Lycurgus of Sparta
Also known as Lycurgus
Lycurgus (; ) was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, credited with the formation of its (), involving political, economic, and social reforms to produce a military-oriented Spartan society in accordance with the Delphic oracle. The Spartans in the historical period honoured him as a god.
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Lycurgus was a legendary lawgiver credited with creating Sparta's entire system of government and society, designed to produce a warrior-focused state. The historical Spartans revered him so highly that they treated him as a god.
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17 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Historicity and chronology
- Life
- Attributed reforms
- Political and military
- Economic
- Social
- Legacy
- Ancient
- Modern
- See also
- References
- Citations
- Modern sources
- Primary sources
- Further reading
- External links
Lycurgus (; ) was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, credited with the formation of its (), involving political, economic, and social reforms to produce a military-oriented Spartan society in accordance with the Delphic oracle. The Spartans in the historical period honoured him as a god.
As a historical figure, almost nothing is known for certain about him, including when he lived and what he did in life. The stories of him place him at multiple times. Nor is it clear when the political reforms attributed to him, called the Great Rhetra, occurred. Ancient dates range from – putting aside the implausibly early Xenophonic 11th century BC – the early ninth century () to as late as early eighth century (). There remains no consensus as to when he lived; some modern scholars deny that he existed at all.