Xenelasia
Encyclopedia
Xenelasia was the title given to a set of laws in ancient Doric Crete
and Lacedæmonia that proscribed the inclusion of foreigners and any foreign arts and music into their respective commonwealths.
. Foreigners were allowed in for religious festivals and missions of state but foreigners were not allowed to live in the environs. Special exceptions were given to friends and allies, (laconophile
s) like Xenophon
. On the reverse side, the general populace was forbidden foreign travel. These laws were intended to preserve the native character of the Doric tribe from any taint of foreign influence. The greatest compliment given to a Greek is that he maintained the customs of his forefathers. Prof. Müller
writes that the Doric character of a "certain loftiness and severity of character" was continued in Sparta only because it succeeded in keeping herself in an isolated situation.
Plutarch
wrote: "And this was the reason why he (Lycurgus) forbade them to travel abroad, and go about acquainting themselves with foreign rules of morality, the habits of ill-educated people, and different views of government. Withal he banished from Lacedaemon all strangers who would not give a very good reason for their coming thither; not because he was afraid lest they should inform themselves of and imitate his manner of government (as Thucydides
says), or learn anything to their good; but rather lest they should introduce something contrary to good manners. With strange people, strange words must be admitted; these novelties produce novelties in thought; and on these views and feelings whose discordant character destroys the harmony of the state. He was as careful to save his city from the infection of foreign bad habits, as men usually are to prevent the introduction of a pestilence."
Niccolò Machiavelli
believed that Sparta lasted a long time because "she did not permit strangers to establish themselves in the republic" and remarked that the Roman Republic
took the opposite course of Sparta spelling her doom.
that "…we Cretans are not much given to cultivating verse of alien origin."
Practically all the Doric states that did not pass Xenalasia laws lost their national character and soon their political liberty. Most of these cities passed under what was called "club-law" and the violence and killing never stopped. The only countries and city states that had peace were the ones that preserved their national character intact.
Because Doric Corcyreans were active, industrious and enterprising, good sailors and active merchants, they had entirely lost the stability and noble features of the Doric character. Some said that they exceeded the Athenians in degradation and that even their dogs excelled in impudence.
Argos was also a Doric state. It also lost its "noble features of the Doric character". "Argos became such an unsettled state of public affairs, sycophancy and violence became prevalent:…"
Tarentum
was also a Doric state, a colony in Magna Graecia
. "At a subsequent period, however, as there was no longer men of this stamp (noble character) to carry on the government, and the corruption of manners, caused by the natural fruitfulness of the country, and restrained by no strict laws, was continually on the increase, the state of Tarentum was so entirely changed, that every trace of the ancient Doric character, and particularly of the mother-country, disappeared; hence, although externally powerful and wealthy, it was from its real internal debility, in the end, necessarily overthrown, particularly when the insolent violence of the people became a fresh source of weakness."
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and Lacedæmonia that proscribed the inclusion of foreigners and any foreign arts and music into their respective commonwealths.
In Lacedæmonia
The Xenelasia laws are more famously noted in Sparta. Lacedæmonian magistrates had the duty and authorization to expel any person who posed a threat to public order and morals for they considered their state a family writ largeFamily as a model for the state
The family as a model for the organization of the state is a theory of political philosophy. It either explains the structure of certain kinds of state in terms of the structure of the family , or it attempts to justify certain types of state by appeal to the structure of the family...
. Foreigners were allowed in for religious festivals and missions of state but foreigners were not allowed to live in the environs. Special exceptions were given to friends and allies, (laconophile
Laconophile
Laconophilia is love or admiration of Sparta and of the Spartan culture or constitution. The term derives from Laconia, the part of the Peloponnesus that the Spartans inhabited....
s) like Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
. On the reverse side, the general populace was forbidden foreign travel. These laws were intended to preserve the native character of the Doric tribe from any taint of foreign influence. The greatest compliment given to a Greek is that he maintained the customs of his forefathers. Prof. Müller
Karl Otfried Müller
Karl Otfried Müller , was a German scholar and Philodorian, or admirer of ancient Sparta, who introduced the modern study of Greek mythology.-Biography:...
writes that the Doric character of a "certain loftiness and severity of character" was continued in Sparta only because it succeeded in keeping herself in an isolated situation.
Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
wrote: "And this was the reason why he (Lycurgus) forbade them to travel abroad, and go about acquainting themselves with foreign rules of morality, the habits of ill-educated people, and different views of government. Withal he banished from Lacedaemon all strangers who would not give a very good reason for their coming thither; not because he was afraid lest they should inform themselves of and imitate his manner of government (as Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
says), or learn anything to their good; but rather lest they should introduce something contrary to good manners. With strange people, strange words must be admitted; these novelties produce novelties in thought; and on these views and feelings whose discordant character destroys the harmony of the state. He was as careful to save his city from the infection of foreign bad habits, as men usually are to prevent the introduction of a pestilence."
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
believed that Sparta lasted a long time because "she did not permit strangers to establish themselves in the republic" and remarked that the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
took the opposite course of Sparta spelling her doom.
In Doric Crete
In Plato's Laws, Clinias the Cretan remarks on HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
that "…we Cretans are not much given to cultivating verse of alien origin."
Practically all the Doric states that did not pass Xenalasia laws lost their national character and soon their political liberty. Most of these cities passed under what was called "club-law" and the violence and killing never stopped. The only countries and city states that had peace were the ones that preserved their national character intact.
Because Doric Corcyreans were active, industrious and enterprising, good sailors and active merchants, they had entirely lost the stability and noble features of the Doric character. Some said that they exceeded the Athenians in degradation and that even their dogs excelled in impudence.
Argos was also a Doric state. It also lost its "noble features of the Doric character". "Argos became such an unsettled state of public affairs, sycophancy and violence became prevalent:…"
Tarentum
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
was also a Doric state, a colony in Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
. "At a subsequent period, however, as there was no longer men of this stamp (noble character) to carry on the government, and the corruption of manners, caused by the natural fruitfulness of the country, and restrained by no strict laws, was continually on the increase, the state of Tarentum was so entirely changed, that every trace of the ancient Doric character, and particularly of the mother-country, disappeared; hence, although externally powerful and wealthy, it was from its real internal debility, in the end, necessarily overthrown, particularly when the insolent violence of the people became a fresh source of weakness."
Sources
- Harpers Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, edited by Harry Thurston Peck, Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1896, 1962. see entry Xenelasia.
- Zaikov A. V. Spartan xenelasiai, in: Antichnaya Drevnost' i Srednie Veka. Ekaterinburg: The Ural State University, 1999. № 30. Pp. 6–25. (in Russian: Зайков А. В. Спартанские ксенеласии // Античная древность и средние века. Екатеринбург: Уральский государственный университет, 1999. Вып. 30. С. 6–25. German summary).