The most prudent type of power which to focus upon in relation to this essay is most likely to be Positional Power since it is based on the position within an organisation rather than the influence of the individual itself. Their power is drawn from their position as opposed to their charm or knowledge or skill-set and, as such, it seems the most appropriate in relation to explaining about the power of the Spartiate Constitution.
The Spartiate Constitution, unlike the Constitution of other Greek Poleis, was mixed; meaning that it contained components which are present in other political forms of governance. The three main types of political governance are; Monarchy – which Sparta had in the form of its two Kingships, – Democracy – which was present via the Ecclesia - and Oligarchy which took on the form of the Gerousia and Ephors in the Spartiate system of government.
The Monarchic role is played by the two Kings, each a member of the Agiad and Eurypontid dynasties, who were the oldest parts of the Constitution; having existed before the rebellions of the Archaic Period (650 – 450 BC) which produced the Athenian Democracy and the Spartiate Constitution as it is now known. Unlike other Greek Poleis during the Archaic Period, the Spartiates didn’t remove their Kings, instead choosing to keep them and have the Ephors act as a check-and-balance system for the power of the Kings.
There were five Ephors, each of which only had one year in office, who played the role of acting as a check-and-balance on the power of the Kings. The Ephors came into existence during the 7th Century BC, with the intention of controlling the Kings long-term.
The Gerousia, alongside the Ephors, make up the Oligarchic aspect of the Spartiate Constitution with the Gerousia comprising of 28 elders – over the age of sixty – and the two Kings; regardless of the age of the Kings they were automatically made into members of the Gerousia upon their succession to the throne, though minors were represented by their closest male relative.
The Assembly was the Democratic part of the Constitution, as it was comprised of all adult, male Spartiate citizens. There is some contention on the age at which male Spartiates were able to vote in the Assembly with some sources stating 21 and others 30 based on varying evidence; those in favour of the age of 21 base their conclusion upon the fact that Spartiates receive their kleros at the age of 21, whilst others base their conclusion of the age of 30 on the fact that the military training of the men is completed only when they are 30.
One could argue that the position of King was the most powerful position in the Spartiate Constitution based on the fact that a monarch is normally exempt from the ‘laws of the land’ but, due to the presence of the Ephors, this conclusion is incorrect. Due to the fact that the presence Ephors was designed to act as a method to control the Kings, this would ultimately result in the Positional Power of the Kings becoming diminished; a mere shadow of what it was before the Archaic Period.
One reason why the Spartiates chose to retain the presence of the Kings was the fact that it was believed the Spartiates were the Sons of Heracles – a belief which can be traced back to the Dorian Invasion of the Peloponnese in the 11th Century BC. This belief then would have meant that the Kings would have had a sort of ‘divine right’ for ruling the Spartiates but, since the Spartiates wished for something other than monarchism as political governance, this meant the Kings would either have to be deposed or a solution found in order to maintain their existence. This solution was the Ephors.
The Kings were priests of Zeus, a religious role which resulted in them being important figures in religious festivals and rites carried out in Sparta throughout the year. However, the Ephors eventually came to take on some of these religious roles in certain festivals later on so the long-term Positional Power of the Kings was weakened by this later development.
However, the Kings appointed the Pythii, the envoys that travelled to the Delphic Oracle, and retained a copy of the Oracle from the visit, as did the Pythii who retained a copy also. This wasn’t tempered by the Ephors and thus remained a power which was based on the position of the Kings; but, on the other-hand, the Kings responses in engagements would have been influenced by the Oracles thus causing them to use their position in a manner they wouldn’t have done otherwise. For example, Leonidas had been told by the Oracle that either a Lacedaemonian King had to die or Sparta would fall to the Persians. This likely influenced his decision to remain at the pass at Thermopylae with his contingent of 300 Spartiate soldiers, 700 Thespians and 400 Thebans whilst the rest of the Greek forces retreated.
The position of the Ephors in the Spartiate Constitution revolves around the idea that they exist to control the Kings and maintain the Constitution, thus stopping the Kings from seizing power and returning Sparta to a purely monarchical rule. The Ephors had the power to summon the Kings – with the Kings being able to refuse such summons only two times before attendance upon the third summon was a requirement – as well as depose and censure them. 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 Ephor’s 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 they’d previous fined and disciplined. As a result of this eventuality, it’s doubtful that the Ephor’s 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 it’d 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 Sparta’s Constitution doesn’t permit the Monarch the level of power it once had, it’s 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 couldn’t progress very far without the compliance of the Assembly; which would vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a proposal from the Gerousia. If the Assembly didn’t 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 didn’t agree, they’d 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 wasn’t 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 couldn’t 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 Assembly’s 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.
