Was Classical Sparta a Military Society?

Hodkinson, Stephen

doi:10.2307/j.ctvvnb23.7

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The appeal of Sparta to neo-fascist cultures should be understood through its associations with Nazi Germany, despite recent scholarship that has shown that the ancient city was a far cry from the eugenic social order and militarist totalitarian state envisioned by the Nazis (Hodkinson 2006(Hodkinson , 2010(Hodkinson , 2018 On the uses of Sparta in Nazi Germany, see Losemann 2007;Chapoutot [2008Chapoutot [ ] 2016Roche 2013). In the case of GD, the identification with Sparta sets in motion rhetorical mechanisms that incite violent practices.…”

Section: From Metaphor To Action: Golden Dawn and Classical Antiquitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mythologies of Genesis and Neo-Nazi Palingenesis: Commemorating the Battle of Thermopylae in the Political Rites of the Golden Dawn

Ioannidou

2022

Humanities

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This article examines the public commemorations of the battle of Thermopylae held by the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn in the wider context of fascist appropriations of classical antiquity. The discussion focuses on the rhetorical and cultural mechanisms involved in transforming the historical event into a fascist mythology. Drawing on methodologies of narrative analysis and performance studies, I examine the narrative patterns and ritual practices deployed in these commemorations to engross the participants in stories of genesis and rebirth. During the commemorations of Thermopylae, Golden Dawn strove to revive both the spirit of the Spartan soldiers and the ideals of Nazism. The example of GD demonstrates that the persistence of the narrative of rebirth within neo-Nazi cultures is instrumental in the resurgence of fascism. By looking at this example closely, we can conclude that commitment of neo-Nazi groups to classical antiquity invites reflection upon the role of classical traditions in Western culture.

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Section: From Metaphor To Action: Golden Dawn and Classical Antiquitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mythologies of Genesis and Neo-Nazi Palingenesis: Commemorating the Battle of Thermopylae in the Political Rites of the Golden Dawn

Ioannidou

2022

Humanities

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“…The structure of Spartan society, then, served to homogenise and unify the Spartan body politic, enforce obedience, conformity, and communalisation, and thereby to ensure that the individual's loyalty was primarily attached not to his family, but to the state (see esp. Cartledge 2001;Ducat 2006a;Hodkinson 2006;Kennel 1995). The process of socialisation, then, was very different in Athens and Sparta, but, despite the persuasive protestations of Balot (2010), the end result was largely the same.…”

Section: Oligarchic Spartamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This impressed Xenophon, and indeed the rest of the Greeks (Lysias, For Mantitheus 16.15; Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 4.34.1), but the manoeuvres he describes are rudimentary, and as Aristotle observes (The Politics 1338b), theonly thing special about the Spartans' tactical training was that, in world of military amateurism, they actually had some. This, of course, suggests that the focus of the agōgē was not purely military, rather, asHodkinson (2006) andDucat (2006a) argue, it was an institution designed, in addition to the inculcation of military virtues, to initiate boys into Spartan society and mould them into ideal Spartan citizens.…”

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confidence: 99%

Patriotism in Ancient Greece

Crowley¹

2020

Handbook of Patriotism

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The fourth was shared culture, through which the Greeks expressed a common identity, particularly in their manner of dress (they wore tunics, not trousers; cf. Evans & Abrahams 1964), their cuisine (they consumed wine and olive oil not beer and butter; cf. Wilkins & Hill 2006), their political systems (they were citizens not subjects; cf. Mitchell 2007) and their style of warfare (they fought with the spear not with the bow; cf. Hanson 2009). The Greeks then, clearly felt themselves to be a distinct and delimited group, and as their history reveals, their loyalty to this group was strong enough to form the basis for collective action against an outside power, such as Persia (cf. esp. Herodotus, The Histories, 1.1.0). However, while the Greeks formed one people, they lived in many different political communities, and their 'higher patriotism' was undercut by more local loyalties which focused firmly on the polis. 3. Lower Patriotism This quintessentially Greek socio-political system was found both in Greece proper and in the areas the Greeks colonised (for an inventory of which, see Hansen & Nielsen 2004). The term polis (pl. poleis) is often translated as city-state, but as Aristotle (Politics 1.1252b, 3.1276b; cf. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.10.2) reveals, the polis was neither a city nor a geographical location, it was, instead, a political community. This community was comprised solely of adult male citizens who exercised their political prerogatives within a wider and politically excluded population of women, children, slaves and resident foreigners (for further discussion, see Finley 1983). Of course, the precise nature of these communities varied but, as Murray (2012; cf. Runciman 1990) demonstrates, they had five things in common. Firstly, they were small. Athens, whose citizens numbered in their tens of thousands (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.13.6-7), was atypical: most Greek poleis were considerably smaller,

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“… 55 Hodkinson (2006) 130–46; (2020a). On the Spartan education system see Kennell (1995) and Ducat (2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Cretan way of war: status, violence and values from the Classical period to the Roman conquest

Lewis

2023

J. Hell. Stud.

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The tactics of Cretan citizen armies differed markedly from those utilized in most regions of the Classical and Hellenistic Greek world: instead of fighting in phalanxes, Cretans fought in open order, specializing in archery, skirmishing, ambushes and night actions. These tactics (and the cultural attitudes that went with them) were disparaged by mainland Greeks such as Polybios and explained in terms of moral deviancy: a sign of the duplicitous nature of the Cretans. This article demonstrates that these descriptions of Cretan tactics and behaviours are factual, but argues against the idea that they derive from moral deviancy. Rather, they represent the outcome of a different line of historical development than that followed in mainland Greece. Cretan tactics and attitudes stand far closer to those described by archaic poets (especially Homer, Archilochos and Kallinos); in this regard, Cretan city states displayed strong continuities with archaic social practices and values, detectable in other areas of Cretan society and culture. The stability of Cretan sociopolitical organization from the late seventh century down to the Roman conquest fostered the endurance of such practices and attitudes, leading to cultural divergence from mainland Greece and, accordingly, a generally hostile representation of Cretans in our main historiographical sources.

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Was Classical Sparta a Military Society?

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Mythologies of Genesis and Neo-Nazi Palingenesis: Commemorating the Battle of Thermopylae in the Political Rites of the Golden Dawn

Mythologies of Genesis and Neo-Nazi Palingenesis: Commemorating the Battle of Thermopylae in the Political Rites of the Golden Dawn

Patriotism in Ancient Greece

The Cretan way of war: status, violence and values from the Classical period to the Roman conquest

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