The Spartan Way – The Life of War and Honour (Part 2)

A Spartan Hoplite

Last blog, we found out how the tough Spartan way of life was imposed since the first year of a child’s life. Today, we continue the tale.

Adult male citizens called the “Spatiates” or “Equals” joined a military mess, a syssitia (literally “common meal”). A syssitia consisted of about fifteen members. Those members spent most of their time together and shared everything in common. Upon reaching 18, a Spartan male entered the army reserve and two years later were eligible for election to a syssitiai by its members. He would have by now finished the agoge, but would continue living with his comrades. At 30, he could become a full citizen if he was a member of a syssitia. This sometimes posed a difficult challenge for election to a syssitia did not usually come by easily.

An Equal owned farming land, tilled by helots or serfs (more about these guys later). The produce from the land would allow an Equal to contribute to the cost of the syssitia. This included 74 litres of barley, 36 litres of wine, about 2 kilograms of cheese, 1 kilogram of fish, and a small sum of money for cheap relishes. With his serfs to work the land for him, he was freed to spend his life as a soldier. Failure to make contribution will result in dismissal from the mess.

An Equal owned farming land, tilled by helots or serfs (more about these guys later). The produce from the land would allow an Equal to contribute to the cost of the syssitia. This included 74 litres of barley, 36 litres of wine, about 2 kilograms of cheese, 1 kilogram of fish, and a small sum of money for cheap relishes. With his serfs to work the land for him, he was freed to spend his life as a soldier. Failure to make contribution will result in dismissal from the mess.

Spartan theatre with Mount Taygetus in the background

With its emphasis on valour, austerity, toughness and courage, there is little doubt that cowardice was utterly unacceptable in the Spartan society. People guilty of cowardice were punished by ostracism. Mothers and wives would tell their menfolk to return home victorious or dead: “Come back with your shield or on it”. Complaining about the length of your sword and you might quickly find your mother or wife at your side telling you: “Take a step forward, and it’ll be long enough.” If a Spartan army lost a battle, its soldiers would often be advised to give their lives than save themselves. If a Spartan soldier was injured, he better made sure the injury was at the front of his body (injury at back indicated that you have turned your back on the enemy, perhaps in flight!). Cowards could not hold public office, were expelled from their mess, had to wear a cloak with coloured patches, and were not allowed to marry (a coward gene might pass to their offspring!).

Marriage for a Spartan was something falling far short of a conjugal bliss. In fact, marriage was not something which was meant to be appealing for a Spartan. Why should it be when its purpose was not for pleasure or gratification? Like everything else, marriage was an obligation. Men were fined if they failed to marry. The ceremony involved the would-be husband, who had to be at least 30, carrying off his bride by force. A bride’s head would be shaved and she would be dressed in a man’s cloak and sandals. She was then to lie down on a rush mattress, alone in the dark. After dining with his comrades in the mess, the groom slipped away surreptitiously and carried his bride to the marriage bed. He spent a little time with her (just enough time for him to do his duty!) and then went back to the barracks as if nothing has ever happened. This would be how he continued to act: spending his days in the barracks with his mates, while visiting his wife briefly at night lest he was caught and in the hope that he would one day sire a son. In this way, a Spartan male might not get to meet his wife in the light of day until some times have passed. Again, like everything else Spartan, married couples were not to be jealous or unduly amorous.

A husband could give another man permission to sleep with his wife if he believed the man would fill her with noble sperm. The husband would be happy to adopt and raise the consequential offspring as his own. Women were expected to manage their households in their husbands’ absence, which was often the case.     

This brings us to the end of the tale of a Spartan life and way. Next time, we move on to examine the lives of Spartan women, looking at one of them in particular. 

The Spartan Way – The Life of War and Honour (Part 1)

Who are the Spartans? How could Cyrus have never heard of such a group of awesome people? How dare he regard such people with disdain? Did he not fear their wrath? The answer is simply no! How could he be expected to know? After all to Cyrus, Sparta was merely an insignificant city edged on a corner of his empire, in a forgotten backwater of mountainous and inhospitable Hellas (the term the Greeks used to refer to Greece). In his ignorance about the existence of Sparta, the great king probably never heard of this parable as well:

“The Spartan boy was terrified, but nonetheless determined. He must not let himself or his comrades down. They were under strict instructions of their trainers to steal wherever and whatever they could. Their only crime was “to be caught”.

His group has stolen a tame young fox and handed it to him to look after. When its owner came to look for it, the teenager immediately hid the fox under his cloak. The frightened animal struggled to escape. It began biting through the boy’s side and lacerated his intestines. The teenager did not move or make a single noise. He did not want “to be caught”.

