Historia Civilis explains “The Constitution of the Spartans”
(21 min).
The city-state was a diarchy with two kinds. It was in a constant state of war readiness
because it had been set up by foreign invaders who kept the “helots” in slavery.
Young men, when finishing military service, were given land
with slaves. But the complicated
inheritance laws resulting in women accumulating a lot of wealth and power over
time, as men often died in battle.
The five “ephors” provided oversight. But they were reviewed
by their successors, providing a bizarre kind of stability.
There was also a council called Gerousia.
Young men were sent through rigorous military training where
they learned to endure much pain. Weaker
boys were often executed, so the system had some of the elements of personal
fascism. This was a militant society as authoritarian as Nazi Germany.
Wikipedia attribution: By Publius97 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
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