Ancient Literature and History--week of 11/28-12/2

We are going to study Lycurgus and the Spartans this week. You need to read pages 9-41 in Plutarch (note: it is OK to skip the introduction, pages 3-8) Answer the questions below--note the numbers refer to the divisions foound in the chapter and therefore tell you where to find the answers.

LYCURGUS (probably lived during 800’s B.C. if he lived at all—World Book); paired with the Roman Numa
#1—What was the olympic truce? (answer found in footnote)
#3—What were the circumstances of the birth of Charilaus?
* What was the response of Charilaus’ mother to this?
*What was the response of Lycurgus?
*Why did Lycurgus leave Sparta?
#4—What 3 places did he almost certainly visit & what did he get from each?
#5—What was Lycurgus’ goal in returning to Sparta?
#5-10—What 5 reforms (These chapters number 3 but I see 3 different ones discussed under the 2nd one) were instituted? What was the intent of these?
#11—Who was Alcander? What was his crime? What does Plutarch say was his punishment? What form of arms control was initiated after this incident?
#13—Why did Lycurgus not want his laws written down?
*What is a rhetra?
*Which 3 rhetras are discussed in this chapter? #14—What did he consider the most important field for legislators? Education
#14-15—Do these chapters make the Spartans appear to be a moral people?
#16—*Who determined if a baby would live or die?
*describe the education & training of young men.
#17-18—*What additional evidence of their immorality is found in this chapter? *Why were they ordered to steal?
#19—What did Plutarch mean when he wrote that Lycurgus did the opposite with speech as he did with coinage? Do you agree?
#20—What is an apophthegm (Webster’s spells it apothegm)? Which is your favorite one from this chapter?
=apothegm (ap’ a them’)
#21—Why were they interested in poetry & song?
*Who or what were the Muses?
#22--Which was more rigorous for the Spartans: training or war?
*What did Lycurgus say about long hair?
*Why did the Spartans not slaughter men who were retreating?
#24—How could the citizens of Sparta survive without doing manual labor?
*Who were the helots?
#25—Who never went to the city square and why? Why did older men not spend much time at the city square? Where did they spend more time? What do you know about this place?
*Why did Lycurgus set up a statuette of Laughter?
*State concisely the result of Lycurgus’ reforms.
#26—What was the method of replacing an elder who died?
#27—Does anything in this chapter remind you of Deut. 6:6-9?
*Why were Spartans not allowed to travel out of Sparta freely? Why were foreigners not allowed to visit?
#28—What was the krypteia? What did it do?
NOTE: is truth to statement: “There is no one more free than a free man in Lacedaemon, and no one more of a slave than a slave there.”
*Does Plutarch think Lycurgus was responsible for the krypteia?
#29—How did Lycurgus die & why?
*Did he succeed in his goal?
#30—Who was responsible for money pouring into Sparta (14 generations after Lycurgus)?
*What do you know about him?
End up discussion with last sentence of introduction: Lycurgus is not just history, but a statement of the value of the simple, disciplined, communitarian life against the individualist pursuit of pleasure. (Actually discuss whole paragraph & difference between a chronicler & a historian.)