The War Dead in Archaic Sparta

Cezary Kucewicz

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Chapter 4 The War Dead in Archaic Sparta

于Brill's Companion to Greek Land Warfare Beyond the Phalanx

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Cezary Kucewicz

Cezary Kucewicz
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类型:: 章节

Page Range:: 83–121

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004501751_005

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Abstract

In the Classical period the Spartan armies buried their war dead on the battlefield, a practice confirmed by both ancient literary accounts and archaeological evidence. By contrast, relatively little is known about how the Spartans buried their war casualties in the preceding Archaic era. While most scholars assume that the custom of battlefield burials can be dated back to as early as the eighth century BCE, a fragment from the elegies of Tyrtaios implies that Archaic Spartan armies fighting in Messenia brought back some of their war dead to be buried at home. This chapter explores the potential existence of a system of repatriation for the war dead in early Sparta, hinted at most famously in the Hellenistic apophthegm of the Spartan mother encouraging her son to return ‘with his shield or on it’. It provides a comprehensive survey of evidence for the war dead in Archaic Sparta, taking into account the literary testimonies of Tyrtaios and Plutarch, as well as the latest archaeological surveys of intra-communal burials in Sparta. Its main conclusion is that Archaic Spartan armies practised the custom of private repatriation for the war dead, which reflected the dominance of the elites over early Spartan citizen militias. This custom remained in place until the establishment of the Peloponnesian League in the mid-sixth century BC, when the Spartans switched to the more egalitarian system of common battlefield burials. The latter can be seen as one of the first steps in the process of army institutionalisation of the Spartan militias in the late Archaic period, offering a unique glimpse into the much-disputed socio-political history of the early Spartan polis.

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Brill's Companion to Greek Land Warfare Beyond the Phalanx

丛编： Brill's Companions to Classical Studies, 卷： 4and Brill's Companions to Classical Studies: Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World, 卷： 4

ISBN:: 9789004501751

出版社:: Brill

印刷出版日期:: 23 Nov 2021

Subjects
- Classical Studies
- History
  - History of Warfare

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Chapter 4 The War Dead in Archaic Sparta

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