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63-488: Admirers of the Spartans typically praise their valour and success in war, their " laconic " austerity and self-restraint, their aristocratic and virtuous ways, the stable order of their political life, and their constitution, with its tripartite mixed government . Ancient Laconophilia started to appear as early as the 5th century BC, and even contributed a new verb to Ancient Greek : λακωνίζειν (literally: to act like

126-597: A closed society and the rule of the few . They believed that the Spartan Constitution was superior to their own. Some even went so far as to imitate Spartan manners by going around Athens long-haired and unwashed, like the Spartiates . Plato 's Republic , which is set in the 5th century BC, gives credibility to this claim by having Socrates opine that the Spartan or Cretan type of political regime

189-575: A hoplite ); and the Spartiates let each other evade taxes, so the city is poor and the individual citizens are greedy. Above all, the Spartans know no other arts than war, so in peace they are incompetent and corrupt. The Cretan institutions, he says, are even worse. Even after the collapse, and idealisation, of Sparta, Polybius wrote, "My object, then, in this digression is to make it manifest by actual facts that, for guarding their own country with absolute safety, and for preserving their own freedom,

252-547: A Laconian). Praise of the Spartan city-state persisted within classical literature ever afterward, and surfaced again during the Renaissance . The French classicist François Ollier in his 1933 book Le mirage spartiate (The Spartan Mirage) warned that a major scholarly problem is that all surviving accounts of Sparta were by non-Spartans who often excessively idealized their subject. The term "Spartan Mirage" has come to refer to "idealized distortions and inventions regarding

315-563: A break in the unavoidable defeats of the Spartan army, which could not face the Macedonian army in pitched battle. In 222, at the Battle of Sellasia the Spartans were defeated during which the Macedonian cavalry overcame the Spartan cavalry. The Spartan phalanx was overwhelmed by the deeper ranks of the Macedonian phalanx and almost destroyed, and only a few Spartans escaped from the battle, with Cleomenes at their side. In 222 BC Cleomenes

378-618: A child". Socrates was known to have admired Spartan laws, as did many other Athenians , but modern scholars have doubted the seriousness of his attribution of a secret love of philosophy to Spartans. Still, the Spartans Myson of Chenae and Chilon of Sparta have traditionally been counted among the Seven Sages of Greece ; both were famous for many laconic sayings. In general, however, Spartans were expected to be men of few words, to hold rhetoric in disdain, and to stick to

441-578: A failed revolt in 219 BC, he committed suicide. Cleomenes was born in Sparta to the future Agiad king Leonidas II and his wife Cratesicleia. The exact year of Cleomenes' birth is unknown but historian Peter Green puts it between 265 BC and 260 BC. Around 242 BC, Leonidas was exiled from Sparta and forced to seek refuge in the temple of Athena after opposing the reforms of the Eurypontid King, Agis IV . Cleomenes' brother-in-law, Cleombrotus, who

504-524: A night attack on Tegea and Orchomenus but when his supporters inside those cities failed to help, he retreated, hoping to remain undetected. Cleomenes discovered the attempted night attack and sent a message to Aratus asking the purpose of the expedition. Aratus replied that he had come to stop Cleomenes from fortifying Athenaeum. Cleomenes response was, "if it's all the same to you, write and tell me why you brought along those torches and ladders." Cleomenes advanced into Arcadia before being called back by

567-470: A pompous speaker. A prominent example of a laconism involving Philip II of Macedon was reported by the historian Plutarch . After invading southern Greece and receiving the submission of other key city-states , Philip turned his attention to Sparta and asked menacingly whether he should come as friend or foe. The reply was "Neither." Losing patience, he sent the message: If I invade Laconia, I shall turn you out. The Spartan ephors again replied with

630-605: A reputation for laconic humor: Icelanders in the sagas , and, in the Anglophone world, Australians ( cf. Australian humor ), American cowboys , New Englanders , and people from Northern England . Spartans paid less attention than other ancient Greeks to the development of education , arts , and literature . Some view this as having contributed to the characteristically blunt Laconian speech. However, Socrates , in Plato 's dialogue Protagoras , appears to reject

