European History – Spartan Trade and Agriculture

By Iwan

The basis of every civilization has always been agriculture and on a lesser basis, but still significant, trade. Great civilizations always started in the areas where food and agriculture was in abundance. This was no different with Sparta. Even though the Spartiates themselves do not engage in trade or agriculture, they still understood the importance of agriculture and trade to the survival to the Spartan State. It was to this end that the classes of the Perioikoi and helots were created to serve the needs of trade and Agriculture.

Once the establishment of Spartiates only bearing arms, the “Commercial and economic role of the perioeci must have become a very important one.” Literally means “the dwellers round about”, they are communities of free people granted freedom in Laconia and Messenia by the Spartans for exchange for military service. At times, they would even be trained as hoplites to serve as an army. However, they were the merchants, craftsmen and the professionals at Lacedemonia. They held a monopoly on these professions due to the fact that Spartiates are not allowed to engage in these trades, and the helots didn’t have the required freedom to achieve these professions. Unlike the Spartiates, they were allowed to gather wealth by gold and silver, and these provided much of the wealth of the Spartan state.

A problem that was presented though to the perioeci was the fact that the Spartan state issued currency in the form of iron bars. Plutarch: “The iron money... could not be exported elsewhere in Greece, and was considered a joke there, not an object of value.” The Spartan Iron currency was also doused with vinegar at the time of melting, which renders it useless to be melted down as weapons or other uses. This obviously presented problems for trade, due to the heavy and incumbersome nature of iron bars. It worked well to restrict the hoarding of wealth of Spartiates and the reduction of crime, but it proved to be an impediment to the <i>perioeci</i> . It was to this end that trading in Sparta had to be done in other Greek Currencies. (E.g. Drachmas or talents of gold). Unlike Spartiates, The <i>perioeci</i> were allowed to hoard gold and silver, and not live an austere life like the Spartans. It was due to this that most of the wealth in the Spartan state belonged to the <i>perioeci</i> . The <i>perioeci</i> were not citizens, but nor were they slaves. The had most of the rights of the Spartiates, with the exception of political rights. Ehrenburg says “for some time export trade flourished, as can be seen by the Laconian vases found in east and west; by that trade, no less than the making of the vases, was probably largely in the hands of the <i>perioeci</i> . Many of their towns were busy harbors.” Trade before the shift towards a militaristic state used to be allowed for Spartiates. Evidence of Spartan vases and craftsmanship found by archeological digs proved this.

Agriculture in Sparta was the field of the Helots. Helots *#8220;Were, in short, local inhabitants of Laconia and Messenia owned by the Spartan state and placed in total subjection to work for its citizens” an arrangement by no means unique in the Greek World.” A supposed reform by Lycurgus was the redistribution of land to each invidual Spartiate that would be enough to provide “A Rent of Medimni of barley for a man, and 12 for his wife, along with proportionate quantities of fresh produce” It was these helots that farmed these lots of lands for the Spartiates. These helots were state–owned and controlled, but enjoyed more freedom than other slaves in other Greek city–states. These Greek city–states often commented and criticized Sparta for her institutional slavery of the helots. However, these helots in fact enjoyed more rights than their slaves. They could marry when and whom they wished, raise as many children as they wished, and did not get their full produce taken away from them. The Spartans only took away a half of their produce from them each harvest, leaving the other half for the helots to do as they please. It was in this way that some helots became quite wealthy, and were able to purchase their way of out slavery and become one of the Perioeci or move to another city–state. Helots were not chatteled to the land, but were assigned by the state to the invidual Spartiates. These helots were extremely important, as “It was their labor which permitted the Spartiate class to devote itself exclusively to non–productive pursuits.” These helots may also be called up for military service, by which as a reward, they would be freed. Helots that are freed in this way are called neodamodeis.

Agriculture and Trade were the basis of any great civilization or nation in history. Nations at times could emerge in order to control the flow of trade and distribution of agricultural products to the proletariat. In Sparta, the system is no different. The system that evolved was made in order to produce the ultimate fighting force, and the institution of the helots and the perioeci to fulfill the purposes of agriculture and trade.

 

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