Re-evaluating Spartiate Life: A Grassroots Perspective

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 13 September 2019

Time:

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Room:

Room 536

UQ Location:

Michie Building (St Lucia)

URL:

https://hpi.uq.edu.au/event/session/4265

Event category(s):

Full Description:: My paper will examine the daily lives of the adult male citizens of classical Sparta, the Spartiates, approaching the subject from a new perspective that swims against the tide of previous approaches, ancient and modern. Traditional approaches have typically viewed Spartiate life from the top down: in antiquity from the perspective of Sparta’s legendary lawgiver Lykourgos: in recent times from that of the ‘Spartan state’. In contrast, I will attempt to view Spartiate life from the standpoint of rank-and-file Spartiates. Focusing on the diverse range of groups and gatherings in which Spartiates spent their daily lives, I will challenge the standard view that the activities of adult Spartiates were closely controlled. I will argue that Spartiate life included large amounts of time to conduct one’s private affairs; that the multiplicity of groups led to a diffusion of official control; and that the self-regulating character of many groups provided citizens, especially wealthy ones, with considerable scope to shape the precise character of their everyday lives.