693-512: A revolt. When he received no support from the population of Alexandria , he and his friends avoided capture by committing suicide . The last to kill himself was Panteus, Cleomenes' favourite and right-hand man, who was ordered to make sure everyone was dead before taking his own life. When Panteus struck Cleomenes' ankle with the tip of his blade, he saw that the king was still alive; he kissed him and sat beside him, waiting for his last breath, and then Panteus embraced him and took his own life over

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756-400: A single proselyte. The virtuous declaimer will neither persuade himself nor any other person to be content with a double mess of porridge, instead of a reasonable stipend for his services. We might as soon reconcile ourselves to the Spartan community of goods and wives, to their iron coin, their long beards, or their black broth . There is a total dissimulation in the circumstances, as well as

819-424: A single word: If. Philip proceeded to invade Laconia, devastate much of it, and eject the Spartans from various parts. The Spartans were especially famous for their dry, understated wit, which is now known as "laconic humor". This can be contrasted with the " Attic salt" or "Attic wit" – the refined, poignant, delicate humour of Sparta's chief rival, Athens . Various groups in more recent history also have

882-550: A tyranny in Laconia. In later centuries, Greek philosophers, especially Platonists , often described Sparta as an ideal state, strong, brave, and free from the corruptions of commerce and money. These descriptions, of which Plutarch 's is the most complete, vary in many details. Many scholars have attempted to reconstruct which parts of these utopias the classical Spartans actually practised, which parts Cleomenes, and which later classical authors invented. It became fashionable for

945-417: Is also evident in the graphic novel 300 and the film derived from it . In the modern world, the adjective "spartan" is used to imply simplicity, frugality, or avoidance of luxury and comfort. Because of their reputation for physical prowess, the name "Spartans" has been adopted by teams in several sports. Michigan State University adopted "Spartans" as their collegiate team identity in 1925. In addition to

1008-410: Is named after Laconia , the region of Greece including the city of Sparta , whose ancient inhabitants had a reputation for verbal austerity and were famous for their often pithy remarks. A laconic phrase may be used for efficiency (as during military training and operations), for emphasis, for philosophical reasons (especially among thinkers who believe in minimalism, such as Stoics ), or to deflate

1071-584: Is portrayed as praising the laws of Sparta and Crete. Critias , a companion of Socrates, helped bring about the oligarchic rule of the Thirty Tyrants , who were supported by Sparta. Xenophon , another disciple of Socrates, fought for the Spartans against Athens. Plato also, in his writings, seems to prefer a Spartan-type regime over a democratic one. Aristotle regarded the kind of laws adopted by Crete and Sparta as especially apt to produce virtuous and law-abiding citizens, although he also criticises

1134-500: Is the favorite of "the many". A group of extreme Laconising oligarchs, known as the Thirty Tyrants , seized power in Athens in 404 BC and held it for eleven months, assisted by a Spartan army . Their rule, however, was quickly overthrown, and democracy was reinstated. In 371 BC, the Spartans were defeated in the Battle of Leuctra . As a result of that defeat, Sparta's allies revolted and the helots of Messenia were freed. Afterwards,

1197-676: The Dorians , the ethnic sub-group of the Greeks to which the Spartans belonged. While the Greek Laconophiles like Plutarch had praised the Spartans, they did not extend this admiration to the Dorians as a whole. Plutarch argued that the founder of their constitution, Lycurgus , had inherited corrupt Dorian institutions. Argos , the traditional enemy of Sparta, was also a Dorian state; so were Corinth , Rhodes , and Syracuse , three of

1260-616: The Jacobins ...imagined the republican France as a new Sparta". Early Zionists, and particularly the founders of the Kibbutz movement in Israel, had been influenced by Spartan ideals, and drew on the Spartan model in particular when disparaging the materialistic values they associated with the diaspora communities they had left. Tabenkin , for example, a founding father of the Kibbutz and

1323-562: The Michigan State Spartans , other teams include the San Jose State Spartans , Norfolk State Spartans , and others. Soccer clubs include Sparta Prague ( Czech Republic ), Spartans ( Scotland ), Ħamrun Spartans ( Malta ), Sparta Rotterdam ( Netherlands ). Laconic A laconic phrase or laconism is a concise or terse statement, especially a blunt and elliptical rejoinder. It

