ET CETERA ANTIQUA

📝 Classical Civilisation source-based question, Year 11. Topic: Thermopylae. Teacher feedback: “Excellent discussion of both sources and their views about warfare. Well done!”

One thing the first source tells us about Spartan views on war is that it was shameful to you and your family if you didn’t die in battle. Xenophon says that on the day after a war, you can see the “women whose relatives had been killed… looking bright and happy”, while those whose relatives didn’t die were “looking gloomy and sorry for themselves”. This shows that if you died fighting for Sparta, with your comrades, you died a noble death, and that it is much better to die than live as a coward.

Another thing these sources show is that the tresantes (tremblers — cowards) were treated like outcasts. Xenophon says that cowards had to “give way to others on the street,” and “rise even for younger men when seated”. This shows that cowards were treated as less than everyone else for deserting. Xenophon also says that he isn’t surprised that “Spartans prefer death to living such a deprived existence.” This shows that dying was preferable to living as a coward, which shows how disgraceful deserting was.