It keeps returning in the Israeli public debate over and over again: Sparta. In fact, the discussion centers around “super-Sparta,” the comment made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year. It caused an immediate reaction, with markets responding negatively, pundits criticizing the rhetoric, and even a protest featuring Israelis wearing togas smeared with red paint to voice their discontent – someone should have told them that Spartans wore tunics, loincloths, and red cloaks, but not togas, though. However, if Sparta is to be used as a reference, then it is useful to look at what the ancient Greek city-state actually was.

The image of Thermopylae

Throughout the ages, Spartans have been admired and revered for their status as elite warriors. The most obvious example that continues to be referred to is the heroism of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans who valiantly tried to resist a much larger Persian invasion force at the Battle of Thermopylae. They were defeated on the third day, when all of them perished. The appeal of this event is the Spartans’ honor, courage, fearlessness, and self-sacrifice. They were willing to lay down their lives to preserve Greek freedom. It has been the focus of praise in poetry and film. But the Spartans were not the only ones present.

On the third and final day Leonidas did not fight alone, as he was joined by Thespians and Thebans who fought and perished alongside of him, as explained by historian Andrew Bayliss in his recent book Sparta. And while Sparta did fight to preserve Greek autonomy and was considered the leader of the campaign by most Greeks, it was a monarchy with aristocratic and democratic elements, which made quite a lot of use of slave labor.

Spartan society in a nutshell

The Spartan constitution was seen as a balance of several political systems. As Donald Kagan explained in his book The Peloponnesian War, Sparta was ruled by a dual monarchy, that was supplemented by the gerousia, which was a council comprised of 28 men over the age of 60, who hailed from a small group of privileged families. This council sat with the kings in the highest court of the land, where kings could be charged – and several of them were. The democratic element was the assembly, where you would find male citizens over the age of 30. However, Kagan argued that the assembly had very limited power. Finally, the ephors held considerable power, a group of magistrates who were elected by Spartan citizens annually.

Spartans referred to themselves as homoioi or “similars.” Boys were taken into the agoge from the age of seven which, as explained by historian Paul Cartledge in his book The Spartans, was a system of education, training, and socialization that would turn boys into fighting men whose reputation for discipline, courage, and skill was unmatched. Upon reaching adulthood, they would have to apply for one of the communal messes, as Spartan citizens ate together – though, kings could choose their dinner companions and dine separately. If a Spartan was a member of a mess, that meant that each month foodstuffs needed to be contributed. Modern scholars argue that each member would need to have at least 15 hectares of land to sustain those contributions, as Spartan male citizens were not allowed to engage in trade or any other profession. In essence, that meant that each Spartan citizen was rich. Thus, while the gentlemen owned plenty of property and could perfect the art of war – as they were expected to – and engage in such other activities as sports – Sparta delivered quite a number of Olympic champions – and raising horses, women were surprisingly free, too.

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