04-24-2008, 01:34 AM
Mention of Hypomeiones opens up a veritable pandora's box, Paul !
Like other poleis, Spartan society was complex and consisted of many classes, not just Homioi/peers/equals, Helots/serfs and Perioikoi/dwellers round about/neighbours.The Perioikoi, incidently seem to have shared many of the Homioi's characteristics, but were'neighbours' rather than Spartans...for example, they were fellow Dorians ( according to Isocrates), gentlemen landowners with cleroi, they competed at Olympia separately from the Spartans, but on an equal basis, and 'gentlemen Perioikoi volunteers' served on occasion, and were evidently treated as equal to Homioi.Herodotus speaks of "the many towns of the Lakonians" and Strabo tells us there were formerly 100 towns, but by his day only 30.
Helots/serfs could serve as psiloi/euzanoi/light troops or rowers in the fleet, and beginning with Brasidas' 700 in 424 BC, as Hoplites, who must have been equipped by the state.(Thuc IV.80)
Between the Homioi and the Helots were several classes of 'inferiors' (i.e. inferior to Homioi).
There were the Parthenoi, partly legendary, who apparently left Sparta and founded Tarentum in Magna Graecia/Italy.
There are Mothakes, apparently sometimes helot playmates or sometimes foster children who shared the Spartan education system/agoge with their masters or 'foster brothers'.
There were also trophimoi -'strangers' who were probably foreigners who underwent the agoge (like Xenophon's sons) and illegitimate off-spring of Homioi 'persons of excellent appearance and not unacquainted with the discipline of the state' (Xen Hellenica V.3, speaking of those accompanying Agesilaos in 380 BC on expedition to Olynthus)
There are neo-damodeis/newly enfranchised, or freed Helots who served as Hoplites in the Army ( as many as 2000 in Agesilaus army in Asia).
Myron of Priene states that Spartans often freed their slaves ( i.e. real slaves, not Helots) who were called aphetai/released, or adespotoi/masterless, and other names.
Then there were tradesmen (not all of whom were perioikoi)and foreigners, including ( in later years at least) a jewish colony.
Finally we come to the mysterious Hypomeiones, mentioned only once (Xen Hellenica III.6) which seems to be a generic term for those Spartans not Homioi or helots.. The abortive revolutionary Kinadon, who did not want to be 'inferior' to anyone in Sparta was likely one of these. Busolt suggested Hypomeiones included Homioi who through poverty, or some other reason lost their membership and priveleges of the syssitia/messes.
Paul's post opened another thought:
I quickly checked Thucydides to see if he specifically refers to perioikoi among the prisoners from Sphacteria. He does not! He only says(IV.38 ) that of the 292 prisoners 'about 120 were Homioi'. This opens up the possibility that some, or even all, of the rest were Hypomeiones.....
However, this does not alter the fact that some time after the earthquake of 464 BC, Perioikoi formed part of the Spartan Morai/brigades. Furthermore, these did not serve together, but were apparently distributed among all the Morai, as is evidenced by the Lechaeum incident (Xen Hellenica IV. 5 ff) Agesilaos releases all the 'Amyclaeans'(from the perioikoi town of Amyclae) " ..out of all his army.." on leave to celebrate the Hyacinthia festival. In addition, the fact that the Skiritai formed a lochos of their own implies other perioikoi did not....
OTOH, there are many passages in Xen. Hellenica where he implies the Perioikoi still supply separate contingents ( e.g. where Kings wait on the borders for Perioikoi contingents to join them, though it is possible that these are an integral part of the Morai...), and elsewhere Xenophon seems to confusingly include perioikoi when referring to "the citizens" or the "citizen army" (e.g. Xen Hellenica VII.1, VII.4.20 and VII.4.27 where some of the prisoners from "the citizens" include perioikoi.) Now Xenophon knew perfectly well that perioikoi were not citizens, so must refer here to 'citizen units' i.e. the Morai.
Which brings us to Paul's second passage which to most is quite conclusive - Isocrates specifically says they served "man for man side by side with themselves" and even "some they stationed in the first rank"....but some object, and say that Isocrates is not being literal, but simply means that perioikoi got to share the same dangers, without the priveleges.
