How Did Lycurgus Change Ancient Greek Society

The Ancient Greek society of Sparta, known throughout antiquity as Lacedaemon, attributes the origin of its unique social structure and political organisation to the individual known as Lycurgus. He sought the council of the Delphic oracle of Apollo after the defeat experienced at Leuctra after the Messenia wars to instigate a drastic and revolutionary reformation of Spartan society and politics. Due to the efforts of Lycurgus, Spartan society distinguished itself from other ancient greek societies incorporating aspects of democracy, oligarchy and monarchy.

The figure of Lycurgus was well respected in Sparta, as a lawgiver and reformer of Spartan society. The ancient authors, such as Herodotus and Aristotle, wrote of Lycurgus as the ‘historical figure who bestowed the spartan laws after consulting the will of the gods’ (1). Herodotus wrote that he

These classes were characterised by specific factors that: dictated the social standing of an individual; were based on several factors including the nationality of the individual and their birth circumstances; and dictated the individual’s profession. The three social classes were: the Spartiates; the Periocei; the Hypomeiones; and the Helots. The Spartiates were full spartan citizens, aged over 30 and were functioning members of the Ekklesia. The Periocei were non-spartan citizens which resided in the areas in and around Lakonia. The hypomeiones, or ‘inferiors’, was a disgraced class that was filled with mostly spartiates who failed to fulfil their obligations or the Parthenai, the children of unmarried spartan mothers. The final class, the Helots, are described by Theopompus as the enslaved populations of Messinia and Lakonia who were owned by the citystate of Sparta. The spartiates saw themselves as superior to the Helots, shown in the exploitation the Helots experienced and through being described by Tyrtaeus as being similar to ‘asses exhausted under great