Spartan Art

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an historical analysis of Ancient Greece life in the city of Sparta and how this stark, simple and minimalist city-state was worthy of having an art form named after it. It shows how the city was known for its courage and military victories and how Spartan art depicts scenes of heroic myths and legends, in tune with the general Spartan emphasis on valor and victory. Examples of famous Spartan art pieces are mentioned and analyzed.

From the Paper:

"The term Spartan has come to mean stark simplicity, stern self-discipline, and minimalism, a tribute to the way of life in the ancient Greek city-state. Military capital not only of the Pelopponese but of the whole of Greece, Sparta defended her boundaries and people with aplomb, instrumental in both ending the Peloponnesian War in 386 BCE and fending off the Persians in the fifth century BCE. Thus Sparta played as key a role in securing the integrity of Greek culture and the arts and possibly paved the way for the victories of Alexander the Great. Because of the focus on military life in ancient Sparta, Spartan art is not as renowned as that of its cultural rival, Athens. This does not imply that the arts were unimportant in Laconia; however, the dominance of military and athletic culture in the area superseded artistic expression by the end of the Archaic Period. Most surviving Spartan art is from the early 6th century BCE and definitely reflects the importance of war in Spartan society. Spartan art also indicates the position of women in that culture: Spartan women were athletically trained and educated to a degree rivaled by no other Greek city-state. Scenes from daily life occasionally make their way onto Spartan pottery. "

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