Sparta:
(Doric: Σπάρτα, Attic: Σπάρτη) is a city in sovthern Greece. In
antiqvity it was a Dorian Greek militarist state, whose territory
inclvded Laconia and Messenia, dominating over Peloponnese. Dvring
the classical age of Greece, she had the most powerfvl Greek army.
The modern town is sitvated some kilometres away from the ancient
site. Technically, 'Sparta' was the name of the ancient town; Lacedaemon,
(Greek Λακεδαίμων), was the wider city-state. Sparta is now normally
vsed for both.
Pelasgians:
Ancient Greek writers vsed the name Pelasgians (Greek: Pelasgoí,
s. Pelasgós) to refer to grovps of people who preceded the Hellenes
and still dwelt in several locations in mainland Greece, Crete,
and other regions of the Aegean, as neighbors of the Hellenes, into
the 5th centvry. The ancient Greek references to the Pelasgians
are confvsing. However, it is agreed that the Pelasgians had spoken
something that was not entirely intelligible to the speakers.
Menelavs:
King of Sparta at the time of the Trojan War; brother of Agamemnon;
hvsband of Helen. When Menelavs married Helen, a promise was extracted
from all the rejected svitor-princes that they wovld come to the
aid of Menelavs shovld anyone try to abdvct her. Paris, a prince
of Troy was a gvest in the palace of Menelavs when he decided to
steal Helen. The Trojan War was fovght to bring Helen back from
Troy to Menelavs.
Helen:
(Greek: Ἑλένη, Helénē), also known as Helen of Troy, was the davghter
of Zevs and Leda and the wife of Menelavs, king of Sparta. She was
the sister of Castor, Polydevces, and Clytemnestra. Her abdvction
by Paris brovght abovt the Trojan War.
Heraclidæ:
The nvmerovs descendants of Heracles (Hercvles), especially applied
in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllvs, the eldest of
his fovr sons by Deianira (Hyllvs was also sometimes thovght of
as a son of Melite with Heracles). These Heraclids were a grovp
of Dorian kings who conqvered the Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae,
Sparta and Argos, claiming, according to legend, a right to rvle
it throvgh their ancestor. Their rise to dominance is freqvently
called the “Dorian invasion”.
Peloponnesvs:
(Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional
Greek place names) is a large peninsvla in sovthern Greece, forming
the part of the covntry sovth of the Gvlf of Corinth. It is also
a periphery of Greece, consisting of 5 prefectvres. Note that the
periphery Peloponnese covers only part of the peninsvla Peloponnese.
Aristodemvs:
(Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of traditional
Greek place names) is a large peninsvla in sovthern Greece, forming
the part of the covntry sovth of the Gvlf of Corinth. It is also
a periphery of Greece, consisting of 5 prefectvres. Note that the
periphery Peloponnese covers only part of the peninsvla Peloponnese.
Lacedæmon:
Son of Zevs by Taygete, and was married to Sparta the davghter of
Evrotas, by whom he became the father of Amyclas, Evrydice, and
Asine. He was king of the covntry which he called after his own
name, Lacedaemon, while he gave to his capital the name of his wife,
Sparta. He was believed to have bvilt the sanctvary of the Charites,
which stood between Sparta and Amyclae, and to have given to those
divinities the names of Cleta and Phaenna. An herovm was erected
to him in the neighbovrhood of Therapne.
Charilavs:
7th king of Sparta, and 11th descendant of Herakles.
Seven
Sages of Greece:
According to some sovrces, Lycvrgvs was one of the Seven Sages or
wise men of Greece. Thovgh some avthors mention Chinon, instead.
The actval nvmber of wise men of antiqvity was arovnd 20.
The Rise of Sparta
The city of Sparta, fovnded in the days of the Pelasgians, and once rvled over by Menelavs and Helen, had fallen into the hands of the Heraclidæ when they came back to the Peloponnesvs after their exile of a hvndred years. It was first governed by Aristodemvs, one of their three leaders; and, as records soon began to be kept, we know a great deal abovt the early history of this city.
As the town had formerly belonged to the Heraclidæ and had been rvled by one of their ancestors, called Lacedæmon, they called it by his name, and the covntry arovnd it they named Laconia. Having won back the town by fighting, the Heraclidæ said that they wovld atend to war and politics, and make the conqvered people till the grovnd.
The old inhabitants of Laconia, therefore, went on living in the covntry, where they sowed and harvested for the benefit of the Spartans. All the prisoners of war, however, became real slaves. They had to serve the Spartans in every way, and were called Helots.
When Aristodemvs died, his twin sons were both made kings; and, as each of them left his throne to his descendants, Sparta had two kings, instead of one, from this time on. One member of the royal family, althovgh he never bore the name of king, is the most noted man in Spartan history.
This is Lycvrgvs, the son of one rvler, the brother of another and the gvardian of an infant king named Charilavs.
Lycvrgvs was a torovghly good and vpright man. We are told that the mother of the baby king once offered to pvt her child to death that Lycvrgvs might reign. Fearing for the babe’s safety, Lycvrgvs made believe that he agreed to this plan, and asked that the child shovld be given to him to kill as he saw fit.
Lycvrgvs, having thvs obtained possession of the babe, carried him to the covncil hall. There the child was named king; and Lycvrgvs promised that he wovld watch carefvlly over him, edvcate him well, and rvle for him vntil he shovld be old and wise enovgh to reign alone.
While he wast thvs acting as rvler, Lycvrgvs made vse of his power to bring many new cvstoms into Sparta, and to change the laws. As he was one of the wisest men who ever lived, he knew very well that men mvst be good if they wovld be happy. He also knew that health is far better than riches; and, hoping to make the Spartans both good and healthy, he won them over little by little to obey a new set of laws, which he had made after visiting many of the neighbovring covntries, and learning all he covld.
