Comparing Athens, Sparta, And Miletus

Ancient Greece today is most known for the culture: the gods, the dramas, how people lived. What most people do not realize is that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different civilizations spread throughout Greece that all had different forms of government. The three main ones were Athens, Sparta, and Miletus. Each was very different from the other. The most powerful out of all three was Sparta: a military based society. The Spartan government had a strong foundation that was all torn down by one bad leader.
The founder of the Spartan government did not found Sparta itself, as it was already in place before he was even born. Old Sparta was based around wealth and there was a large separation gap between the common people and the two kings that ruled. Lycurgus was born into royalty and when his father died, his older brother became king. The queen became pregnant but before the baby was born, the king died. This meant that Lycurgus would be king unless the baby was a boy. The queen tried to convince him to marry her after she aborted the baby so she could remain queen. The reasoning behind this is still unclear but it did not sit right with Lycurgus’ morals so he tricked her into keeping the baby, who turned out to be a boy. If Lycurgus had done what the queen had asked him to do, not only would she remain queen but he

would remain king as well. This selflessness and putting Sparta before one’s self would make the foundation of the new government Lycurgus was going to make.
After the baby was born, the queen was furious with Lycurgus.

In order to escape her wrath, Lycurgus traveled around the Medatrerian, learning about different governments. Throughout his travels, he knew that one day he would return to Sparta. The Spartan people were begging him to come back. The gap between the common people and the kings had gotten worse and there was inequality within the common people as well. Even the kings were not against him coming back. Finally, he did. He took what he learned from the places he visited and made the perfect government. The basis of the government was to create equality and a strong

military.
The biggest reform Lycurgus had to tackle was the equality issue. He did this is a numerous amount of ways but there were four things in particular that really helped the movement. “First and most significant among Lycurgus’ numerous innovations was the institution of the Elders.” (Lycurgus 5) The seperation between the kings and the common people was all based on the ability to make laws. Lycurgus took this power away from the kings and gave it to a committee of Elders. This committee was made up of men who served in the military who were sixty-five or older. While this group was given the power to make laws, it did not create a separation because as long as you were a male who was fighting in the military, you too could join the committee. “Lycurgus’ second, and most revolutionary, reform was his redistribution of land.” (Lycurgus 8) The inequality of wealth amongst the common people came from the ability to make money, which was growing and selling crops. The wealthiest people owned the most land and therefore produced the most crops and made the most money. In order to combat this, Lycurgus redistributed the land so everyone had an equal amount to produce crops on. “He declared that all gold and silver coinage was now invalid, and decreed that only iron should be used as currency; and then he assigned a low value to even a great weight and mass of this, so that a sum of ten minas demanded substantial storage space in a house and a wagon to shift it.” (Lycurgus 9) This made the biggest impact on the Spartan people. There was no such thing as ‘rich’ and ‘poor;’ they could no longer trade with outside civilizations. It made them all equal to each other and no one was better than someone else.
While most people were relatively happy with the new changes, the wealthy class were furious. “… Roused the fury of the wealthy against Lycurgus, so that they joined together in a body to jeer at him and to express their anger.” (Lycurgus 11) At one point, they ended up running Lycurgus out of the town where he found refuge in a temple. One young man followed him there and hit him, knocking his eye out. Instead of fighting back, Lycurgus just showed them his eye and they instantly felt ashamed.
One of the main parts that made this whole government work was the idea that every person was not an individual but a part of the country. The selflessness and pride of Sparta that came into play with Lycurgus and his nephew really formed the government and culture of Sparta. For hundreds of years, the government and culture stayed relatively the same. It truly is amazing how such a strong civilization could be flipped around with just one bad leader. For the Spartans, that one bad leader was Agesilaus.
Agesilaus, like Lycurgus, was born into royalty. His brother was king but when he died his son was supposed to become king. However, it was believed that the son’s actual father was not the king but another man so, with the help of Lystander, Agesilaus became king. Bystander was Agesilaus’ lover and also a respected and trusted general. Soon after Agesilaus became king, he was informed that the Persian empire was building a fleet which could threaten Sparta. However, there was an immediate threat to an area that Lystander had grown fond of and had built up their government. Historians believe that Agesilaus sent out with his military not to defend Sparta but to please his lover and protect his friends. “So [Lystander] persuaded Agesilaus to undertake a campaign - to be fought on behalf of Greece, but very far from the mainland - which would cross the sea and strike first to anticipate the Persians’ preparations.” (Agesilaus 6) However, as soon as Agesilaus saw that Lystander was much more popular and well liked than he was, he became angry. “When he arrived at Ephesus, he was immediately irked and annoyed by Lysander’s power and high reputation there.” (Agesilaus 7) He would ignore Lystander’s comments and advice, which did not go by ignored by Lystander. Agesilaus could not stand that someone was as talented and respected as he was, which went against the very foundation of Spartan culture: selflessness.
Just like with taking the campaign for Lystander, Agesilaus would often put family and friends before the good of Sparta. A Spartan man named Sphodrias led an unauthorized attack on Athens that went against religious beliefs. Athens was furious and Spartans were in shock and embarrassed. They all wanted Sphodrias to be exiled but Agesilaus’ son and Sphodrias’ son were lovers. “But finally, with the trial imminent, he summoned up courage to mention to Agesilaus that Cleonymus had begged his assistance with his father’s case. Agesilaus that Archidamus was Cleonymus’ lover… This is what Agesilaus consistently said about the case, and he did so to gratify his son.” (Agesilaus 25) Agesilaus let Sphodrias go to please his son. This created tension between Athens and Sparta that would eventually lead to a war.
A common theme for Agesilaus was putting other things, whether that be himself or people he loved, before the good of Sparta. Lycurgus based Sparta’s entire government on being loyal and faithful to Sparta so it is no wonder that because of Agesilaus things started to flip around for Sparta. He would push other people who were as good as him down and make military decisions that would affect all of Sparta based on what his close family and friends thought and wanted.
For hundreds of years, Sparta was the most powerful civilization on the planet. Even now, they are considered the most powerful society of that time period. All it took was one bad leader to turn a great and respected civilization into a weak one.