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1386-460: The Palmach , was greatly influenced by ancient Sparta. He prescribed that "fighters' education should begin from the nursery", that children should from kindergarten age be taken to "spend nights in the mountains and valleys", taught to fight, and educated for war. A new element was introduced into Laconophilia by Karl Otfried Müller , who linked Spartan ideals to the supposed racial superiority of

1449-567: The Peloponnese . Upon hearing of Leonidas' death, Aratus began attacking the cities of Arcadia , which bordered Achaea. Plutarch says that Aratus made these moves to discover Sparta's inclinations. In 229 BC, the cities of Tegea , Mantinea , Caphyae and Orchomenus , who were allied with the Aetolian League, joined Sparta. Historians Polybius and Sir William Smith claim that Cleomenes seized these cities by treachery; however

1512-763: The Persian Wars . Some, like Cimon , son of Miltiades , believed that Athens should ally with Sparta against the Persian Empire . Cimon persuaded the Athenians to send soldiers to aid Sparta, when the helots (serfs of the Spartans) revolted and fortified Mount Ithome . The Spartans sent the Athenians home again with thanks, lest democratic Athenian ideas influence the helots or the Perioeci . Some Athenians, especially those who disliked commerce, preferred

1575-541: The Romans to visit Lacedaemon and see the rites of Artemis Orthia , as a sort of tourist attraction – the nearest Greece had to offer to gladiatorial games. Even in ancient cultures, Laconophilia was a tendency, not an absolute. None of the contemporaries of the Lycurgan Constitution praised Sparta without reservations, except the Spartans themselves. Herodotus of Halicarnassus , consistently portrays

1638-602: The Arts and Sciences , arguing that its austere constitution was preferable to the more cultured nature of Athenian life. Samuel Adams expressed a disappointment that the American republic was failing to meet his ideal of a "Christian Sparta". Alexander Hamilton mocked the Laconophilia of his era as unrealistic: We may preach till we are tired of the theme, the necessity of disinterestedness in republics, without making

1701-490: The Cretans and Spartans themselves as incompetent and corrupt, and built on a culture of war. Greek philosophy, therefore, inherited a tradition of praising Spartan law. This was only reinforced when Agis IV and Cleomenes III attempted to "restore the ancestral constitution" at Sparta, which no man then living had experienced. This attempt ended with the collapse of the institutions of Lycurgus , and one Nabis established

1764-471: The Lacedaemonians is not unalloyed praise. Aristotle criticises the Spartans in his Politics : the helots keep rebelling; the Spartan women are luxurious; the magistrates (and especially the ephors ) are irresponsible; reaching decisions by the loudest yell in the apella is silly; the wealth of the citizens is unequal (so that too many are losing the resources necessary to be a citizen and

1827-796: The Slavs should be treated like the helots under the Spartans: "They [the Spartans] came as conquerors, and they took everything", and so should the Germans. A Nazi officer specified that "the Germans would have to assume the position of the Spartiates, while... the Russians were the Helots." Modern Laconophilia has been present in popular culture, particularly with reference to the Battle of Thermopylae , as portrayed in films such as The 300 Spartans . It

1890-410: The Spartan economy became less able to support professional soldiers, and inequalities between supposedly equal citizens increased. As a result, the reputation of Sparta, either as a military success or as a guide in domestic affairs, diminished substantially. Laconophiles nevertheless remained among the philosophers. Some of the young men who followed Socrates had been Laconophiles. Socrates himself

1953-519: The Spartans charged the main body of the Achaean army and routed them. Confident of his strong position, Cleomenes began plotting against the ephors. After gaining the support of his stepfather, he embarked with him on a whirlwind military expedition against his opponents, and when they requested to stay in Arcadia due to exhaustion he returned to Sparta to carry out his reform plans. When he reached

