Spartan Mora regiments at Battle of Plataea

[Paralus]

......the Herodotus quote is not relevant to the statement, since it refers to the assembly of Pausanias' army ( the 5,000 Spartans, attended by Helots, had already marched) for the Plataea campaign, following the building of the wall across the ismuth of Corinth to defend against Xerxes. It does demonstrate however that at the time of the Persian Wars, the Periokoi served separately...

That depends upon how one reads Herodotus. Clearly – and without any doubt – there were periocoi within the “Spartan” army at Plataea; an army Herodotus refers to as the “Spartans” or “the Lacedaemonians”. Paul Mac’s view would have these periocoi brigaded separately – due to the fact that they marched out separately no doubt. The problem is that Herodotus is replete with detail about the battle and its results. Amongst that description there is no mention of periocoi. To reinforce that Herodotus, when he describes the dead, has no periocoi dead – none.

Perhaps Herodotus forgot to mention them just as Paul Mac would have Xenophon forget them.

Perhaps they were ranged behind the homoioi – the best being in the front for the defence of Greece – and so suffered few (if any) casualties?? To mangle the great Crimean War poem:

Tegeans dropping to the left of them,
Homoioi to the right
Into the valley of death pushed the brave Periocoi,
Not a one them dead….

Hardly possible, one thinks, that no separately brigaded periocoi had to be buried?

As well, it might be well to keep in mind Xenophon’s description (5.1.33) of his hero – Agesilaos – leading the Spartan army out in 386:

Agesilaus, however, on account of his hatred for the Thebans, did not delay, but after winning over the ephors proceeded at once to perform his sacrifices. And when the offering at the frontier proved favourable, upon his arrival at Tegea he sent horsemen hither and thither among the Perioeci to hasten their coming, and likewise sent mustering officers to the various cities of the allies…

Oh dear, seems like the “Spartans” might have met up with the periocoi elsewhere more often than thought. It certainly puts Herodotus’ single line in a different light.

In the end nothing is absolute but, the action of Agesilaos at Tegea suggests – strongly to me – that the Spartans did not ever settle on the make-up of an army (including their “own”) until the “contingents” finally arrived. The Ephors might well have called up those homoioi from the year classes 20-35 but the army will not have taken “proper” order (by mora or lochoi) until the arrival of the periocoi (and allies).

There is no evidence that clearly indicates that the periocoi fought in separate units. Rather, the reality seems to be that the periocoi fought as a part of the mora/lochoi and died just as well the homoi. Either that or they were not at Mantinea (418) or Leuktra.

And then there is Isokrates (12.8.180):

And, having despoiled them [the periocoi] of all the rights which free men ought to share, they imposed upon them the greatest part in all dangers. For in the campaigns which were conducted by their kings they not only ranged them man for man side by side with themselves, but some they stationed in the first line, and whenever need arose to dispatch a relief-force anywhere and they themselves were afraid of the hardships or the dangers or the length of time involved, they sent them forth to take the brunt of the danger from all the rest.

Somewhat contiguous with Xenophon – though outliving him – one can only suppose that Isokrates invented this for a political reason?