16. Spartan Meals: Building Unity Through Shared Sustenance

Date: 6 April 2024
Time: 14:31:46 CEST
Topic: 16. Spartan Meals: Building Unity Through Shared Sustenance
Tags: austerity, Combating Extravagance, communal meals, discouraging individualism, ephors, flour, fruit, game, kings, loss of citizenship, luxury, Lycurgus, public meals, sacrificial meat, social standing, Spartan society, syssitia, unity

The public meals (syssitia) were arguably the most unique aspect of Lycurgus' reforms within Spartan society.

Combating Extravagance: Concerned about the lavish dining habits of the wealthy, Lycurgus mandated that all Spartan citizens partake in communal meals.

Required Contributions: Each citizen had to contribute a set amount of flour, fruit, game, or sacrificial meat to these meals. Failure to contribute resulted in loss of citizenship and social standing.

Universality of Dining: With the exception of the ephors (Spartan magistrates), everyone, including the kings, was obligated to participate in these common meals.

Discouraging Individualism: Even a king returning from a military campaign faced harsh criticism for requesting a private meal with his wife. This reinforced the emphasis on unity and social equality within Sparta.

Austerity Over Luxury: A visiting Athenian, witnessing the Spartan's simple fare, remarked how it explained their willingness to die in battle. He saw such a life as almost preferable to death.