Spartiate King Essay Example for Free

Spartiate King Essay Demaratus, a Spartiate King, was deposed by the Ephors after questions about his heritage had been raised; since the Kingship was hereditary and also primogenitive meaning that the position of King was passed on to the oldest son and not the most talented or popular. One of the Ephors acted as the Eponymous Ephor, from the 5th Century BC onwards, meaning that this particular Ephors name was used as a dating system for Sparta; which made it quite reliable due to the fact that each Eponymous Ephor was only elected once in their entire lifetime. In addition to this, the Ephors were able to discipline and fine any citizens for breaches in the laws of Sparta on the spot which differs greatly to the power displayed by other aspects of the Spartiate Constitution such as the Gerousia or the Kings. However, one problem with this aspect of the power of the position of Ephor, was the fact that an individual only held the position of power for a year, after which they would return to normal citizenship; thus putting them on par with those whom theyd previous fined and disciplined. As a result of this eventuality, its doubtful that the Ephors used their position as effectively as they could have since they knew of a backlash which would occur once they stepped down from the position. Also, the Ephors received foreign ambassadors from other Greek Poleis instead of the Kings or the Gerousia thus suggesting that they were the portion of the Constitution that interacted with other Poleis instead of the Kings; a role which would place them higher than the Kings since itd be their behaviour and interactions which the ambassadors would base their decisions upon and not that of the Kings. Traditionally, in societies wherein a Monarchy exists, it the reigning Monarch who interacts with ambassadors from other nations and countries however, since Spartas Constitution doesnt permit the Monarch the level of power it once had, its only reasonable to assume that such a role would fall to others. The Gerousia, comprising of the 28 elders all of whom were over sixty and retired from military service and the two Kings, was the Supreme Court of Sparta; they had the final say over any legal decisions proposed, based on whether or not the Assembly agreed with the proposed decision. The members of the Gerousia were elected to a life-long position, though naturally they were only eligible for election if they were over sixty; which incidentally was the age that all adult, male Spartiates retired from the military at. Once elected, each individual, was unable to be unelected and the only way they could be replaced was through their death. Unlike the Ephors therefore, the members of the Gerousia had the power of their positions to assist them in building referent power with the citizens of Sparta and other members of the Gerousia; thus their appointment to the Gerousia enabled additional types of power to develop and assist them with their agendas. However, for all the power the Gerousia had in relation to legal decision, they couldnt progress very far without the compliance of the Assembly; which would vote yes or no on a proposal from the Gerousia. If the Assembly didnt agree with the Gerousia about a proposed decision then the Gerousia had to revise the proposition and then offer it to the Assembly again. This would mean that the decisions of the Gerousia took a long time to carry out since; first of all, the Gerousia had to decide amongst themselves which proposal was best, then propose it to the Assembly and, if the Assembly didnt agree, theyd have to go back and revise it again thus meaning that to implement a simple change or improvement to a pre-existing law of Sparta could take weeks or even months at a time. This then wasnt efficient and quite cumbersome of the Constitution. The Assembly itself, as aforementioned, had the power to block any laws proposed by the Gerousia but, they couldnt speak out against the proposals; instead only being able to say yes or no to the proposal and not offer an improvement or possible change to it. In addition to this power to veto any proposal from the Gerousia, the Assembly had the Positional Power which enabled them to decide on whether or not Sparta would engage on a military campaign since, afterall, the members of the Assembly were actually soldiers who served in the army and thus would be the ones engaging in battle. Also, as an additional bonus to this, the Assembly had the power to chose which of the two Kings would lead them on the military campaign. Now, this type of decision was based on a number of things; most likely on the militaristic competence of the chosen King but, quite possibly, also the charisma of the King. As it was, the chosen King would, in effect, become the General of the Army and also the strategist for the campaign making his decisions final; though an Ephor would accompany the King on campaign to make sure he maintained the Code of Sparta whilst on campaign. In conclusion to this, I would surmise that it was the Position of Ephor which garnered the most power since the Ephors had the ability and means to control the Kings; insofar as having the power to summon, depose and even censure the King. In addition to this immense power over the Kings, the Ephors also had the power of their position to discipline and fine Spartiate citizens in much the same way a member of law enforcement does today. This then creates a diverse and dynamic position of power which enabled the Ephors to control the Kings themselves but also everyday individuals in order to maintain the Code of Sparta. Unlike the Gerousia which depended on the Assemblys agreement on proposals, and the Kings who depended on the Assembly on which King would undertake a military campaign, the Ephors were required to answer to no-one except the laws of Sparta itself.