The owner left and the teenager’s friends realised what had happened. They told him off for his stupidity. Is it not better to be caught than losing his life? “No” he resolutely answered, though mortally wounded. “Far better to die with honour without giving in to the pain than save his own life and live ever after in disgrace.”

A grim and brutal, yet crucial, lesson for young Spartans. Though unlikely to be true, the story vividly paints a picture of a ruthless and unforgiving society, in which its individuals were tested at every turn of their life. The first test came early. On their birth, a committee of elders examined the infant to decide its fate. The life of the epileptic, the sickly, and the disabled infant was held to be “of no advantage to itself or to the state,” and these infant were then taken to the “Apothetae”, a ravine which means “a place reserved for special occasions.” Those special occasions were the weakling infant’s exposure to the elements and death. Indeed, to allow these weaklings to grow up would amount to giving them a life of disgrace, and, to quote the parable above, “far better to die with honour…than…live ever after in disgrace.” 

This succinctly reminds every Spartan of one ugly truth about their very existence: that their lives are the property of their polis, and are at the polis’ disposal. A Spartan would always have to subordinate their personal desire and motive to those of their polis. Their polis is their very life-blood. It gives them a sense of identity and purpose. Without his polis, a Spartan is nothing! Spartan infant, who survived their first grueling test and escaped the Apothetae, were reared without traditional swaddling clothes. Their limbs and physiques were left to develop naturally. Their nurses taught them to be content, to eat up their food and not to fear the dark. Tantrums and tears were strictly discouraged.

Life in the Agoge would have involved all kinds of training
including wrestling

Military life for boys began at the age of seven, when they were taken by the state and divided into companies. They were to be educated in the art of war at the institution called agoge, which was designed to make them “obey orders, cope with stress and win battles.” Reading and writing were taught only to the extent “necessary.” They went about barefoot, had their hair cropped, and played naked. They wore no tunic, and were given only one cloak per year. They slept together in dormitories on the rush-filled pallet beds. They were supervised by older men who attended their competitions and fights and identified the most fearless and aggressive individuals.   

Upon reaching the age 12, the Spartan boys were allocated “male lovers”. Yes, male lovers! Shocking as it is from a modern standard, male homosexuality in ancient Greece was not only condoned, but in some states (i.e. Sparta) even compulsory. Nonetheless, to a modern eye unfamiliar with the idea and concept of Greek love, this rite of passage must have been an extreme oddity. The male lovers for the Spartan boys would have been selected from a group of youth of good character. The real purpose for the match was not sexual (in theory), but to provide the boys with role models.

Punishment for disobedience or failure to live up to the grueling standard was administered by a team of men employed by a state official, the Inspector of boys. Punishment often came in the form of whips. The Inspector of Boys also supervised the companies and appointed commanders for each of them from men in their early twenties. The boys were then instructed to steal wood and food from gardens and the messes for adult Spartans and themselves, just like the boy in the parable above. In this way, they became adept at pouncing on sleepers or catching people off their guard. This struggle for survival of a Spartan boy is summarised by Plutarch as follows:

“Any boy who is caught is beaten and has to go hungry. For their meals are meager, so they have to take into their own hands the fight against hunger. In this way, they are forced into daring and villainy.”

Another horrific rite of passage took place when a Spartan boy reached his adolescence. This rite was in honour of Artemis Orthia (Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo; she was identified with Orthia, a local Peloponnese goddess), and was held at the goddess’ sanctuary on the bank of Eurotas. Cheese were piled on an altar and guarded by men with whips. The goal was to snatch as many cheeses as possible while running a gauntlet of flagellators. Blood stained the altar. Death was not uncommon.

   

Thus, the Spartans were bred from a young age to embody a set of contradictory qualities, just as their polis stood for a set of confusing paradox: criminal guile, aggression, and tolerance of pain coupled with obedience, deference, and modesty. Good manner was taught and strictly enforced. Boys were required to keep his hands inside his cloak, to walk in silence, and to fix their eyes firmly on the ground. Food at the Spartan dinner table was terrible, being the famous “back broth” made from pig’s blood and vinegar. Alcohol was permitted but only on a moderate degree. The focus was always on austerity and moderation. A traveller to Sparta, having tasted it famous black broth, remarked that he could now see why “the Spartans are so willing to die.”

