Analysis of Ancient tradition of punishments in Sparta

  • Larisa G. Pechatnova Institute of History, Saint Petersburg State University, 5 Mendeleevskaya Line, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33581/2520-6338-2022-3-41-48

Abstract

The article discusses the system of punishments used in Sparta for two offenses: for refusing to marry and for cowardice shown in battle. Ancient authors, especially Xenophon and Plutarch, give a list of punishments for these offenses. In court, the perpetrators were deprived of many of the rights directly related to the status of full citizens. Extrajudicial punishments were mostly spectacular and took place in public places. Spartan youth played a special role in the persecution of bachelors and so-called tremblers as the two main categories to be punished. However, the few testimonies that have come down to us do not make it possible to determine how often punishments for refusing to marry and for cowardice in battle were applied and how exactly they were formalised in practice. The almost complete absence in the tradition of specific examples of their application leads to the conclusion that the picture drawn by ancient authors does not fully correspond to reality. This is what Spartan propaganda wanted to present to the outside world. The writers-laconophiles, like Critias or Xenophon, in turn, used this material to create an ideal image of Sparta.

Author Biography

Larisa G. Pechatnova, Institute of History, Saint Petersburg State University, 5 Mendeleevskaya Line, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia

doctor of science (history), docent; professor at the department of history of Ancient Greece and Rome

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Published
2022-07-27
Keywords: Sparta, Spartans, Xenophon, Plutarch, gymnopaedia, atimia, bachelors, tremblers
Supporting Agencies The article was written with supported of the Russian Science Foundation within the framework on the project No. 20-09-00455 «Antique foundations of modern spectacle culture».
How to Cite
Pechatnova L. G. Analysis of Ancient tradition of punishments in Sparta // Journal of the Belarusian State University. History. 2022. 3. PP. 41-48.
Issue
No 3 (2022): Journal of the Belarusian State University. History
Section
World History

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