Page:History of Greece Vol II.djvu/376

 g(50 HISTORY OF GREECE. Spartans themselves, in inflaming that haughty exclusiveness for which they stood distinguished. And it is to be observed that the Spartan mind continued to be cast on the old-fashioned scale, and unsusceptible of modernizing influences, longer tLan that of most other people of Greece. The ancient legendary faith, and devoted submission to the Delphian oracle, remained among them unabated, at a time when various influences had consider- ably undermined it among their fellow-Hellens and neighbors. But though the unchanged title and forms of the government thus contributed to its imposing effect, both at home and abroad, the causes of internal degeneracy were not the less really at work, in undermining its efficiency. It has been already stated, that the number of qualified citizens went on continually diminishing, and even of this diminished number a larger proportion than be- fore were needy, since the landed property tended constantly to concentrate itself in fewer hands. There grew up in this way a body of discontent, which had not originally existed, both among the poorer citizens, and among those who had lost their fran- chise as citizens ; thus aggravating the danger arising from Perireki and Helots, who will be presently noticed. "We pass from the political constitution of Sparta to the civil ranks and distribution, economical relations, and lastly, the pe- culiar system of habits, education, and discipline, said to have been established among the Lacedaemonians by Lykurgus. Here, again, we shall find ourselves imperfectly informed as to the ex- isting institutions, and surrounded by confusion when we try to explain how those institutions arose. It seems, however, ascertained that the Dorians, in all their settlements, were divided into three tribes, the Hylleis, the Pamphyli, and the Dymanes : in all Dorian cities, moreover, there were distinguished Herakleid families, from whom oekists were chosen when new colonies were formed. These three tribes can be traced at Argos, Sikyon, Epidaurus, Troszen, Megara, Korkyra, and seemingly, also, at Sparta. 1 The Hylleis recog- nized, as their eponym and progenitor, Hyllus, the son of Hera- 1 Herodot. v. 68 ; Stcphan. Byz. 'T?.Af and &V/MV O. Miiller, Dorians, Si. 5, 2 ; Boeckh. ad Corp. Inscrip. No. 1123. Thucjd. i. 24, about Phallus, the Herakleid, at Corinth.