With reference to Source A and other sources, what does the evidence reveal about people’s lives in this period? (2011: 15 marks)
SOURCE A
He [Lycurgus] even authorised them [the Spartans] to use other people’s household servants if anybody needed them. He also authorised hunting dogs to be shared, so that men who need some, ask to take them on their hunt, and the owner is pleased to send them if he is not at leisure himself.
Excerpt from Xenophon,Constitution of the Spartans 6.
MODEL ANSWER
The three social classes in Sparta lived very different daily lives. The vast majority of Spartiates were full-time soldiers, so spent most of their time in the barracks or at home on their estates. Their wives managed those estates when their husbands were away, and brought up their children. Helots also lived on those estates, working as agricultural labourers and domestic servants. Perioikoi, by contrast, lived in the towns and cities, where they worked as craftsmen (potters, painters, builders), traders, bakers, fishermen and miners.
Although Spartanswere expected to to devote their lives to service of the state, it is likely that they had more free time than their counterparts in other Greek states, as all manual labour was done by the helots and perioikoi. Leisure activities were highly valued in Sparta – particularly those requiring physical exertion. For men, such activities included hunting, horse racing, chariot racing and athletics (running, wrestling, javelin throwing and discus throwing) – all of which are depicted on pottery that has been recovered in Sparta. Men also enjoyed singing, dancing and feasting. Lycurgus even encouraged Spartiates to share their hunting dogs, so that all might enjoy the leisurely pursuits. (See Source A) We know far less about the leisure activities of women, but can assume theywould have included singing, dancing and music. Certainly, women were encouraged to engage in athletics, and even competed in the Olympic Games. Pausanias tells us that the Spartan princess Cynisca was the only woman ever to win an event at these games. That event was chariot racing.
Dining was another key aspect of daily life in Sparta. The Spartan diet was designed to produce the healthiest and fittest warriors. Hence, Spartans ate well, though not to excess. Their staples consisted of grains (like wheat and barley), fruit, vegetables, cheese, milk and wine. Meat and fish were rarer, but still consumed. The Spartans got their meat from sheep, pigs and goats. They also hunted wild boar and hare.
The Spartan national dish was ‘black soup’, which was produced from boiled pork, salt, vinegar and pig’s blood. In actual fact, it would probably not have been consumed all that often, as it was reputed to taste foul.
Although the Spartans drank wine, they did so in moderation, as drunkenness was disapproved of. Wine was often watered down, so as to retain the taste but not the effect.
It is likely that the perioikoi also ate reasonably well, but the diet of the helots would have been significantly worse (though doubtless better than that of slaves in the rest of Greece).
We don’t know a lot about the everyday clothing of Spartan men, as they were usually depicted wearing full hoplite armour. We do know that Spartan clothing, like everything else in the state, was simple and austere. Soldiers would have worn a tunic and a red cloak. (The cloak was died red so it would hide the blood of wounded soldiers. Enemies would therefore not know how much damage they had inflicted.) Aristotle tells us that even the wealthy wore similar clothing to the poor.
Spartan women wore short tunics that exposed their thighs. This liberated them to pursue more physical activities than their counterparts in other Greek states.
Helots were forced to wear dog-skin caps and animal skins, to mark out their inferior status.
Hence, daily life for citizens in Sparta was not as ‘spartan’ as the myth would have us believe. Spartiates ate well and enjoyed plenty of leisure time – something relatively rare in Greece during the Classical period.
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