One of the reasons why we know so little about Sparta is the Spartans’ aversion to long speeches. They spoke very little and wrote very little, that virtually no records survived through the centuries. They were men of very few words, hence our word “laconic.” The Spartans’ down-to-earth brevity only served to enhance their charm and allure. When a Spartan king was asked what type of training was most practiced at his polis, he replied “knowing how to take orders, and how to give orders.”  

To be continued in the next blog

The Spartan Way – Introduction to the Awesome People of Laconia

Perhaps one of the less popular groups to be the talk of history class. However, the Spartans are one the most awesome people who will ever encounter in your study of antiquity! Where else would you encounter people who threw their babies off a cliff just because they were found to have defect? Where would you come across people who bathed their babies in wine to toughen them up? And where else would you run into people who always ate disgusting broth made of pig blood and vinegar? Nowhere else in the Greek world was luxury scorned, and any innovation regarded with aversion. Nowhere else in the Greek world were boys surrendered at the age of 7 to military life which would last for most of the period of their lives. Nowhere else in the Greek world were girls allowed to exercise naked alongside boys. Welcome to Sparta.

The origin of the Sparta, or Lacedaemon, is shrouded in myth. The Spartans were believed to be among the Dorian invaders of Greece as opposed to the native Ionians who resided in Attica (Athens being the main city in that region) and established themselves along the west coasts of Turkey at the time of colonisation. Sparta lay in a fertile river valley in the southern Peloponnese, a landmass named after the mythical figure called Pelops. Like a typical Greek landscape, it was rocky and barren. As a result of the inhospitable landscape, Greece bred a race of fiercely independent and individualistic people. The mountainous surrounding further serves to foster this individualism and lay a foundation for the establishment of fragmentary city-states or polis that littered the country. One of this is Sparta.

Sparta itself could hardly be called a polis. Rather it resembled a collection of villages or settlements. Known for their conservatism and frugality, their buildings were unimpressive and its citadel scarcely imposing, which hardly did any justice for the city’s position as a major power. The sense of isolation of the city was greatly reinforced by the high barrier of Taygetos rang, which cut off Sparta from the west. In summary, the Spartans could not be any more different than their friends in Attica, the Athenians. While the Athenians were innovators, thinkers and reformers, the Spartans were extremely old-fashioned, conservative, resentful of changes, and disliked outsiders.       

Military prowess is everything for Sparta where her soldiers
serve as her walls

Yet, what may seem a drawback only serves to distinguish these awesome people. In an age of ceaseless warfare with city-states at each other’s throat, Sparta had no defensive wall to defend her people? While Athens was heavily fortified, Sparta could confidently boast her “wall-lessness.” Why? Because “[the soldiers] are our walls” said a certain Spartan king. Again, the two city-states could not be more different.

Another typical Spartan characteristic is that they dislike babbling. Gossip was neither popular nor encouraged. So were long speeches. Children were taught to read and write “to the extent necessary.” Writing was not widely practiced and records rarely kept. As a result, the Spartans were terrible at PR and we know very little about them than we would like to! The aversion to long speeches and chatter gave us the term “laconic.”

The simple city layout exemplifies the Spartan
austere way of life

When the Persion king, Cyrus the Great, decided to embark on his conquest of the Greek colonies in Turkey, the Ionians appealed for assistance from their mainland compatriots. The Spartans sent a herald to Cyrus, telling him to leave the Ionians alone, “for the Spartans will not tolerate it.” Surprisingly, the bemused Cyrus turned to his official and asked “who are the Spartans?” The answer to this question, we will explore further in our next blog.

    

Who’s Smenkhare?

Smenkhare

The title of this blog is as puzzling as it is simple. Who’s Smenkhare? A simple answer is that he (or she?) was a short-lived Pharaoh of the late 18th Dynasty in the aftermath of the Amarna Period, before Tutankhamun. But is that all? For millennia, his (or her?) identity has been the object of much speculation. This blog is to explore some of the possibilities and theories put forward, while challenging our fellow readers to express their opinion.

As outlined in the previous blog, around year 14 or 15 of Akhenaten’s reign, a male Pharaoh with the name of Ankhkheperure Djeser Kheperu Smenkhkare ("Holy of Manifestations, Strength is the Soul of Re") appeared. He reigned for 3 years, and seemed to have turned his back on Aten and Akhetaten. But who is thus mysterious guy? Is he the same person as a co-regent named Ankhkheperure Nefernefruaten, who appeared roughly at the same time as Nefertiti’s disappearance? The sudden appearance of these 2 enigmatic figures has caused much headache for Egyptologists.

