Plutarch’s historical work On Sparta is a vivid and compelling description of Spartan life, and their contributions to modern philosophy, warfare, and other elements of life, to which they have made significant knowledge contributions. Spartan customs, and the rise and fall of their kingdom, are both of interest to current readers, because their culture influenced the rest of Europe profoundly, even after it’s’ eventual decline in the third century B.C. It is a compelling read, depicting some extremely significant historical moments, and characters, and offering tidbits of wisdom still applicable today
Plutarch was a Greek Historian, and biographer, who is known for not only his biographies, but also his essays. The work ON Sparta, was not originally arranged into the text that is presented to us today, but rather is a collection of shorter works, or essays which Plutarch happened ot write on Sparta, which have post-humusly been organized into a single, unified text. As such, it is important for the reader not to take too much meaning from the organization of the text. It is not arranged according to a ranking system, or chronologically, but rather by the preference of the editor which complied the modern collection of historical works.
Plutarch organized the text into two primary sections: biographies of significant individuals, and sayings of the Spartans. As such, it serves primarily as an intellectual history, offering the wisdom of a previous generation of significant men and women, and cataloguing their knowledge and beliefs. This approach narrowed the field of individuals of interest, for biographical consideration, and lead Plutarch to include Lycurgus, author of major military reform, Agesilaus, king and leader of the Spartan expansion, Agis, known for his “loftiness of spirit”, and Cleomenes, the brilliant tactician. Additionally it leads Plutarch to include sayings that were common to the Spartan people, which contained specific knowledge or wisdom.
The text was well translated, and surprisingly readable given the historical nature of the documents, and had enough suspense and intrigue to interest the pleasure reader, as well as the researcher or historian. Though it does not have a continuous plot, but is rather broken down into a series of shorter essays, it contains murder, wars created by man, avarice, coups d’tet, political conspiracy, and examples of excellent bravery and honor. This, all together makes for a both interesting and educational read.
It is clear, from the overall tone of the work that Plutarch’s work that he highly admires, and generally approves of the Spartan society as a whole. His writings, as it relates to Spartan leadership and philosophy, demonstrate not only a weighted respect, but also a clear delineation to modern times. More specifically, Plutarch’s writings make it clear that there are elements of their legal and military structures which have heavily influenced the development of Western societies, as well.
That said, however, there are certainly elements of Spartan society which provide a cautionary tale to western society. For example, Sparta developed a reputation for brutality, that was casually administered, and only coarsely justified, and demonstrated a level of aggression in expansion and in foreign policy which ultimately lead to the city-states down fall. Further, the Agog system, which trained children to steal and to kill, and the Spartan practice of allowing the uneducated rule both represent some of the most reprehensible
Perhaps the most interesting single facet of the book is the collection of sayings by Spartan women. This is significant because the quotes given demonstrate that the women played an active role in the shaping of Sparta’s culture, and the development of Spartan life. In fact, these sayings, and the anecdotes that surrounding them are not only entertaining, but demonstrate that women were, in ancient Sparta, and empowered class. This is significant because it contrasts with other peer cultures, and because it gives a more well-rounded view of the society as a whole, by including both the masculine and feminine points of view.
Overall, Plutarch’s On Sparta was an entertaining and educational read, with a number of interesting features from both a linguistic and a historic perspective. The text gave biographies of a number of significant intellectual characters from the Spartan city-state, as well as giving a wider view of the intellectual positions and philosophies of the Spartan people through a collection of sayings. The text could be equally recommended for those interested in research on the Spartan people and their impact on western society, and those who enjoy reading nonfiction texts that are biographical in nature. The text is significant, not only in preserving the historical record of Spartan’s and their culture, customs and leadership, but also in tracing the impact that that culture had on future cultures. The reader may most specifically see their delineation to modern western society, but other applications could be made where appropriate. It is, therefore, worthy of recommendation and valuable for reading, for a variety of readers, and for scholars reading for a variety of different purposes.
Works cited
Plutarch, Richard J. A. Talbert, Ian Scott-Kilvert, and Plutarch. Plutarch on Sparta. London: Penguin, 2005. Print.
