spartan's communal child-rearing practices, which involved a eugenics program, where weak or sick children were taken out of the population and not cared for by their parents.

Stepanov concludes this lecture with information about how the Spartan laws of Lycurgus were kept in place even after Lycurgus's death and how Sparta eventually fell under the rule of the Romans. He mentions the different stories and legends surrounding the death of Lycurgus and his burial and concludes by stating that while the story has many angles and not everything is good, it is a wonderful and important story.