Lycurgus

Flourished Seventh Century b.c.e.

Spartan Lawgiver

Source

Warrior Society . According to tradition Lycurgus founded Sparta’s political system, with its emphasis on military strength, a form of government that survived his rule for generations. Scholars speculate that Lycurgus created the highly militarized communal system following a Helot (slave) revolt. He apparently introduced all of Sparta’s laws and devised the two organs of government, the gerousia (council of elders and the two kings) and the apella (assembly). His military and political institutions resembled those of Crete.

Source

John Boardman and others, eds., The Oxford History of the Classical World (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1986).

Lycurgus (active c.625 bc) Semi-mythical lawgiver of ancient Sparta. He has been cited as the author of the political and social system in Sparta. Many scholars now doubt that one individual was responsible for the Spartan social system.