Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/482

* SPAKTA. 416 SPARTACTJS. and was now allowed to marry, though he could only obtain stolen interviews with his bride, since he was still obliged to live with his companions. At thirty he became a full citizen. Discipline, how- ever, was not relaxed. He must still eat regularly at his Phiditia. or mess, and contribute regularly to its support from the produce of his farm, which was cultivated by Helots. The government was a development from the old Homeric form of the king and council of elders. In Sparta there was a double kingship. The two lines claimed descent from the twin sons of ^Vvistodemus, Eurysthenes and Proeles. but were named from the second gen- eration, Agis and Eurvpon, Agidse and Eurypon- tidse. These two kings were the religious repre- sentatives of the State, on whose behalf they of- fered stated sacrifices, and also exercised limited legal functions. Their chief duty was, however, the command of the army, over which in early times they exercised unlimited power, though in the fifth century B.C. they were subject to the ephors and the Assemblj'. In the field their power was absolute. Associated with the kings was a coun- cil (the Gerousia) of 28 elders, men over 60 years of age, chosen for life from certain noble families by acclamation in the popular assembly. They discussed and prepared the orders to be sub- mitted to the assembly, and also sat as a court of criminal jurisdiction in crimes against the State, especially where the kings were involved. Once a month the assembly of the citizens (Apella) met at the call of the kings, though in the fifth century B.C. the epliovs presided. The body seems ordi- narily to have simply voted on the business pre- sented to it. Specclies were in general delivered only by the officials, and there was certainly no general discussion. Into this government were in- troduced, at an early date, the ephors, who. during the period of Spartan greatness, were the real rulers. (SeeEPHORi.) They exercised a general oversight over the community and maintained the authority of the established order. Elected for one year, they had the power to call any magis- trate to account and even to suspend him from office. They presided over the Gerousia, and could impeach any citizen before that court. Their short term of ofliice and accountability to their successors were really almost the sole lim- its to their power. Under the iron discipline of this constitution, which was attributed to the mythical Lyeurgus (q.v. ), the Spartan State gradually extended its power until it had gained complete control over Laconia and Messenia, and the recognized leadership of a somewhat loosely joined confederacy, which included most of the Peloponnesus outside of Argos. At the time of the Persian wars S]iarta was the leading State in Greece, but the constitution was not adapted for military operations requiring prolonged ab- sence from home, and with the transfer of the war to Asia the Spartans soon withdrew from the scene. (The leading events other than do- mestic in the history of Sparta have been given under Greece. ) The creation of the fleet which de- cided the Peloponnesian War put a severe strain upon the ancient customs, and long absences in foreign lands, often with free opportunity for luxury, rendered men unwilling to submit to stern discipline on their return. The hegemony of Greece, which had fallen to Sparta on the over- throw of Athens, was used solely as a means of aggrandizement and profit, and in a short time led to renewed wars. In B.C. 371 the defeat at Leuctra at the hands of the Thebans broke forever the power of Sparta, and the disintegration, which had begun with naval empire and the accumulation of the gold and silver, forbidden by the ancient laws, went rapid- ly forward. The attempt of Agis IV. (c.244-240 B.C.) to reform the State was defeated and Agis put to death, but Cleomenes III. (c.2.3.5-219 B.C.) carried tlirough a serious of sweeping changes, which increased largely the number of citizens, and reestablished the Lycurgean order. After his death Sparta was ruled by the tyrants Macliani- das and Nabis, was then forced into the Achaean League, and finally with the rest of Greece passed under the rule of Rome. Treated with favor by the Romans, the city prospered ; the old laws of Lyeurgus were once more placed in force, and the old training practiced at least nominally, though the forms of government seem to have been much altered. In the thirteenth century the Acropolis was fortified by a wall, which may still be traced. The Frankish lords of the Peloponnesus built a strong fortress at Jlistra (1248-49) on a spur of Taygetus, west of Sparta, and its superior security led to the aban- donment of the ancient city. After the Greek Revolution a new town of Sparta was laid out as the capital of the Nomarchy of Laconia. Consult, on the topography: Curtius, Pelopon- nesus II. (Gotha, 1852) : Leake, Travels in the Morea (London. 18.30) ; N. E. Crosby, "Topography of Sparta," in American Journal of Archaeology, vol. viii. (Princeton, 1893) ; Frazer, Pansanias, vol. iii. (London, 1808). On the an- cient constitution, consult: Hermann, Lehrbiich (Icr firirchischen Antiqiiitaten, vol. i.. 6th ed., by V. Thumser (Freiburg, 1889); Busolt, "Griech- ische Staats- und Rechtsaltertiimer." in Miiller's Handbiich der 7<:lassischen Altertumsiv-issenschaft (Munich. 1892), both of which contain full bibliographies. SPAKTA. A city and the county-seat of Jlonroe County, Wis., 26 miles east by north of La Crosse : on the La Crosse River, and on the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul and the Chicago and Northwestern railroads (Map: Wis- consin, C 5). It has an attractive situation and artesian mineral wells, and is a much frequented summer resort. There are in Sparta a public library, the State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children, and Saint Mary's Con- vent. The city is the shipping centre for a rich farming and stock-raising section, and manu- factures flour, paper, and iron products. The water-works are owned by the municipality. Population, in 1890, 2795; in 1900, 3555. SPAKTACTJS. The leader in the great in- surrection of Roman slaves in Southern Italy which took place B.C. 73. He was a native of Thrace, originally a shepherd, hut afterwards a robber chief. He was taken prisoner and placed in a gladiatorial school at Capua. Seventy gladiators, including Spartacus, escaped and forced their way through the streets of Capua, defeated a detachment of Roman soldiers sent to bring them back, and established themselves on Mount Vesuvius, where they received consid- erable accessions, chiefly runaway slaves. Spar- tacus was chosen leader, and proclaimed freedom to all slaves. Thousands rushed to his standard.