HUM 2 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Frugality, Chilon Of Sparta, Helots
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Jeff Koo
Humanities 2
Culture of Ancient Greece
Fall 2019
4 units
● Battle of the Champions
○ 300 Champions of Argos vs. 300 Champions of Sparta
○ Rest of the armies withdraw
○ At the end, 3 men left alive, 2 Argives and 1 Spartan
○ 2 Argives head back to army to make word of their victory, lone Spartan stays on
the field
○ Argives say they won because 2 > 1, Spartans say they won because the 2 ran
away
○ New battle has to be fought between whole armies
○ Spartan Army is victorious (Secure Thyrea)
○ Cements Sparta’s position as dominant power in Peloponnese (Not a war of
conquest)
● Thyrea
● Peloponnesian League
○ For rest of 6th century, Sparta expands alliance network throughout Peloponnese
except Argos
○ Forms large alliance called Peloponnesian League which includes all city-states
except for Argos
○ Forces alliances through conquest
○ Fame and influence of Sparta expanded outside Greek world
○ Spartan embassy to Cyrus the Great
○ Sparta asked for protection from Persian Army
○ Spartans decided it was too far away for them to worry about, but sent
ambassadors to check on Cyrus and Asia Minor
○ Warned Cyrus that he is not to harm a Greek citizen or else face the Spartans
■ Asking who the Spartans are and how many of them are there to talk to
him like that
■ Spartans have self-confidence, and growing role of Sparta in Greek and
outside world
○ Hallmark of Spartan foreign policy is in opposition to Tyranny
■ Put down Sicyon tyranny around 555
○ By late 5th century, so famous that Thucydides could remark that tyrants of
Athens and tyrants of most of the rest of the Greek cities had been overthrown by
Sparta
■ Tried to reinstall Hippius
○ Spartans unseated Aeschines of Sicyon
● Chilon
○ Chilon the Ephor during 55th Olympiad (560-557/6)
○ Associated with downfall of tyranny of Sicyon
● Sparta