I will also give an account of the power and
honour that Lycurgus conferred on the King in the field. In the first place,
while on military service the King and his staff are maintained by the
state. The colonels mess with the King, in order that constant intercourse
may give better opportunities for taking counsel together in case of need.
Three of the peers also attend the King’s mess. These three take entire
charge of the commissariat for the King and his staff, so that these may
devote all their time to affairs of war.
But I will go back to the beginning, and
explain how the King sets out with an army. First he offers up sacrifice at
home to Zeus the Leader and to the gods associated with him.Or, if we read οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ
with Haase, he and his staff. By the
associated gods
we should understand Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri.
In the Oxford text I gave
τοῖν σιοῖν, the twin
gods. If the sacrifice appears propitious, the Fire-bearer takes
fire from the altar and leads the way to the borders of the land. There the
King offers sacrifice again to Zeus and Athena.
Only when the sacrifice proves acceptable to both these deities does he cross
the borders of the land. And the fire from these sacrifices leads the way
and is never quenched, and animals for sacrifice of every sort follow. At
all times when he offers sacrifice, the King begins the work before dawn of
day, wishing to forestall the goodwill of the god.
And at the sacrifice are assembled colonels, captains, lieutenants,
commandants of foreign contingents, commanders of the baggage train, and, in
addition, any general from the states who chooses to be present.
There are also present two of the Ephors, who interfere in nothing except by
the King’s request, but keep an eye on the proceedings, and see that all
behave with a decorum suitable to the occasion. When the sacrifices are
ended, the King summons all and delivers the orders of the day. And so,
could you watch the scene, you would think all other men mere improvisors in
soldiering and the Lacedaemonians the only artists in warfare.
When the King leads, provided that no enemy
appears, no one precedes him except the Sciritae and the mounted vedettes.
But if ever they think there will be fighting, he takes the lead of the
first regiment and wheels to the right, until he is between two regiments
and two colonels.
The troops that are to support these are marshalled by the senior member of
the King’s staff. The staff consists of all peers who are members of the
royal mess, seers, doctors, fluteplayers, commanding officers and any
volunteers who happen to be present. Thus nothing that has to be done causes
any difficulty, for everything is duly provided for.
The following arrangementsThis paragraph is an afterthought, supplementing
11.3-4. made by Lycurgus with a view to the actual fighting are
also, in my opinion, very useful. When a goat is sacrificed, the enemy being
near enough to see, custom ordains that all the fluteplayers present are to
play and every Lacedaemonian is to wear a wreath. An order is also given to
polish arms. It is also the privilege of the young warrior to comb his
hair(?) before entering battle, to look cheerful and earn a good report.
Moreover, the men shout words of encouragement to the subaltern, for it is
impossible for each subaltern to make his voice travel along the whole of
his section to the far end.When two or
more sections are abreast (c. xi. 4), the men take up and repeat the
exhortations of the subaltern posted at the end of the line, and pass
them along to the next subaltern, and so on. These detached notes are
not clearly expressed. The colonel is responsible for seeing that
all is done properly.
When the time for encamping seems to have
arrived, the decision rests with the King, who also indicates the proper
place. On the other hand the dispatch of embassies whether to friends or
enemies is not the King’s affair. All who have any business to transact deal
in the first instance with the King.
Suitors for justice are remitted by the King to the Court of Hellanodicae,
applications for money to the treasurers; and if anyone brings booty, he is
sent to the auctioneers. With this routine the only duties left to the King
on active service are to act as priest in matters of religion and as general
in his dealings with the men.