The first reference to Smenkhare came from the tomb of Myryre II, superintendent of Nefertiti. The Pharaoh was portrayed with his wife, Merytaten, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, offering rewards to Meryre. Later, a calcite vase was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun which carrying the full double cartouche of Akhenaten alongside the full double cartouche of Smenkhkare, confirming his position as co-regent. But who is Smenkhare? Is he a son, brother or a relative of Akhenaten? In fact, is Smenkhare even a “he” after all? An uninscribed limestone picture was discovered showing an Amarna couple some thought to be Smenkhare and Merytaten. If this is correct, then Smenkhare’s gender could no doubt be confirmed. Furthermore, evidence suggests that Smenkhare may also have been married to Ankhesenamun, the third daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, but it was the elder sister, Merytaten, who was his chief wife.

The following theories as to the true identity of Smenkhare have been put forward:

• Aidan Dodson – that Smenkhkare had a brief co-regency from year 13 of Akhenaten's reign, as suggested by a wine docket stating "Year 1, wine of the house of Smenkhkare" and another labelled "The House of Smenkhkare (deceased)". Nefertiti then took over as co-regent as King Neferneferuaten;

o Counter-argument: Hasn’t Nefertiti disappeared from the record after Year 13 because she had died? Also, if Smenkhare was co-regent in year 13-14 why was the Hall of Rejoicing (an addition to the central palace dated to year 15) filled with bricks stamped "Ankhkheperure in the House of Rejoicing in the Aten"?

• James Allen – that Nefertiti died, and her daughter became known as King Neferneferuaten. She was in turn followed by Smenkhkare after a couple of years. This means that Neferneferuaten was the chosen successor of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare used the same prenomen to usurp her position.

o Counter-argument: If Smenkhare reigned after Neferneferuaten, why are there references to his rule after year 15?

• Nicholas Reeves – that Smenkhare was actually Nefertiti, noting that there are no depictions of Nefertiti and Smenkhare together.

o Counter-argument: The clearly male Smenkhare appears with his wife Merytaten in Meryre II's tomb at Amarna. Also, the name Ankhkheperure Djeser Kheperu Smenkhkare is male in gender and the female variant has not been found on any monuments or inscriptions.

• Others – That Meritaten was Neferneferuaten and that she continued to rule as Neferneferuaten after the death of Smenkhkare.

o Counter-argument: But there is the box from Tutankhamun's tomb listing Akhenaten, Neferneferuaten and Meritaten as three separate individuals.

Some of these theories would have been greatly undermined after the discovery of an inscription dated to year 16 of Akhenate's reign confirming that Nefertiti was alive and still his consort (but not co-regent). A lot of missing pieces of puzzle remain to be found to construct the accurate picture of the succession of rulers after Akhenaten.

One of the most famous faces in the world
of Tutankhamun may not in fact belong to
its current owner after all, but the enigmatic
and illusive Smenkhare

Smenkhare’s lineage, likewise, was highly controversial. Historians have suggested that he was the son of Akhenaten and Kiya, one of his lesser wives, and the brother of Tutankhamun. However, he could also have been born to Nefertiti or another of Akhenaten’s wives. On the other hand, given some people have argued that Smenkhare was too old to be Akhenaten’s son, a theory was proposed that he might have been a son of Kiya and Amenhotep III, Akhenaten’s father (Kiya was married to Amenhotep III before she married his son Akhenaten). Others suggested that Smenkhare was not a member of the Egyptian royal family at all, but a member of a Hittite royal line as evidenced by his two (not one!) coronation names and a lack of a birth name. Gabolde proposed that Smenkhare was in fact Zannanza, the son of the Hittite King Suppiluliuma. However, this is highly unlikely given that the Hittite record showed that Zannanza was assassinated when he went to Egypt in response to the letter from an unknown royal Egyptian widow some suggested to be Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun's widow.

Until recently, a male mummy found in tomb KV55 was thought to be Smenkhare until recent genetic testing revealed that the deceased was in his fifties when he died, leading many to the speculate that the mummy is in fact of Akhenaten himself. However, what is puzzling about the tomb is that while the body seems to have been buried along with grave goods named for Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun, Akhenaten, and Queen Tiye, it appears that many of the goods buried with Tutankhamun were actually taken from the burial of Smenkhare and hastily renamed. One of the most famous images of Tutankhamun, from his middle coffin, is now generally considered to portray the face of Smenkhare with Tutankhamun's name crudely inscribed over that of the original owner. The existence of such burial goods which might originally belong to Smenkhare suggests that his tomb and, indeed, his mummy must be hidden somewhere close by, but where? Like Nefertiti’s, Smenkhare’s mummy was never found or identified. It seems that still after millennia, the identity of Smenkhare will continue to puzzle, bewilder and haunt the Egyptologists in the years to come.

