It
is one of the ironies of recorded history that we generally know much
more about the tiny, ruling elite in any society than about the masses
that actually composed it. Thus we know about the lives and loves of
medieval kings, but little about the peasants that represented more than
90% of their subjects. Likewise, Lacedaemonian history is dominated by
the tiny class of Spartiates, albeit a great deal has also been written
about the allegedly unjustly oppressed helots. The segment of
Lacedaemonian society that has received the least scholarly attention is
the “middle class” – the perioikoi.
The
lack of modern literature on the perioikoi is undoubtedly a result of
the lack of historical and archeological information about this segment
of Spartan society. The fact is, we know almost nothing about them --
not their origins, their history, the density of population, their laws
or the nature of their relationship with the ruling Spartiates or their
relationship to helots.
The
lack of archaeological finds has led some historians to hypothesize that
they were an essentially rural population, hardly better off than the
helots themselves. Yet the very fact that they provided hoplites in at
least equal numbers as the Spartiates casts serious doubt on this
conclusion. I would also note that the archaeological finds in Sparta
itself hardly reflect the might and wealth that we know Sparta enjoyed.
For whatever reasons, the existing archaeological evidence from
Lacedaemon is an incomplete, indeed inadequate, reflection of the
society that inhabited the region in the 7th to 3rd Centuries BC.
John
Chadwick in “The Mycenaean World" claims that the Mycenaeans found a
native population on the Peloponnese, which they subjugated. When the
Dorians invaded, they conquered the remnants of the Mycenaeans. This
sequence of events might explain the three class system in Lacedaemon:
the helots were the original inhabitants already reduced to serf-like
status by the Mycenaeans, and the Mycenaeans became the perioikoi after
the Dorian invasion. All three groups were essentially ethnically
distinct and status depended on who had conquered whom. The situation
appears to have been stable until the Spartans invaded Messenia and
subdued another Dorian population. But all this is speculation.
Yet,
while we know almost nothing about the perioikoi, we can infer a great
deal. We know, for example, that in the later years of the Peloponnesian
war, perioikoi hoplites were fully integrated with Spartan units – and
that implies comparable levels of training, equipment and above all
trust. While the enemies of Sparta (and modern commentators) make much
of the hostility of the helots to Spartiate rule, the loyalty of the
perioikoi is rarely questioned – or mentioned, despite its significance.
We also know that Sparta had a fleet but that Spartiates had virtually no opportunity to gain the extremely complex knowledge necessary to build and sail ancient vessels. We know that Spartiates were prohibited from pursuing any profession other than that of arms and civic service, yet Lacedaemon had extensive international trade. We know further that Lacedaemon produced and exported timber, pottery, and bronze works. It had mines and quarries, and, of course, every kind of craft necessary to daily life in the ancient world from carpentry and metal working to tanning and basket-weaving. Who provided the manpower and the know-how for all these various industries, if the Spartiates were prohibited and the helots were working the land?
We also know that Sparta had a fleet but that Spartiates had virtually no opportunity to gain the extremely complex knowledge necessary to build and sail ancient vessels. We know that Spartiates were prohibited from pursuing any profession other than that of arms and civic service, yet Lacedaemon had extensive international trade. We know further that Lacedaemon produced and exported timber, pottery, and bronze works. It had mines and quarries, and, of course, every kind of craft necessary to daily life in the ancient world from carpentry and metal working to tanning and basket-weaving. Who provided the manpower and the know-how for all these various industries, if the Spartiates were prohibited and the helots were working the land?
The
logical answer is the perioikoi. Furthermore, by ascribing to the
perioikoi these various urban professions generally held by citizens in
other Greek cities, we quickly see a way in which the perioikoi could
have been both integrated and co-opted into Spartan society despite
their undeniable second-class political status. The Perioikoi had no
voice in Spartan policy and yet were expected to risk their lives
side-by-side with the Spartiates. It hardly seems credible that they
would have accepted this situation for long – particularly in the bad
years of the Peloponnesian War – if they had not enjoyed other benefits.
The
financial benefits of a monopoly on industry and trade throughout the
rich territory of Lacedaemon could be such an incentive. The very
restrictive nature of Spartan citizenship, which confined Spartiates to
the army and civic duties, opened immense opportunities for the
perioikoi to enrich themselves. Even if completely excluded from
land-holding (which to my knowledge they were not, but which might have
been the case when the Spartiate population was expanding in the archaic
era), there would still have been ample opportunities to not only earn a
living but make a fortune as well. The experience of other societies
shows that a manufacturing and trading middle-class can indeed prosper
even when politically disenfranchised (see, for example, Medieval
France). This, I believe, is the key to perioikoi loyalty and the
essential character of the Spartiate-Perioikoi contract.
While
Spartiates reserved political power to themselves and evolved a culture
that disdained the public display of wealth; the perioikoi traded
political enfranchisement for the dual benefits of economic freedom and
security. Behind the shields of Sparta’s incomparable army, the
perioikoi were free to enrich themselves for generations. Only after
Sparta fell into decline and her citizen ranks grew too thin to
guarantee the protection of Lacedaemon did the Spartiate-Perioikoi
contract begin to unravel. The decline of Spartiate population forced an
increasing dependence on perioikoi troops, which put perioikoi at ever
greater risk. As long as Sparta was winning wars, that might have been
acceptable, but once Sparta was defeated at Leuktra a perpetual
disenfranchisement of the periokoi became untenable. Throughout the
archaic period, however, the division of labor between Spartiate and
perioikoi appears to have worked admirably.
Perioikoi play an important role in both A Peerless Peer and A Heroic King:
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Perioikoi play an important role in both A Peerless Peer and A Heroic King:
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Great article Helena as every one of yours!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and thanks for taking the time to comment!
DeleteWho would have guesses that Robert A. Heinlein got his idea for Starship Troopers from ancient Sparta? Sparta wins . . . again. Poor Athens.
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