Category Archives: History

Sparta: Greece’s Superpower

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Typical Spartan warrior.

When one hears the word Sparta, images of elite soldiers fighting the forces of Persia usually come to mind. However, few know of the home life of Sparta or how they became the ancient military powerhouse they’re remembered as today. 

Spartan militarism began with the invasion of Messenia in the 8th century BC. After conquering Messenia, Sparta enslaved the inhabitants and gave its own citizens use of Messenian lands. The slaves were treated poorly by their Spartan captors, a situation which boiled over and eventually resulted in a mass slave revolt. The Spartans quelled this rebellion, but to prevent such an uprising from happening again Sparta became much more militaristic in order to keep the Messenians in subjugation. Moving forward, this is why Sparta would have such an intent focus on military strength. 

At age seven, Spartan males left home for 13 years of military training. The boys were given one cloak, no shoes, and just enough food to keep them alive. The winters were cold and the food was barely enough to live off of, so they had to steal or forage extra to survive. However, if they were caught stealing, they would be harshly punished. 

After this arduous training at age 20, these soldiers entered into the citizen army and were allowed to marry. At age 30, they became citizens but despite this achievement still had to eat at public mess halls. This helped to enforce the idea that the State and Sparta were more important than one’s own family. Even though the quality of each individual soldier was far superior to that of Athens or the other Greek city states, the Spartans did have two significant challenges. Firstly, Sparta did not have a strong navy to rival the Athenian navy. Secondly, fears of slave revolts forced Sparta to keep a significant amount of troops in the homeland. These disadvantages would become evident in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Nevertheless, on land Sparta’s military was unmatched. 

While Sparta’s military prowess is often discussed, life in Sparta is relatively unknown by most people. Even though certain aspects of their history, such as their treatment of the Messenians, were abhorrent, we still must learn what led up to them being the Greek superpower they would eventually become. 

Hesiod’s Theogony

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Pin on Fashion History: Ancient Greece
Sculpture of the Greek god Zeus.

Poetry and plays provide insight into the lives of the ancient Greeks. Their religion was ritual-based, each city-state had its own separate rituals, and citizenship was open only by participating in these customs. Performing as part of the annual festival of the god Dionysus, plays and poems helped unite the society. 

One of these poems was Hesiod’s “Theogony” which was written around 750 BC. In “Theogony,” Hesiod discusses the origins of the Mount Olympus’ gods who are not the same as the local gods, city gods, or gods of the underworld. Although it is the most well-known poem about the story of the gods, it’s not the only one. 

The whole opening section of the poem is a description of gods called “muses”: the daughters of Zeus. He is the supreme god but not omnipotent and he worries about being overthrown. 

Hesiod was a pious man, telling readers to respect the gods and even claiming that the gods told him in a vision to write the poem. However, he highlights multiple times in “Theogony” that they do many immoral and vile things such as murder, deception, and vengeance. Hesiod even points out that since there are no ethical rules among the gods, peace is impossible. 

The story of creation is told in “Theogony” and goes like this: the god chaos was first, then chaos created earth and from chaos came night and day, then earth bore heaven. The gods use humans to get their will and create war and conflict on earth. Interestingly, at birth men are chosen to be either good or evil, and their fate is also decided at that time by the gods. Like in the Old Testament of the Bible, the five fundamental themes are shown in “Theogony.” Sanctions are displayed when men are punished during a feud between two gods. The sanctions include suffering death, blame, woe, and “ruthless avenging fates.” One of these fates is women, who were created to destroy men and are referred to as the “deadly race.” Hierarchy is shown through “Theogony” as well with there being a complex order amongst the gods, with Zeus being supreme. 

The Silver Age of Latin Literature and The Roman Dynasties

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The Roman Empire at its peak in 117 AD during the Pax Romana.

The Silver Age of Latin Literature took place during the first century AD, and a plethora of stupendous books and plays were written during this time. One of the Age’s greatest writers was Seneca, who wrote nine tragedies covering topics in Greek Mythology. “Apocolocyntosis” was a satirical play, but also a bitter skit about the deification of Claudius. Seneca was the tutor of the future emperor Nero, and in his plays he mentioned Nero many times. When Seneca retired, he devoted himself to philosophical writings. Other notable writers include: Juvenal (59-140), who wrote satire about the moral decay of Rome, which attacked women, Jews, and Greeks; Suetonius (born 70) and Tacticus (56-117), who both wrote books on the early history of Rome and Julius Caesar; and Quintillian, who wrote “The Institutes of Oratory,” a guide on how to be a good speaker and was still influential in the Middle Ages. 

The Pax Romana (the Roman Peace) was a period of prosperity, peace, and wealth, and was the peak of the Roman Empire’s power. It lasted from 14-180 AD. Unlike the emperors before, Augustus Caesar and the emperors after him left a large standing army even in times of peace to insure that no one would dare rebelling against their rule. Augustus had no male heir, so in 14 AD, Caesar Tiberius took over, starting the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. 

Christians being maytred in a coliseum under Emperor Nero.

Extravagant with his spending and cruel, Caesar Gaius was the second emperor of the dynasty. He was later assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, who then made Nero emperor in 54. Although he started his reign as a respected emperor, he later went insane. Nero killed his own mother, ramped up killings of Christians, and after a rebellion, committed suicide in 68. His reign was followed by a period of unrest and turmoil.  

In 69, there were four different emperors who tried to gain power over the empire. Finally, Vespasian took control and stabilized the situation, and would rule until 79, making him the first emperor of the Flavian Dynasty, which would last until 96. Caesar Titus (79-81) had a short but prosperous rule and was well liked by most people in the empire. Under his reign, no one was executed and he built many great structures like the Coliseum. Domitian had an honorable start to his reign, but after a revolt by the provincial governor, he grew suspicious of everyone. Killing many Christians and philosophers, Domitian declared that he and his family were gods. When his reign ended in 96, it marked the end of the Flavian Dynasty. 

From 96-180 there was a period of five good emperors, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pious, and Marcus Aurelius (166-180). However, the latter became a vicious and incompetent emperor, and was eventually assassinated. In the 3rd century, the emperors got weaker as the barbarians to the north grew stronger.

Roman Aqueduct in France that is still standing today.

Caesar Vespastian began construction on the Coliseum in Rome in 72, which was completed by Titus in 80. During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Romans built many aqueducts: long bridge-like systems that moved water from the source to towns and cities. The ruins of some of these aqueducts are still standing today. The peak of the Roman Empire was in 117 AD, and after this there was a slow downfall of the empire until it eventually split and dissolved.