Sparta, less straightforward than supposed by right-wingers

Two recent streams of right wing thought deal with our field. One, probably
a response to growing criticism of the Electoral College, uses the
Federalist Papers et al to inveigh against direct democracy, urging repeal
of the 17th Amendment (direct election of senators), and warning of "the
mob."  We'll likely see more of this as the heat mounts on the Electoral
College (which will be hard, at this moment, to replace, but needs to be
kept in the discussion).  One upshot of this discussion may be to drive
folks back to the debates 1787-1800 or so, in which we now know from
studies of the popular press that "democracy" was far more popular among
Americans than the *Federalist *lets on (see M.R. Hale in *Journal of
American History* 2017).  Note how seldom the *Federalist *uses real works
of Greek history; the authors seem mostly satisfied with Plutarch.  (Moses
Finley's fierce defense [1973] of full democracy vs Dahl and Lipset, *Democracy
Ancient and Modern*, was reissued by Rutgers UP last November.)

The other stream is the evidently mindless lionising of ancient Sparta,
from people who seem to have read very little.  Ishan Tharoor took them on
a few years ago in a column that wears well
<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fworldviews%2Fwp%2F2016%2F11%2F07%2Fwhy-the-wests-far-right-and-trump-supporters-are-still-obsessed-with-an-ancient-battle%2F%3Futm_term%3D.987cb20ac492&amp;data=02%7C01%7CCLASSICS-L%40lsv.uky.edu%7C01e3b31e730d45ecb35508d6adfdedc5%7C2b30530b69b64457b818481cb53d42ae%7C0%7C0%7C636887703471372570&amp;sdata=pAMTxxaAkrT7u947WUASaz6TDP%2FgIk%2B80Z74191FIXA%3D&amp;reserved=0>.
(If the link doesn't work I'll be glad to send a copy.) Two items on this
topic perhaps worth taping on one's wrist if engaging such folks, below.

I think the Hodkinson article is basic for folks trying to orient
themselves on Spartan issues.  But there's a lot of ongoing discussion.

Dan


"Easily bewildered, fearful, lacking confidence or initiative and unwilling
to do anything other than obey orders even when Sparta's interests demanded
innovation, … prone to caution and bewilderment:  when faced with …
unfamiliar situations which demanded independent thought and action
Spartiate commanders were [at their] most ineffectual…. " - Steven
Hodkinson, "Social order and the conflict of values in Classical Sparta.*"*
*Chiron* 13 (1983) 239-281

"... Sparta was the most convenient of foes for Athens, slow against fast,
timorous against enterprising, ... The Syracusans demonstrated this: most
similar to the Athenians, they fought best against them."

ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ Λακεδαιμόνιοι Ἀθηναίοις πάντων δὴ ξυμφορώτατοι
προσπολεμῆσαι ἐγένοντο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις πολλοῖς· διάφοροι γὰρ πλεῖστον
ὄντες τὸν τρόπον, οἱ μὲν ὀξεῖς, οἱ δὲ βραδεῖς, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐπιχειρηταί, οἱ
δὲ ἄτολμοι, ἄλλως τε καὶ ἐν ἀρχῇ ναυτικῇ πλεῖστα ὠφέλουν. ἔδειξαν δὲ οἱ
Συρακόσιοι· μάλιστα γὰρ ὁμοιότροποι γενόμενοι ἄριστα καὶ προσεπολέμησαν. -
Thucydides 8.96.5