How the King Goes to War

The state maintains the king and those with him as long as he is on active service.

The polemarchs mess with him and share his quarters so that by constant intercourse they can better consult each other in case of need. Besides the polemarch, 3 other members of the peers share the royal quarters, mess, etc.

The duty of these is to attend to all matters of commisariat, so that the king and the rest may have unbroken leisure to attend to actual warfare.

How does the king go out on an expedition?

As a preliminary step, before leaving home he offers sacrifice in company with his staff to Zeus Agetor (the Leader), and if the victims prove favourable then and there the priest, (5) who bears the sacred fire, takes thereof from off the altar and leads the way to the boundaries of the land.

Here for the second time the king does sacrifice (6) to Zeus and Athena.

As soon as the offerings are accepted by those two divinities he steps across the boundaries of the land. And all the while the fire from those sacrifices leads the way, and is never suffered to go out. Behind follow beasts for sacrifice of every sort.

Invariably, when he offers sacrifice the king begins the work in the gloaming ere the day has broken, being minded to anticipate the goodwill of the god.

And round about the place of sacrifice are present the polemarchs and captains, the lieutenants and sub-lieutenants, with the commandants of the baggage train, and any general of the states (7) who may care to assist.

There, too, are to be seen two of the ephors, who neither meddle nor make, save only at the summons of the king, yet have they their eyes fixed on the proceedings of each one there and keep all in order, (8) as may well be guessed.

When the sacrifices are accomplished the king summons all and issues his orders (9) as to what has to be done. And all with such method that, to witness the proceedings, you might fairly suppose the rest of the world to be but bungling experimenters, (10) and the Lacedaemonians alone true handicraftsmen in the art of soldiering.

Anon the king puts himself at the head of the troops, and if no enemy appears he heads the line of march, no one preceding him except the Sciritae, and the mounted troopers exploring in front. (11) If, however, there is any reason to anticipate a battle, the king takes the leading column of the first army corps (12) and wheels to the right until he has got into position with two army corps and two generals of division on either flank.

The disposition of the supports is assigned to the eldest of the royal council (13) (or staff corps) acting as brigadier—the staff consisting of all peers who share the royal mess and quarters, with the soothsayers, surgeons, (14) and pipers, whose place is in the front of the troops, (15) with, finally, any volunteers who happen to be present. So that there is no check or hesitation in anything to be done; every contingency is provided for.

The following details also seem to me of high utility among the inventions of Lycurgus with a view to the final arbitrament of battle.

Whensoever, the enemy being now close enough to watch the proceedings, (16) the goat is sacrificed; then, says the law, let all the pipers, in their places, play upon the pipes, and let every Lacedaemonian don a wreath.

Then, too, so runs the order, let the shields be brightly polished. The privilege is accorded to the young man to enter battle with his long locks combed. (17) To be of cheery countenance—that, too, is of good repute. Onwards they pass the word of command to the subaltern (18) in command of his section, since it is impossible to hear along the whole of each section from the particular subaltern posted on the outside. It devolves, finally, on the polemarch to see that all goes well.

When the right moment for encamping has come, the king is responsible for that, and has to point out the proper place. The despatch of emissaries, however, whether to friends or to foes, is (not) (19) the king’s affair. Petitioners in general wishing to transact anything treat, in the first instance, with the king. If the case concerns some point of justice, the king despatches the petitioner to the Hellanodikai (who form the court-martial); if of money, to the paymasters. (20)

If the petitioner brings booty, he is sent off to the Laphuropolai (or sellers of spoil). This being the mode of procedure, no other duty is left to the king, whilst he is on active service, except to play the part of priest in matters concerning the gods and of commander-in-chief in his relationship to men. (21)