The running of Sparta; The Constitution of the Lacedemonians, Xenophon

Why you might read The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians?

The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians gives a non-Spartan view of the city-state of Sparta. It is written by an Athenian and gives many ways in which the Spartans differ from their neighbours. In self-education project, it gives context to all other texts that deal with what Sparta did.

Synopsis of The Constitution of the  Lacedaemonians

Xenophon covers the training of boys and young men first. He covers both how they are trained and fed. It is a vigorous and comprehensive system that trains and teaches. The system places them with their peers rather than in their households. 

He explains how cooking and eating were moved to the public sphere. As well as how the mixing of ages helped temper young men. As well as the need to walk home in the dark deterring the overconsumption of wine.

He finishes by commenting that the Spartans seem to have eased up on these laws and regulations. It seems to him that they are becoming more like the rest of the Greeks. He points to this as why they have fallen away from being the preeminent state.

Reflections on The Constitution of the  Lacedaemonians

This is a fascinating insight into the setup of Sparta. Xenophon attributes it all to one man. The insight he must have had if it was truly all his doing. I wonder though if it would have stuck for even as long as it did if it had not been instituted by a Spartan patriarch.

The training of the boys I definitely more brutal than if they had been left to their fathers to teach. But I think the biggest thing that comes from it is the sense of unity. This unity will serve them well on the battlefield as well as in public life.

I do think Xenophon has a utopian view of the spartan regime. But this is likely to happen when you see the results it granted Sparta.

What others have to say about The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians

"...is the most comprehensive extant account of Spartan institutions. As an oligarchically-inclined exile from Athens, who had fought alongside Spartan generals in the Persian Expedition, and later against Athens at the battle of Coronea, Xenophon was a well-placed and highly sympathetic observer of Spartan customs." From Tom Griffin

Comparisons with other texts

The Constitution of the Athenians is a critique. It gives little to no detail about the constitution itself. By contrast, the constitution of the Lacedaemonians focuses entirely on the running of Sparta. As well as how it differed from the rest of Greece. They provide very different insights. Ready the most they have in common are their names.

The History of the Peloponnesian War details how Sparta wages war with Athens. It gives us insight into the political life and warrior life of Sparta. By contrast, The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians gives us insight into life within their own borders. It is hard to tell whether the war is before or after the decline that Xenophon notes. But possibly it is what he is alluding to when he says other powers have vied for control. 

Conclusion

The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians covers the training of young men. It covers the instruction for public life. It finished off with the structuring of the army and the place of the king. It lets us see what built the power of Sparta and how different it ready was from the rest of Greece. Though they fell away from it and it lead to their demise.

Have you read The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians? If so what did you think of it? 

 

Want to read The Constitution of the Lacedaemonians but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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