Politics Book 2 Summary: Sparta and Crete

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Politics Book 2 Summary Sparta and Crete

• PHIL 2011
• 2006-07

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Ancient Greece, including Crete
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Views of the Outside World Athens

• Yesterday I went down to the Piræusto worship
  the goddess and also because I wanted to see how
  they would conduct the festival on this, its
  first performance (Rep., 327a).
• Plato refers to Bendis, the Thracians hunting
  goddess (like Artemis).

• Our city is open to the world, and we have no
  periodical deportation in order to prevent people
  observing or finding out secrets which might be
  of military advantage to the enemy (Thucydi-
  des, Pericles Funeral Oration, History of the
  Peloponnesian War).

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Spartan Exclusion of Foreigners

• Dual purpose
• Preserve Spartan way of life, laws and virtue
• Discourage trade Result of iron coinage
  prescribed by Lycurgus
• Some foreign soldiers allowed, attested by Xen.,
  Const. Lac.

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Aristotles critique of Sparta

• In relation to Crete

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Comparison of Institutions of Sparta Crete
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Consequences of collective enslavement

• Its importance is generally accepted in a
  well-ordered state
• citizens should have leisure and not have to
  provide for their daily wants (49)
• Slave revolts occur when a class of serfs, e.g.
  Helots, can ally w/ masters neighbors, who are
  also enemies
• when these are the results the citizens of a
  state have not found out the secret of managing
  their subject population (50)
• Cretan lawgiver gave Perioeci (serfs) same
  institutions as everyone else, but forbade them
  weapons and gymnastic (38).

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Womens domination

• All warrior peoples, except the homosexual ones
  (Celts), are dominated by women
• Men at war women rule at home
• Spartan women especially unruly due to their
  considerable wealth, own 2/5 of the country
• half the city may be regarded as having no
  laws (50)
• Wealthy due to their dowries and ability to
  inherit under Spartan law (51)
• Wealth is valued where women dominateis there
  any justification for such a claim?

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Spartas citizen deficit

• Xenophon reports that Sparta is powerful despite
  its low population
• Aristotle diagnoses a severe dearth of citizens a
  few decades later
• From 10,000 in past to 1,000 citizens
• Better to equalize property so that all may have
  minimum support (see common meals)
• Law encourages large families, but inheritance
  practices lead to unequal land distribution, so
  many receive nothing
• Crete law separates men from women, lest they
  should have too many children (55).

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Common meals a democratic institution?

• This institution is directly related to the land
  distribution
• Spartan land is entirely private, providing the
  food
• Result the poor cannot contribute, leading to
  loss of citizenship (53-4, 55)
• Crete common meals better managed than the
  Lacedaemonian, and of a more popular
  character
• Source Tribute of perioeci and produce from
  public lands.

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Social Consequences of Land Distribution

• Sparta all property private fruits are shared,
  but many are too poor to contribute
• Crete Public land plays a significant role in
  political institutions, which are model for those
  of Sparta (54)
• one portion is assigned to the gods meaning?
  and the service of the state (55)
• Another portion of public land provides for the
  common meals
• Rest is presumably privately held
• Common meals and public land are discussed
  further in Book VII.

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High Office
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A final word about Sparta

• The charge which Plato brings, in the Laws,
  against the intention of the legislator
  Lycurgus, is likewise justified the whole
  constitution has regard to one part of excellence
  onlythe excellence of the soldier, which gives
  victory in war. So long as they were at war,
  therefore, their power was preserved, but when
  they had attained empire they fell, for of the
  arts of peace they knew nothing (54).
• The telos of Sparta is misguided, according to
  Aristotle.

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Todays Question

• Despite Aristotle's criticisms, Sparta was a
  well- known and successful state Aristotle did
  study it after all. Sparta's success was due to
  its sole focus on, and expertise in, military.
  That seemed to be a large part of what was
  necessary for that time and place however, on
  what would a small- or medium-sized state in
  current times need to focus in order to attain
  significant global presence?
• Using modern examples, discuss the ethical
  ramifications of such a state.
• Also discuss the possibility of success for such
  a potentially domineering state. If this
  question confuses anybody, feel free to ask.