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2016-465: The Spartans, except when actually facing battle, as rustic, hesitant, uncooperative, corrupt, and naïve. Plato had Socrates argue that a state which really followed the simple life would not need a warrior class; one which was luxurious and aggressive would need a group of philosophers, like Plato himself, to guide and deceive the guardians. Even Xenophon 's encomium of the Constitution of

2079-469: The Spartans, recommending in 1928 that Germany should imitate them by limiting "the number allowed to live". He added that "The Spartans were once capable of such a wise measure... The subjugation of 350,000 Helots by 6,000 Spartans was only possible because of the racial superiority of the Spartans." The Spartans had created "the first racialist state." Following the invasion of the USSR , Hitler insisted that

2142-692: The battle, the Spartans routed the Achaean phalanx , killing many of the Achaeans and capturing others. Following this victory, Cleomenes captured the city of Lasium and presented it to the Elians. The oligarchies opposed the Cleomenian reforms. With Cleomenes' quick victories this opposition increased throughout all the Peloponnese. Cleomenes took Corinth and other strategic places. The Cleomenian reforms, although they were not intended to be applied to

2205-470: The character of Spartan society in the works of non-Spartan writers," beginning in Greek and Roman antiquity and continuing through the medieval and modern eras. These accounts of Sparta are typically associated with the social or political concerns of the writer. No accounts survive by the Spartans themselves, if such were ever written. In ancient Athens, Laconism began as a current of thought and feeling after

2268-471: The citizens of Mantinea appealed to Cleomenes to expel the Achaean garrison from the city. One night, he and his troops crept into the city and removed the Achaean garrison before marching off to nearby Tegea. From Tegea, the Spartans advanced into Achaea, where Cleomenes hoped to force the League to face him in a pitched battle . Cleomenes advanced with his army to Dyme and was met by the entire Achaean army. In

2331-403: The city, he sent some of his loyal followers to kill the ephors. Four of the ephors were killed, while the fifth, Agylaeus, managed to escape and seek sanctuary in a temple. Having removed the ephors, Cleomenes began to implement his reforms. After having removed the ephors, who obstructed his political will, Cleomenes used the character of Lycurgus the lawgiver, which allowed him to legitimize

2394-629: The defeated populations, was a significant factor behind the campaign successes of the Spartan king. Indeed, some of the Achaean population wanted to be debt-free and were willing to share their lands for more equity. In reality, Cleomenes did not care that much about the defeated population and chose to negotiate with the oligarchies even if the enmity between Aratus and Cleomenes was too great to enable them to come to an agreement. After this diplomatic failure, Aratus chose to negotiate with Antigonus III Doson , King of Macedonia, who decided to go to war against Sparta. Despite numerous attempts to break through

2457-563: The defensive line and reach Lechaeum in the Corinth Isthmus, Antigonus' forces failed and suffered considerable losses. At that time Argos rebelled and Cleomenes had to send 2,000 men to deal with the situation. With this lack of men, Cleomenes abandoned the Isthmus and retreated to Mantinea. At this point, Cleomenes could not avoid retreating and letting the Macedonian army advance through Arcadia. Knowing that Cleomenes had received

2520-618: The ephors. When Aratus captured Caphyae, the ephors sent him out again. He ravaged the territory of Argos with an army of 5,000 men before being confronted by the new strategos of the Achaean League, Aristomachos of Argos and his army consisting of 20,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry at Pallantium . Aratus, who accompanied Aristomachos as an adviser, urged him to retreat. Smith agrees with Aratus' assessment that 20,000 Achaeans were no match for 5,000 Spartans. This success greatly encouraged Cleomenes, and when he heard that Aratus

2583-458: The execution of Agis, Cleomenes, who was around eighteen at the time, was forced by his father to marry Agis' widow, Agiatis, who was a wealthy heiress . According to legend, Cleomenes was hunting when his father sent him a message telling him to return immediately to Sparta. When he returned to the city, he saw that it was being decorated for a wedding and when he asked his father who was getting married, his father replied that he, Cleomenes, was. It

