According to Herodotus (1.82), when the Persians besieged the Lydians in the mid-sixth century BC, Croesus asked the Spartans for help; the latter were at war with the Argives over an area called Thyrea, in Cynuria, in the south-eastern Peloponnese. Herodotus begins an excursus on this local war. Thyrea was part of Argolis, and had been occupied by the Spartans. The enemies agreed to arrange a fight between 300 champions from each army and to allocate the disputed land to the winning side. It was also agreed that both armies would return home before the contest, to ensure that they were not tempted to help their respective champions if they saw them in trouble. Only three soldiers survived the battle: the Argives Alcenor and Chromius, and the Spartan Othryades. The two Argives ran home to announce their victory, while the Spartan champion stayed on the battlefield to collect spoils from the dead enemies, convinced that victory belonged not to the side with more survivors, but to the one that had not abandoned its post. And so, both Sparta and Argos claimed victory, and the contest escalated into a fight between the two armies. After heavy losses on both sides, Sparta prevailed. The only survivor of the 300 Spartan champions, ashamed that he had not died in combat, took his own life. Herodotus also describes the aftermath of this battle, my main focus here. He refers to a change in the social practices of both Sparta and Argos. The Argives, whose custom had always been to grow their hair long, shaved their heads and passed a law, which included a curse on any Argive who allowed his hair to grow before the recovery of Thyrea. The Spartans, for their part, passed a law that required hair not to be cut. Women, too, had to change their customs, at least in Argos: from then on, they were not allowed to wear gold jewellery (μηδὲ τὰς γυναῖκάς σφι χρυσοφορήσειν). This paper investigates the prohibition on wearing gold in the tale of the Battle of the Champions. According to the traditional interpretation, this prohibition was a mourning ritual or, more generally, a restriction on luxury goods. My paper shifts the focus to what this interpretation implies. Indeed, the restrictions on luxury involve a limitation on displaying the prestige generated by prowess in war and a particular lifestyle combining wealth and excellence.
Women in Gold: Luxurious Objects, Excellence and Prestige in the Peloponnese / Franchi, Elena. - STAMPA. - (2021), pp. 161-176.
Women in Gold: Luxurious Objects, Excellence and Prestige in the Peloponnese
Franchi, Elena
2021-01-01
Abstract
According to Herodotus (1.82), when the Persians besieged the Lydians in the mid-sixth century BC, Croesus asked the Spartans for help; the latter were at war with the Argives over an area called Thyrea, in Cynuria, in the south-eastern Peloponnese. Herodotus begins an excursus on this local war. Thyrea was part of Argolis, and had been occupied by the Spartans. The enemies agreed to arrange a fight between 300 champions from each army and to allocate the disputed land to the winning side. It was also agreed that both armies would return home before the contest, to ensure that they were not tempted to help their respective champions if they saw them in trouble. Only three soldiers survived the battle: the Argives Alcenor and Chromius, and the Spartan Othryades. The two Argives ran home to announce their victory, while the Spartan champion stayed on the battlefield to collect spoils from the dead enemies, convinced that victory belonged not to the side with more survivors, but to the one that had not abandoned its post. And so, both Sparta and Argos claimed victory, and the contest escalated into a fight between the two armies. After heavy losses on both sides, Sparta prevailed. The only survivor of the 300 Spartan champions, ashamed that he had not died in combat, took his own life. Herodotus also describes the aftermath of this battle, my main focus here. He refers to a change in the social practices of both Sparta and Argos. The Argives, whose custom had always been to grow their hair long, shaved their heads and passed a law, which included a curse on any Argive who allowed his hair to grow before the recovery of Thyrea. The Spartans, for their part, passed a law that required hair not to be cut. Women, too, had to change their customs, at least in Argos: from then on, they were not allowed to wear gold jewellery (μηδὲ τὰς γυναῖκάς σφι χρυσοφορήσειν). This paper investigates the prohibition on wearing gold in the tale of the Battle of the Champions. According to the traditional interpretation, this prohibition was a mourning ritual or, more generally, a restriction on luxury goods. My paper shifts the focus to what this interpretation implies. Indeed, the restrictions on luxury involve a limitation on displaying the prestige generated by prowess in war and a particular lifestyle combining wealth and excellence.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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