I - 130 : The Inevitable Decline of Sparta

300 Spartans held in 480 BC 120'000 Persians back for a full 3 Days - no Spartan survived

This summer, after 2 ½ weeks of sailing, we will reach the Peloponnese, the large peninsula in the south of Greece. Its only link to the main land is the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. But since the canal was completed in 1893, the peninsula has become an island. For several hundred years, the Peloponnese was dominated by Sparta which so successfully fought the Persians at the Thermopylai that movies are still made today. The film “300” may be lacking in historical accuracy but it is full of heroic deeds truly worthy of ancient Sparta. The Spartans were indeed Greece’s most effective land-power for several centuries.

Gerard Butler as King Leonidas from Sparta in the Movie "300" from the Year 2006

When you travel to Sparta today, you wonder how such a quiet, mid-size town could ever have played such an prominant role in Greek hisory. It is located in a wide, fertile valley. But it is not richer than other parts of Greece. Sparta’s rise to power is based on its Oliganthropia, the rule of a few. A small nucleus of warriors led by two double kings ruled over a harsh slave society. Fighting and winning wars was the purpose of Sparta. Young boys not deemed fit for fighting were killed. Only 300 years after its peak though, when Rome arrived in the 2nd century BC, it was a shadow of its former self. The rise of Sparta was truly spectacular. Its fall and demise equally though.

View over Sparta and the Eurotas Valley from the Acropolis and Fortress Mystras to the West

Sparta reached the peak of its power after its victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC). Up to then, Athens had dominated the Greek Politi. The Spartans won their victory by promising Athens’ subjects to restore their liberty and independence. But Sparta broke its promise. Once the war was over, Sparta simply stayed as ruler. Controlling the Peloponnese, Attica (with Athens), the lands to the west and north, the Aegean islands and many cities in Anatolia, Sparta was now a superpower. Everywhere, it established garrisons. I would argue that this “occupation policy” planted the seeds for its later demise.

After its Victory in 404 BC, Sparta controlled the Red & Blue Territories - Green is Persia

The Persian Empire would not accept this status quo. Despite its loss at Salamis in 480 and Plataia in 479 BC, it was undefeated. Persia had lost battles but not the war. With 50 million people (40% of then’s world’s population) it was big and had time and resourses to recover. In the next round of the Greco-Persian wars, it was smarter though. Rather than using brute force, it used diplomacy, its influence and money and let others do the fighting. The Persian Empire skillfully exploited the general Greek discontent with Sparta and slowly but steadily formed an anti-Spartan alliance which resulted in the Corinthian War (395 – 386 BC).

In the Corinthian War (394 - 386 BC) Sparta lost all its Overseas Possessions and its Fleet

What was once Sparta’s strength – having highly skilled shock troops which could take on superior forces - became now its weakness. Sparta simply did not have enough troops to both garrison its posessions and fight field battles. Or in other words, like many powers before and after, it suffered from imperial overstretch. Despite its new role as Greek hegemon, it had not reform its institutions. A few thousand warriors still controlled the rest of society. The population base was too narrow. To broaden it, the Spartan Kings would have to liberate the slaves and make them citizens. But this was too radical for Sparta’s elite who hoped that muddling through would save the day.

Helots beaten by Spartans - Helots were State owned Slaves and probably the indigenous population prior to the Arrival of the Dorians

The consequences of Sparta's indecision was severe. In the Peace Treaty of 386 BC, Sparta lost its Greek posessions in Anatolia. Towns like Halikarnassos (today’s Bodrum) became Persian again. Mausoleos built his famous Tomb - one of the Seven Wonders of the World - as a vassal of the Persian Emperor. Only 15 years later, in 371 BC, a small Spartan force was defeated at Leuctra – it was the deadknell for Sparta as dominant land power. Sparta had been able to muster 8’000 troops at the beginning of the 5th century BC. Now it was down to 1’200. Loosing 400 men was simply too much.

Artist Impression (Igor Dzis) of the Battle of Leuctra - A strategic Defeat for Sparta

Not only did the Spartans loose battles – even worse - they also lost control of their slaves and thus their economic power. An excellent exemple is ancient Messenia founded in 369 BC by General Epaminondas, Thebes’ victorious general at Leuctra. He invited liberated, former slaves of Sparta from all over the Peloponnese to built a new town. The strongly fortified new city about 20 km northwest from Kalamatra became a powerful check on Sparta’s ambitions. Always allied with powerful states like Thebes, later Macedonia and finally Rome it could preserve its independence. Sparta could never again restore its previous power in the Peloponnese. Messenia is today one of the best preserved ancient Greek towns on the peninsula.

Messenia was surrounded by very strong Walls - the former Helots knew about Sparta!

Not only did Sparta run out of soldiers and slaves, it also run out of money. Contrary to Athens or Macedonia which both could mint coins from their silver mines, Sparta’s finances relied solely on tributes from its terrories. Once they were gone, the Spartan Kings run out of cash. Bankruptcy usually does not happen over night. There is a slow and steady decline before the big bang. Here a  treaty payment cancelled, there a fortress wall not repaired. Sparta started to live from its substance. To get some hard cash it had to “lease out” its army as mercenaries. Eventually, the Spartan King Agis IV, launched far reaching reforms and disbanded what Atistotle called the Oliganthropia. Agis IV distributed land, bestowed rights on the Helots and reformed the military. The reforms were successful for a while and slowed down Sparta’s decline. But they were too late, too little. By the time Macedonian King Philipp II, Alexander the Great's father, ruled Greece, Sparta was no power any more

Ancient Messenia has one of the best preserved Stadion in the World

Sparta’s fall occured more than two thousand years ago. Its lessons remain valid though. Imperial overstretch, unsustainable expenses and the inevitable decline to insolvency are things to remember. They apply to our modern states in as much as they applied to ancient Greece.