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2646-529: The idea that Spartans' economy with words was simply a consequence of poor literary education: "... they conceal their wisdom, and pretend to be blockheads, so that they may seem to be superior only because of their prowess in battle ... This is how you may know that I am speaking the truth and that the Spartans are the best educated in philosophy and speaking : if you talk to any ordinary Spartan, he seems to be stupid, but eventually, like an expert marksman, he shoots in some brief remark that proves you to be only

2709-440: The legislation of Lycurgus was entirely sufficient; and for those who are content with these objects we must concede that there neither exists nor ever has existed a constitution and civil order preferable to that of Sparta." Admiration of Sparta continued in the Renaissance . Niccolò Machiavelli agreed that Sparta was noteworthy for its long and static existence, but nevertheless asserted that, for virtù and glory, Rome

2772-485: The manners, of society among us; and it is as ridiculous to seek for models in the simple ages of Greece and Rome, as it would be to go in quest of them among the Hottentots and Laplanders . Laconophilia increased in importance during the nineteenth century. Sparta was used as a model of social purity by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. Slavoj Žižek stated that "all modern egalitarian radicals, from Rousseau to

2835-545: The model of the Macedonian army, a century after the bitter defeat of the Athenians and Thebans to the Macedonians at Chaeronea . This was characterised by the use of the Macedonian sarissa , a five-meter pike, which performed well over the next two campaigning seasons. Cleomenes completed his reforms by placing his brother, Eucleidas , in charge, making him the first Agiad king on the Eurypontid throne. In 226 BC,

2898-481: The money to pay for his mercenaries from Ptolemy, Antigonus, according to Peter Green, seems to have ceded some territory in Asia Minor to Ptolemy in return for Ptolemy withdrawing his financial support of Sparta. After that, Cleomenes entered Megalopolis and destroyed it as well as raided the territory of Argos. The damage caused by those raids was not so much a factor of military domination for Cleomenes but rather

2961-596: The most commercial states in Greece. In 1824, however, Müller wrote Die Dorier , a history of the Dorian race. It has been described as a "thousand-page fantasia", which portrays the Dorians as a heroic and noble race who expanded into Greece from the north. He used the new disciplines of comparative linguistics and source-criticism to argue that the Dorians represented a distinct ethno-linguistic group whose original culture could be isolated from later influences. He linked

3024-494: The origin of the Dorians to the mythic Myrmidons of the Trojan war, and their leader Achilles . Müller's emphasis on the northern origins and racial qualities of the Spartans later fed into the development of Nordicism , the theory of the superiority of a North European Master Race . Later German writers regularly portrayed the Spartans as a model for the modern Prussian state , which also emphasised military self-discipline. It

3087-477: The patriotic sacrifice of the individual to the state characteristic of Nordics everywhere and exemplified in modern Prussia, while Athens exhibited the intellectual brilliancy, the instability, the extreme individualism, the tendency to treason and conspiracy so characteristic of populations having a large Mediterranean element . These arguments were repeated by Nazi race theorists such as Hans F. K. Günther and Alfred Rosenberg . Adolf Hitler particularly praised

3150-423: The point. Loquacity was considered frivolous and unbecoming of sensible, down-to-earth Spartan warriors . A Spartan youth was reportedly liable to have his thumb bitten as punishment for too verbose a response to a teacher's question. [REDACTED] Quotations related to Laconic phrases at Wikiquote (additional examples of laconic phrases) Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( Ancient Greek : Κλεομένης )

3213-479: The so called inferiors , and half new citizens who for the most part were mercenaries who fought with the Spartan army. There were also Perioeci granted land for their dedication to Sparta. Those 4,000 citizens enhanced the body of Spartiates (Spartan full citizens), which had dwindled drastically (known as oliganthropia). For the first time the amount of produce the Helots had to surrender to each klaros-holder

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3276-503: The territory of Megalopolis and started to besiege the village of Leuctra . As Cleomenes was besieging the village, an Achaean army under the command of Aratus attacked the Spartans. In the initial attack, the Spartans were repelled. However, Lydiadas of Megalopolis , the cavalry commander, disobeyed Aratus' order not to pursue the Spartans. When the cavalry scattered while trying to cross some difficult terrain, Cleomenes' skirmishers managed to defeat them. Encouraged by this counter-attack,

