Spartan Mora regiments at Battle of Plataea

[Paullus Scipio]

Kineas/Christian wrote:

That said, one of the things I truly like about Cartledge's brief article is that he's willing to accept that each of the Historians understood part of a changeing system--......What Thucydides mistook was that Spartan traditions were "ancient." (See 5.75.2). Like most ultra-conservative states, Sparta seems to have claimed that all their laws and customs were ancient, but even we amateurs can see that there was immense change in the Spartan military structure from 550 to 350.......Cartledge goes on to suppose that the Lokhos gave way to the Mora--neither was a subunit of another, but the Lokhos represents another system entirely, and that there was a major reform between Plataea and the Peloponessian Wars. Cartledge theorizes that the reform was a result of a manpower crisis, possibly as late as the 440s, and represented the first formal inclusion of Periokoi hoplites in the Spartan phalanx, directly, rather than in their own separate organizations.

Giannis wrote:

I thought that was the common notion!

Cartledge's views do represent "the common notion" - that Sparta's Hoplite organisation changed from 'lochoi' to 'Morai' and back to 'lochoi' again, that the earthquake in the 460's devastated Sparta's manpower, especially the 'Homioi' etc......but in my opinion, and others, such a view is now largely discredited, because the evidence (which of course can be interpreted in various ways) does not really support this view, which is somewhat superficial.
Now, one would need to write a book ( and many have ! )to fully set out why this should be so, or not so, and the subject cannot be fully argued on a forum such as this. However I will set out some of the reasons for thinking that 'Spartan' (but not Homioi) manpower did not significantly change, and that the six ‘Morai’ (lit:divisions) existed throughout this period.

In an earlier post, I explained why it was highly unlikely, if not impossible for the Spartan Army to ever have been organised into 5 units based on Oba.

The evidence does suggest that from an early time, three ‘Phyles’ ( clans; groups; peoples) named Hylleis, Dymanes and Pamphyloi ( mentioned by the poet Tyrtaeus for example, and Pindar implies they still existed into the 5 C BC ( Pythian I.120 fwd)
At some time early on, these ‘phyles’ were “divided” into two divisions ( ‘Morai ‘ lit: divisions) and certainly the Spartans themselves believed the six ‘Morai’ went back to ancient times, ascribing their creation to the mythical Lawgiver, Lycurgus ( Xen: Lac. Constitution XI.4)

There is nothing in Herodotus which is inconsistent with this organisation into Morai, Lochoi, Pentekostyes and Enomotia, even if Herodotus, like Thucydides does not use the word ‘Mora’, but there are only two passages where he gives details of organisation. He does however describe Amompheratus’ behaviour at Plataea as in contrast to “the other taxiarchoi” ( Herodotus IX.53.2 ). Even though he calls his unit a ‘lochos’, an Athenian ‘Taxiarch’ was the equivalent of the Spartan ‘Polemarch’ – who commanded a ‘Mora’. Herodotus even uses the word ‘Polemarch’ – he refers to Euainetos, the Spartan Commander at Tempe in 480 as “chosen from the Polemarchs” (VII.173.2). Herodotus too ascribes the creation of the ‘enomotia’ to Lycurgus i.e. it was already an ancient institution. Herodotus 5,000 Spartans at Plataea will have been the 6 ‘Morai’ with 25 age classes called up. On several occasions we hear of Spartan forces of 300, which are readily formed by choosing by lot one ‘enomotia’ ( 25 strong) from each of the 12 ‘lochoi’. Finally, Herodotus has exiled King Demaratus tell Xerxes that there were 8,000 men in the Spartan Army (Her. VII.234.2). Six ‘Morai’ at full strength ( all age classes called up) consists of 6 x 1280 = 7680, plus the 300 ‘Hippeis’ gives a total of 7,980 in the Spartan Army.

We have seen already that Thucydides must be wrong about Spartan numbers at First Mantinea ( almost all commentators agree on this), and that in all likelihood the Army there consisted of six ‘Morai’, consisting of 12 ‘lochoi’, with 2 more ‘lochoi’ of freed Helots – the ‘Brasideoi’ and ‘Neodamodeis’ amounting to a seventh ‘Mora’, and this essentially same Army continues through Xenophon, until the last chapter (VII) when three times, Xenophon casually refers to ‘Lochoi’.
Paralus wrote:

In every instance I've found that describes the Lacedaemonian army (7.1.30; 4.20; 5.10) the only unit mentioned is the lochos (the number of which is twelve). There surely is a reason that "mora" (often mentioned beforehand) is now gone from the pages of Xenophon's history.

At 1.30, King Archidamos is walking along the front of the Army, addressing the troops, presumably Lochos by Lochos ( his voice not carrying to address any larger body), as Toynbee suggests. The two other instances both refer to the same fact, namely that 3 of the 12 Lochoi are elswhere, and Toynbee suggests that it is simpler to say " 3 of the twelve lochoi" than " A mora and a half", while noting that elsewhere (IV.3.15) Xenophon does say "half a Mora".But as Lazenby has pointed out, "Half a Mora" need not be the same thing as a 'lochos'. Further, in book VII, Xenophon refers to Polemarchs - commanders of 'Morai' ( VII.1.17 and 25) clearly implying the continued existence of the six 'Morai'.
Paralus wrote:

Thuc. 4.8.1
On the return of the Peloponnesians from Attica the Spartans themselves and the nearest of the Perioeci at once set out for Pylos, the other Lacedaemonians following more slowly as they had just come in from another campaign...

Clearly Pereoici were taken with "the Spartans themselves". Thucydides later draws a distinction between heolt "batmen" and the other hoplites caught with the homoioi on the island

This is very doubtful to say the least. Despite Toynbee's hypothesis that one of the 'lochoi' in the 'Mora' was of 'perioikoi', there are many good reasons for thinking that they did not serve in 'Spartan' units- the six 'Morai'. As I pointed out previously, there is no mention of them in connection with Sphacteria. The quote from Thucydides you refer to is in connection with Pylos, captured by the Athenians and under siege by the Lakedaemonians. That all the prisoners were 'Spartans' if not 'Homioi' is implied by the extreme anxiety of Sparta to get them back. Furthermore, the garrison numbered "420 Hoplites with Helots to attend on them" (Thuc IV.8.9 and IV.16.1 describing their rations). 'Perioikoi' did not have Helots, so far as we know.