For myself, I believe overall that the evidence is sufficiently strong that perioikoi came to serve in the Morai, but that exactly when, and in what numbers, is blurred by the fact that there are other classes of non-Homioi who will also have served in the citizen Morai, such as Hypomeiones/inferiors. (Helots who served as hoplites evidently did so in separate units such as the Brasidioi or Neo-damodeis)
Like other poleis, Spartan society was complex and consisted of many classes, not just Homioi/peers/equals, Helots/serfs and Perioikoi/dwellers round about/neighbours.The Perioikoi, incidently seem to have shared many of the Homioi's characteristics, but were'neighbours' rather than Spartans...for example, they were fellow Dorians ( according to Isocrates), gentlemen landowners with cleroi, they competed at Olympia separately from the Spartans, but on an equal basis, and 'gentlemen Perioikoi volunteers' served on occasion, and were evidently treated as equal to Homioi.Herodotus speaks of "the many towns of the Lakonians" and Strabo tells us there were formerly 100 towns, but by his day only 30.
Helots/serfs could serve as psiloi/euzanoi/light troops or rowers in the fleet, and beginning with Brasidas' 700 in 424 BC, as Hoplites, who must have been equipped by the state.(Thuc IV.80)
Between the Homioi and the Helots were several classes of 'inferiors' (i.e. inferior to Homioi).
There were the Parthenoi, partly legendary, who apparently left Sparta and founded Tarentum in Magna Graecia/Italy.
There are Mothakes, apparently sometimes helot playmates or sometimes foster children who shared the Spartan education system/agoge with their masters or 'foster brothers'.
There were also trophimoi -'strangers' who were probably foreigners who underwent the agoge (like Xenophon's sons) and illegitimate off-spring of Homioi 'persons of excellent appearance and not unacquainted with the discipline of the state' (Xen Hellenica V.3, speaking of those accompanying Agesilaos in 380 BC on expedition to Olynthus)
There are neo-damodeis/newly enfranchised, or freed Helots who served as Hoplites in the Army ( as many as 2000 in Agesilaus army in Asia).
Myron of Priene states that Spartans often freed their slaves ( i.e. real slaves, not Helots) who were called aphetai/released, or adespotoi/masterless, and other names.
Then there were tradesmen (not all of whom were perioikoi)and foreigners, including ( in later years at least) a jewish colony.
Finally we come to the mysterious Hypomeiones, mentioned only once (Xen Hellenica III.6) which seems to be a generic term for those Spartans not Homioi or helots.. The abortive revolutionary Kinadon, who did not want to be 'inferior' to anyone in Sparta was likely one of these. Busolt suggested Hypomeiones included Homioi who through poverty, or some other reason lost their membership and priveleges of the syssitia/messes.
Paul's post opened another thought:
I quickly checked Thucydides to see if he specifically refers to perioikoi among the prisoners from Sphacteria. He does not! He only says(IV.38 ) that of the 292 prisoners 'about 120 were Homioi'. This opens up the possibility that some, or even all, of the rest were Hypomeiones.....
However, this does not alter the fact that some time after the earthquake of 464 BC, Perioikoi formed part of the Spartan Morai/brigades. Furthermore, these did not serve together, but were apparently distributed among all the Morai, as is evidenced by the Lechaeum incident (Xen Hellenica IV. 5 ff) Agesilaos releases all the 'Amyclaeans'(from the perioikoi town of Amyclae) " ..out of all his army.." on leave to celebrate the Hyacinthia festival. In addition, the fact that the Skiritai formed a lochos of their own implies other perioikoi did not....
OTOH, there are many passages in Xen. Hellenica where he implies the Perioikoi still supply separate contingents ( e.g. where Kings wait on the borders for Perioikoi contingents to join them, though it is possible that these are an integral part of the Morai...), and elsewhere Xenophon seems to confusingly include perioikoi when referring to "the citizens" or the "citizen army" (e.g. Xen Hellenica VII.1, VII.4.20 and VII.4.27 where some of the prisoners from "the citizens" include perioikoi.) Now Xenophon knew perfectly well that perioikoi were not citizens, so must refer here to 'citizen units' i.e. the Morai.
Which brings us to Paul's second passage which to most is quite conclusive - Isocrates specifically says they served "man for man side by side with themselves" and even "some they stationed in the first rank"....but some object, and say that Isocrates is not being literal, but simply means that perioikoi got to share the same dangers, without the priveleges.
For myself, I believe overall that the evidence is sufficiently strong that perioikoi came to serve in the Morai, but that exactly when, and in what numbers, is blurred by the fact that there are other classes of non-Homioi who will also have served in the citizen Morai, such as Hypomeiones/inferiors. (Helots who served as hoplites evidently did so in separate units such as the Brasidioi or Neo-damodeis)
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
