Xenophon's closer familiarity with Spartan society would have allowed him to describe these finer distinctions. ![]() ![]() It is also possible that the above terms had existed in internal Spartan usage from a much earlier time. Certainly, by the late fifth and early fourth centuries, the picture is quite complex and characters such as the mothax Lysander play prominent roles within Spartan society. In this light, the additional terms such as neodamodeis (newly-landed) and hypomeiones (inferiors) which one encounters in Xenophon should not be considered as reflecting a new development but perhaps as an adjustment of the terminology to more precisely reflect a long-standing reality. The picture presented above is one of significant flexibility within the system from an early period. The perioeci, then, seem from early on to have had a more integrated role than just an economic/industrial function. At the end of the passage he calls him Λακεδαιμόνιον, but, as seen above, Spartiates are a subset of this group, and at this point the term Λακεδαιμόνιον is used to emphasize Dieneces’ inclusivity within the larger mixed force. He presents Λακεδαιμόνιοι as an umbrella term, from among whom the perioeci (περιοίκων) must come and participate in the funeral apart from (in addition to) the Spartans (χωρὶς Σπαρτιητέων).Īnother example is extolling the performance of Dieneces at the battle of Thermopylae (Herodotus 7.226), where Herodotus explicitly qualifies him as "Spartiate" to distinguish him from the larger Lakedaemonian force. One of the clearest examples of this terminological distinction is when Herodotus speaks of royal burial custom (6.58.2). These seem to be differentiated (although not always consistently ) in a manner revealing intimate perioecic interaction with Spartiates. In Herodotus one can observe the various uses of the terms Λακεδαιμόνιοι and Σπαρτιήται. One way of glimpsing at the possibilities of social mobility is to observe the various contexts in which non-Spartiates are closely involved with their superior peers. The fact that mobility is attested from the earliest strands of the literary tradition (Herodotus), such as the helot and Lakedaemonian "hoplites" at Thermopylae (see below), should suggest that the system was, in principle, much less rigid. ![]() But, the strict division of Spartan society into Spartiates, perioeci and helots is schematic at best.Īt times the Spartan system has been characterized as "completely closed and rigid", but there is little justification for this view. The traditional view of Spartan society is a three-tiered division, with helots, an enslaved servant class, on the bottom, the Spartiates (also called ὅμοιοι, "equals") at the top, and the περιοίκοι ("those who live around ") as a second-class population handling most of the trade and crafts so that the "equals" can dedicate themselves to the art of war.
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