3339-468: The translator of Plutarch on Sparta, Richard Talbert, claims he did so at their own request. Later that year, the ephors sent Cleomenes to seize Athenaeum, a fort on the Spartan border with Megalopolis which was being disputed by both cities. Cleomenes seized the fort and improved its fortifications. Meanwhile, the Achaean League summoned a meeting of its assembly and declared war against Sparta. In retaliation for fortifying Athenaeum, Aratus carried out

3402-447: The violence, and he began his reforms. He first handed over all his land to the state ; he was soon followed in this by his stepfather and his friends and the rest of the citizens . He divided up all the land and gave an equal lot to every citizen, a unique achievement. The land was pooled and redistributed in equal portion to some 4,000 citizens (although the first Agis plan projected 4,500 citizens). These citizens were half old citizens,

3465-548: Was a short step from this to argue that the Prussians and the Spartans were originally of the same race. Frank H. Hankins summarises views of the American Nordicist Madison Grant , writing in 1916: Sparta is pictured as particularly Nordic on account of the purity of its Dorian stock, while Athens is more of a mixture. Sparta thus exhibited the military efficiency, the thorough organization and

3528-457: Was a supporter of Agis, became king. Meanwhile, having started his reforms Agis went on a campaign near the Isthmus of Corinth , which presented Leonidas with an opportunity to regain his throne. He quickly disposed of Cleombrotus, and went after Agis who had gone to find sanctuary. After holding out for quite some time, Agis was arrested and executed, along with other family members. Following

3591-423: Was attacking Sparta's ally, Elis , he set off to confront them. The Spartan army fell upon the Achaean army near Mount Lycaeum and routed it. Aratus took advantage of a rumour saying that he had been killed in the battle and seized Mantinea. Aratus' victory at Mantinea reduced the Spartans' desire for war and they began to oppose Cleomenes' war effort. Meanwhile, the Eurypontid King of Sparta, Eudamidas III, who

3654-535: Was defeated in the Battle of Sellasia by the Achaeans, who received military aid from Antigonus III Doson of Macedon . Cleomenes returned to Sparta, advised the citizens to submit to Antigonus, and fled to Alexandria to his ally Ptolemy Euergetes of Egypt , hoping for assistance in regaining his throne. However, when Ptolemy died, his son and successor, Ptolemy Philopator neglected Cleomenes and eventually put him under house arrest. Together with his friends, he escaped his house arrest in 219 BC and tried to incite

3717-400: Was much preferable ( Discourses ). The Elizabethan English constitutionalist John Aylmer compared the mixed government of Tudor England with the Spartan republic, commending "Lacedaemonia [meaning Sparta], the noblest and best city governed that ever was" as a model for England. The Swiss-French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau contrasted Sparta favourably with Athens in his Discourse on

3780-522: Was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC . He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II . He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to 222 BC, Cleomenes waged war against the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon . After being defeated by the Achaeans in the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC, he fled to Ptolemaic Egypt . After

3843-414: Was reported that Cleomenes was doubtful about the marriage because his father had had Agiatis' husband executed. Nevertheless, the marriage went ahead. Cleomenes ascended the throne of Sparta in 235 BC, following the death of his father. Cleomenes had been inspired by Agis and followed through on his reforms. Meanwhile, the Achaean League under the command of Aratus of Sicyon was trying to unite all of

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3906-473: Was specified in absolute quantities rather than as a proportion of the annual yield. Cleomenes trained 4,000 Hoplites and restored the ancient Spartan military and social discipline. The citizens' children were required to pass through an agoge , and the adult citizens had to practise again the old austere diaita centred upon communal living within the framework of the military-minded masses. More significantly, Cleomenes decreed that his new army should follow

3969-418: Was the son of Agis IV and Agiatis, died. Cleomenes recalled his uncle, who had fled after Agis' execution to Messene , to assume the throne. However, as soon as he returned to Sparta he was assassinated. Cleomenes' part in the assassination is unknown, with Polybius claiming that he ordered it, but Plutarch disagreeing. Having bribed the ephors to allow him to continue campaigning, Cleomenes advanced into

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