The ecclesia or ekklesia (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ἐκκλησία) was the citizens' assembly in the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

. Unlike its more famous counterpart in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, the Spartan assembly had limited powers, as it did not debate; citizens could only vote for or against proposals. In the pre-War literature, the assembly was often called the apella (), but this word refers to a festival of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, the

Apellai Apellai (), was a three-day family-festival of the Northwest Greeks similar with the Ionic Apaturia, which was dedicated to Apollo ( Doric form: ).Walter Burkert (1985) ''Greek Religion''. Harvard University Press. p. 255 The fest was spread in G ...

, during which the ekklesia originally met.

Name

The pre-War academic literature often refers to the Spartan ekklesia as the apella. However, this word is never found in ancient sources in the singular, and never in a political context.Ste. Croix, ''Origins of the Peloponnesian War'', p. 347. The

were a festival of

during which the ekklesia originally met. They were organised once a month, with perhaps one more important feast once a year (called Apellaios), during which elections were presumably organised. In later times, the two events (religious and political) were possibly split. Ancient sources use instead the word ecclesia to designate the political assembly of the Spartans, like in any other Greek

. The most important mention comes from

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

, who reproduces a verbatim sentence of a decree between Sparta and Argos concluded in 418 or 417, which uses "ecclesia" for the Spartan assembly. The confusion arose from the Rhetra cited by

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, mentioning ''apellazein'', which Plutarch tells it means "to assemble the people", but only in reference to Apollo, the god at the origins of the Rhetra.

Structure

The meetings had in all probability taken place originally in the Agora but were later transferred to the neighbouring building, known as the Skias. According to

, a

Great Rhetra The Great Rhetra (, literally: Great "Saying" or "Proclamation", charter) was used in two senses by the classical authors. In one sense, it was the Spartan Constitution, believed to have been formulated and established by the quasi-legendary law ...

was given by

Pythia Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as th ...

to Lycurgus. The old aristocratic council was substituted by the

gerousia The Gerousia (γερουσία) was the council of elders in ancient Sparta. Sometimes called Spartan senate in the literature, it was made up of the two Spartan kings, plus 28 Spartiates over the age of sixty, known as gerontes. The Gerousia ...

(thirty elders, including the two kings). Meetings of the ekklesia should take place from time to time, and citizens should have the power to debate and take decisions.C. Mosse, p. 168-171 That right of the citizens was very soon limited. Kings Theopompus and Polydorus, probably during the 7th century BC, added to the "rhetra" that the kings and the elders (

) could set aside any "crooked" decision of the people. The presiding officers were at first the kings but in historical times the

ephor The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

s, and the voting was conducted by assessing the loudness of shouting in the crowd. If the president was doubtful as to the majority of voices, a division was taken, and the votes were counted. The ekklesia simply accepted or rejected the proposals submitted to it. In later times, too, the actual debate was almost, if not wholly, confined to the kings, elders, ephors and perhaps the other magistrates. The apella voted on peace and war, treaties and foreign policy in general. It decided the king who should conduct a campaign and settled questions of disputed succession to the throne. It elected elders, ephors and other magistrates, emancipated

helot The helots (; , ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristics ...

s and perhaps voted on legal proposals. There is a single reference to a "small assembly" () at Sparta, but nothing is known as to its nature or competence. Xen. ''

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

.'' iii. 3. 8 The ekklesia was responsible for electing men to the

for life. Candidates were selected from the aristocrats and presented before the apella. The candidate who received the loudest applause became a member of the gerousia. The ekklesia also elected the five ephors annually. Ephors presided over meetings of the gerousia and the apella. They could not run for re-election. The ephorate presented motions before the ekklesia. The ekklesia then voted on the motions. However, unlike the ecclesia in

, the ekklesia did not debate; it merely approved or disapproved of measures. Moreover, the gerousia always had the power to veto the decision of the ekklesia.

Notes

Bibliography

Ancient sources

* Plutarch, ''

Parallel Lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...

'' (''Lycurgus)''. *

, ''

History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' () is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Classical Athens, Athens). The account, ...

'' (

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by Richard Crawley on

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Modern sources