Nefertiti: The Mysterious Beauty of Ancient Egypt (Part 2)

Nefertiti

Let’s kick off the New Year with our continued episode of the beautiful and enigmatic Nefertiti. We learnt that she is Akhenaten’s Chief Queen with whom he had six daughters, that she was accorded a position of great influence and power which she jointly exercised with Akhenaten, and that she herself might have been a co-regent. Despite her fame, she completely vanished from historical record later in Akhenaten’s reign. The most puzzling question is “where is she?”

It was first widely believed that the Queen disappeared around the twelfth year of Akhenaten’s reign. Her fall from the Pharaoh’s favour was a popular theory, and many historians suggested she was replaced by her daughter Merytaten and the lesser wife Kiya as Akhenaten’s Chief Consorts. There are a myriad of conflicting evidence showing that either Nefertiti’s or Kiya’s name was removed from inscriptions and replaced with that of Merytaten. If Nefertiti’s name was indeed removed, then it either supports her possible fall from grace or even death (which may cause the Pharaoh so much grief that he did not wish to be reminded of her memory).  However, all of this appears to constitute a mere speculation.

To complicate the matter further, new character(s) now enter the scene: Smenkhare and Neferneferuaten, Akhenaten’s successor(s). The reason for the “(s)” is that they may be the same person! So are Nefertiti, Smenkhare and Neferneferuaten one, two or three separate figures? A variety of theories and speculations have been put forward.

Bust of Smenkhare, whose identity remained
forever shrouded by mystery

The first theory is that Nefertiti is the same person as Smenkhare and Neferneferuaten, acting as Akhenaten’s co-regent. During such co-regency, Nefertiti’s role as Chief Queen might have been taken over by her oldest daughter, Merytaten. Moreover, this triple identity was supported by the fact that both Nefertiti and Smenkhare used the name "Neferneferuaten" ("the beautiful beauty of the Aten").

The second theory is that there were in fact two co-regents: a male son named Smenkhare and Nefertiti adopting the name of Neferneferuaten, both of whom used the praenomen Ankhkheperure. Some even suggested that Nefertiti lived on till the early reign of Tutankhamun. This is supported by the recent discovery of an inscription referring to "Great Royal Wife, His Beloved, Mistress of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti" in a limestone quarry at Dayr Abu Hinnis north of Amarna (or Akhetaten) dated "Regnal Year 16, month 3 of Akhet, day 15". This proved not only that Nefertiti was alive towards the end of her husband’s reign, but also that she was still his Chief Wife and not his co-regent! This may reduce the possibility that she and Smenkhare are the one and same person, but in no way precludes her from being the female Pharaoh known as Neferneferuaten who succeeded Akhenaten after his death. Indeed, this female Pharaoh’s epithet "Effective for her husband" suggested she was either Nefertiti or Meritaten.

Merytaten, Nefertiti's daughter and possibly
Smenkhare's Chief Queen

Nefertiti’s mystery was fascinating both in life and in death. Her mummy was never found or truly identified. In 1898, the tomb of Amenhotep II was excavated and both the Pharaoh and eleven other mummies  were also discovered in intact chambers. Two of the mummies are known as the "Elder Lady" and the "Younger Lady". It is now generally believed that the "Elder Lady" is Queen Tiye, mother of Akhenaten, but there remained much speculation about the identity of the "Younger Lady". Some believed the mummy was of Nefertiti, while others believed it may be Kiya’s, Tutankhamun’s mother. The mummy’s face had been badly mutilated around the time of the burial, and an arm snapped off, but the fingers were still clasped in the position associated with a pharaoh holding a scepter. Given that the mummy was tested to be about 30 years old, it is too young at the same of embalmment to be Nefertiti (who was thought to be around 40 years of age when she died). Whatever the truth, the whereabouts of Nefertiti’s mummy remains a deep and dark mystery till this day.

There is no doubt that Nefertiti’s charm and beauty have continued to marvel all who have come across her. Those who witnessed her beautiful bust all claimed her to be of extraordinary beauty. Yet, this seemingly popular Queen remains forever shrouded by mystery both surrounding her lineage, identity, role, disappearance, and lastly death. In the end, such is the irony that the woman, whom everyone professes to know, may in fact turn out to be the one history barely knows at all.