This paper examines Herodotus’ passage (VI 57,5) where it is stated that, if the Spartan kings were absent from the gerousia, «those of the Elders who are most closely related to them shall have the prerogatives of the kings, and give two votes, besides a third vote which is their own». Through the ethnographic notion of ancestor-focus kinship it is shown that there was one elder who acted as proxy for both the kings. Consequently, Herodotus’ text assumes that each king had only one vote, just as Thucydides says in his criticism of popular beliefs (I 20,3). Further considerations on the intertextual relationship between the two fifth-century historians are put forward.
I voti dei re spartani
LUPI, Marcello
2014
Abstract
This paper examines Herodotus’ passage (VI 57,5) where it is stated that, if the Spartan kings were absent from the gerousia, «those of the Elders who are most closely related to them shall have the prerogatives of the kings, and give two votes, besides a third vote which is their own». Through the ethnographic notion of ancestor-focus kinship it is shown that there was one elder who acted as proxy for both the kings. Consequently, Herodotus’ text assumes that each king had only one vote, just as Thucydides says in his criticism of popular beliefs (I 20,3). Further considerations on the intertextual relationship between the two fifth-century historians are put forward.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
