Tyrtaeus

He wrote at a time of two crises affecting the city: a civic unrest threatening the authority of kings and elders, later recalled in a poem named Eunomia ("Law and Order"), where he reminded citizens to respect the divine and constitutional roles of kings, council, and demos; and the Second Messenian War, during which he served as a sort of "state poet", exhorting Spartans to fight to the death for their city.

In the 4th century BC, when Tyrtaeus was an established classic, Spartan armies on campaign were made to listen to his poetry.

The Suda states that he wrote martial songs; these were important in Spartan festivals and were done through anapaestic and iambic chants that accompanied armed dances and processions.

It has been suggested that the depictions of Tyrtaeus as a lame schoolmaster from Athens were invented to denigrate Sparta,[6] which in the views of Athenians could not have had a talented poet of its own.

[12] It has also been noted that Tyrtaeus did not compose in the vernacular Laconian Doric dialect of Sparta, as could be expected of a native Spartan like his near contemporary Alcman.

[14] Scholars generally agree that Tyrtaeus was a native of Laconia for several reasons: the use of the first personal plural to include himself among the Heraclidae whom Zeus had given to Sparta in fragment 2;[14] the presence of occasional Doric words in his vocabulary;[13] and his tone of authority when addressing Spartan warriors, which would have been tolerated only if delivered by a Spartan-born poet.

Virtually all that is known about the life of Tyrtaeus is found in two entries of the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopedia redacted in the 10th century AD.

[6] The first of the entry of the Suda runs as follows:Tyrtaeus, son of Archembrotus, a Laconian or Milesian elegiac poet and pipe-player.

The Lacedaemonians swore that they would either capture Messene or die, and when the god gave them an oracle to take a general from the Athenians, they took the poet Tyrtaeus, a man who was lame.

[22] The conquest of Messenia in the 8th century BC, by the grandfathers of Tyrtaeus's generation, provided the foundation for a sophisticated and cultivated lifestyle.

Ivory and gold ornaments, bronze vessels of ornate workmanship, fine pottery and the odes of Alcman all testify to refined tastes, continuing even into the sixth century.

The continuance of those luxuries was "dearly purchased" in blood and toil by Tyrtaeus's generation when the Messenians revolted, and the ensuing war and civil strife inspired his entire poetic work.

[26] Tyrtaeus in his poetry urged the Spartans to remain loyal to the state and he reminded them of a constitution based on divine providence, requiring co-operation of kings, elders and the people.

Some modern scholars however think his advice shows more familiarity with the schoolroom than with the battlefield, appearing to feature obsolete armour and tactics typical of Homeric rather than hoplite warfare.

The similarities in meter and phrasing between Homeric epic and early elegy have encouraged this tendency, sometimes leading to dramatic conclusions about Tyrtaeus's significance.

[38] Pollux stated that Tyrtaeus introduced Spartans to three choruses based on age (boys, young and old men),[39] and some modern scholars in fact contend that he composed his elegies in units of five couplets each, alternating between exhortation and reflection, in a kind of responsion similar to Greek choral poetry.

[13] The use of Ionian vocabulary is all the more remarkable in that Tyrtaeus gave voice to a national, military ethic peculiar to Sparta, and his verses were possibly sung at banquets on campaign and even on the march.

[nb 4] The elegies, being sung at military banquets, belong to a tradition of sympotic poetry[44] while also being representative of the genre of martial exhortation.

For instance, the words of Tyrtaeus 10.1–2 ("For it is a fine thing for a man having fallen nobly amid the fore-fighters to die, fighting on behalf of the fatherland") undoubtedly echo Hector's speech in 15.494–7 of Homer's Iliad.

[48] Let a man learn how to fight by first daring to perform mighty deeds, Not where the missiles won't reach, if he is armed with a shield, But getting in close where fighting is hand to hand, inflicting a wound With his long spear or his sword, taking the enemy's life, With his foot planted alongside a foot and his shield pressed against shield, And his crest up against crest and his helm up against helm And breast against breast, embroiled in the action—let him fight man to man, Holding secure in his grasp haft of his sword or his spear!

In poem 9, he shows that in order to achieve true and the best arete, it involves being in a cohesive group that exemplifies this concept together.

[51] This can further show that Tyrtaeus' use of military ideology in his poems influenced Spartan warriors to live a certain way for their state including being courageous and knowing they will be honored in death or in victory over battle.