The conspiracy of Cinadon: A threat to the Spartan society

Résumé du document

The Conspiracy of Cinadon is an attempted coup d'état which took place in Sparta in the 4th century BCE, (during the first years of Agesilaus II's reign). Led by Cinadon, it aimed to break the power of the elite of the oligarchic Spartan system. This event was reported by Xenophon in the third book of his Hellenica : I am going to rely on this text - even if we can for sure question the reliability of the source and the exactitude of the facts – but Xenophon's Hellenica remains a highly significant source on Spartan history and one of the only texts reporting that conspiracy (-> Aristotle mentioned Cinadon). In the Hellenica, Xenophon describes it as a real threat towards the Spartan society. Therefore, we'll go through the conspiracy and see how it was triggered and organized. We'll also see that the conspiracy was a failure and we'll try to understand why.

The leaders of Sparta were the five ephors: whereas they officially shared their power with the two Kings of Sparta, they were, according to Plato, real tyrants whereas the kings were little more than generals. Their role was to control and to supervise the respect of the spartan laws and the behavior of the sovereigns. During the wars, they were also in charge of the mobilization of the whole population and of the adoption of the strategies.

Extraits

[...] This event was reported by Xenophon in the third book of his Hellenica : I am going to rely on this text - even if we can for sure question the reliability of the source and the exactitude of the facts but Xenophon's Hellenica remains a highly significant source on Spartan history and one of the only texts reporting that conspiracy Aristotle mentioned Cinadon). In the Hellenica, Xenophon describes it as a real threat towards the Spartan society. Therefore, we'll go through the conspiracy and see how it was triggered and organized. We'll also see that the conspiracy was a failure and we'll try to understand why. I. [...]

[...] The failure of a conspiracy : 1. A careful society : The conspiracy was first announced during a sacrifice presided over by one of the two Kings of Sparta : a conspiracy of the most fearful character is announced by the soothsayer. If this warning was taken so seriously, it is not only because of their strong religious beliefs but also because of two other reasons : - Their fear of the non-citizens : the Homoioi are scared by the non- citizens, especially the Helots who suffered from their constant mistreatment. [...]

[...] During the wars, they were also in charge of the mobilization of the whole population and of the adoption of the strategies. - A hierarchized society : The Homoioi is the name given to the Spartan citizens. The criteria to obtain Spartan citizenship were very selective : their father had to be a Spartan citizen and their mother, to be the daughter of a Spartan citizen. They had to attend the citizens' banquets and to contribute to their preparation by giving money. [...]

[...] It also shows that, despite the inferiority of those classes, they were a very powerful and dangerous threat whose uprising could have overthrown the governement. The dismantling of the conspiracy of Cinadon allowed Sparta to maintain its hegemony over Greece (since they defeated Athens during the Peloponnesian war), though short because of the Corinthian war and the Beotian war where they lost part of their lands and their power. [...]

[...] The Perioikoi were the most numerous part of the Spartan population. It was composed of populations coming from Greek cities defeated by Sparta who were then forced to integrate their society. Even though they enjoyed a free status, they were not Spartan citizens and had no political rights. The Helots were completely deprived of their liberty and were submissive to the Spartan authority (slaves). Most of them worked in agriculture to economically support the Spartan citizens. They were mistreated, humiliated and sometimes killed without any reason. [...]