11-19-2003, 06:11 AM
Quote:</em></strong><hr>Spartans seem to have had no interest whatever in a charismatic, dictatorial leader.<hr><br>
Definitely. Some elements, in particular the dual kingship; the Council of Ephors; and the idea of citizenship (for the <em>homoioi</em> class) and the concomitant ability to vote in the full Assembly, compare favorably to the Roman Republic (two consuls; senate; Roman citizenship). What made the Romans so much stronger was that they were more inclusive, i.e., the second generation or so after they conquered a people, those people could aspire to becoming "Roman". The Spartans were exactly the opposite, with many ways for the few thousand <em>homoioi</em> to get "demoted" out of Peer status, and no way to get back in, or introduce new blood. At the end there were only a few hundred Spartiates.<br>
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Definitely. Some elements, in particular the dual kingship; the Council of Ephors; and the idea of citizenship (for the <em>homoioi</em> class) and the concomitant ability to vote in the full Assembly, compare favorably to the Roman Republic (two consuls; senate; Roman citizenship). What made the Romans so much stronger was that they were more inclusive, i.e., the second generation or so after they conquered a people, those people could aspire to becoming "Roman". The Spartans were exactly the opposite, with many ways for the few thousand <em>homoioi</em> to get "demoted" out of Peer status, and no way to get back in, or introduce new blood. At the end there were only a few hundred Spartiates.<br>
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