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Messenia, homeland of Sparta's Helot population, from Mt. Ithome.

The Crypteia, also referred to as Krypteia or Krupteia (Greek: κρυπτεία krupteía from κρυπτός kruptós, "hidden, secret"), was an ancient Spartan state institution involving young Spartan men. It was an exclusive element of Sparta's state-sponsored education system in which participation afforded its members, known as kryptai (κρύπται, members of the Krypteia), the opportunity to further test their skills and prove themselves worthy of the Spartan polity. As an organization, the Crypteia's mandate and practices are still a matter of contest among historians.

Overview

The Crypteia was composed of young Spartan men, probably between the ages of twenty-one and thirty, who were described as "those judged to have the most intelligence." These men were known as hêbôntes (one of the many social categories that preceded full Spartiate citizenhsip) and had completed their training at the agoge with such success that they were marked out as potential future leaders by Spartan officials. The training kryptai endured was undoubtedly harsh but the way in which their training was conducted is contested. According to Plato, kryptai did not use footwear during the winter and slept would sleep without shelter. He also described them as being unsupervised and dependent on only themselves for survival. While Plato's description might seem to imply that kryptai were forced to be independent, it is thought by some scholars that they may have had attendants at certain times watching over them. The duration of service to the Crypteia is also largely unknown but it has been suggested that one year of service may have been all that was required of the men. Some scholars, such as Henri-Alexandre Wallon, consider the Crypteia to be a kind of secret police and state security force organized by the ruling class of Sparta to patrol the Laconian countryside and to terrorize the helots. Others, including Hermann Köchly and Wilhelm Wachsmuth, believe it to be a form of military training similar to the Athenian ephebia. Much of contestation surrounding the Cryptiea comes from the differing accounts provided by Plutarch and Plato. In Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus he describes the brutal killing of helots on behalf of the Crypteia, but in Laws, Plato makes no mention of these killings.

History and Function

According to Aristotle, the Cryptiea was established by the legendary Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus. There is no known date associated with its establishment, however. Every autumn, Spartan ephors would declare war on the helot population, allowing any Spartan citizen to kill a helot without fear of punishment. During this time, the chosen kryptai were sent out into the countryside armed with knives with the instructions to kill any helot they encountered travelling the roads and any who were tending to fields they deemed too plentiful. They were specifically told to kill the strongest and to take any food they needed. The reason for this practice's adoption may have been to reduce the repressed aggression of the hêbôntes. However, it is most commonly thought to have been adopted to prevent the threat of a helot rebellion and to keep their population in check. According to some sources, kryptai would stalk the helot villages and surrounding countryside, spying on the servile population. Their mission was to prevent and suppress unrest and rebellion. Another point of contestation is the time of day at which the Cryptiea operated. Plato described their movement as travelling both day and night. On the contrary, Plutarch states that they would hide during the day and would travel by night, then aiming to kill any helots who they came across. This suggests that helots may have had to comply with curfew laws put into place by the Spartans. Troublesome helots could be summarily executed. Such brutal repression of the helots permitted the Spartan elite to successfully control the servile agrarian population and devote themselves to military practice. It may also have contributed to the Spartans' reputation for stealth since a kryptēs (κρύπτης) who got caught was punished by whipping. Aristotle's account, however, is contested even among ancient historians. Plutarch, who provides much of what is known of Aristotle's account, was not convinced that Lykourgos would have included such harsh customs within the Spartan constitution and instead thought that the Cyrpteia would have only be introduced, if at all, after the helot revolt brought on by an earthquake in Sparta in the mid 460s BCE. In events proceeding the ten year conflict between the Spartans and Messenians that resulted from the helot revolt, the Spartan leadership had two-thousand helots who had participated in the war killed. It is thought that the Crypteia were the primary perpetrators of the massacre or were at least somehow involved in carrying it out.

Military Affiliation

In Cleomenes, Plutarch describes the Crypteia as being a unit of the Spartan army. The Crypteia did not act in a similar fashion to hoplite soldiers, however. Hoplite soldiers were armored and acted as a part of a phalanx while members of the Crypetia acted on their own, often rested during the day, and were most likely naked and armed with only a dagger. During the Battle of Sellasia, the Spartan king Cleomenes III "called Damoteles, the commander of the Crypteia, and ordered him to observe and find out how matters stood in the rear and on the flanks of his army." Various scholars have speculated function of the Crypteia as a part of the army because Plutarch's account provides a completely different understanding of their role when compared to the accounts provided by Aristotle and Plato. Plutarch's account has led to the Cryptiea being described as a reconnaissance, special operations, or even military police force. However, Jean Ducat argues that this source should no longer be associated with the understanding of the Cryptiea as known from Aristotle and Plato. He proposes that the understanding of the Cryptiea as part of the army is just that, a sperate understanding that defines the Cryptiea as a corps in the Spartan army. Plutarch's account of the Cryptiea describes the organization as a military unit that has a commander. This differs from Aristotle and Plato's interpretation as the Cryptiea is described as being independent and without overseers. Ducat also takes up query with the task of observation that the Cryptiea are given in Plutarch's account. Again, this differs from Aristotle and Plato's interpretation in the fact that the Cryptiea's mandate was not to observe and provide intelligence but to purposely seek out and kill helots. Unlike its unknown origins, the Battle of Sellasia is considered to provide a potential date for the disbandment of the Cryptiea. With the Spartan revolution in jeopardy, Cleomenes III began to emancipate helots in exchange for money and then military service. With the emancipation of many helots and Spartan's subsequent defeat at Sellasia, helotage ceased to exist, and without a helot population, by mandate, the Cryptiea should have ceased to exist as well. The Cryptiea disbanding after this battle, however, is only speculation.

Ritualistic Activity

French historian Henri Jeanmaire points out that the bushranger life of the Crypteia shares no commonality with the disciplined and well-ordered communal life (see Homonoia) of the Spartan hoplite. Jeanmaire suggests that the Crypteia was a rite of passage, possibly pre-dating the classical military organization, and may have been preserved through Sparta's legendary religious conservatism. He draws comparison with the initiation rituals of some African secret societies (wolf-men and leopard men). While members of the Crypteia may have not shared the commonality with Spartan hoplite's that Jeanmaire describes during their service as apart of the institution, they did eventually return to their communities and were integrated back into the complex Spartan social system.

Modern Reception

In Popular Culture

The Crypteia are briefly mentioned in the comic book series Three by Kieron Gillan. They make their first appearance in issue one of Three and are depicted naked, armed with only daggers, attacking a group of unsuspecting helots as they tend to their crops. Gillian used the Crypteia to highlight the harshness of the Spartan system and describes their function as "a rite of passage to life where all vocations are barred, bar one. Once a year, the masters declare war on the helots. If they bloody their hands, they are not polluted. So they are free to do whatever is required to keep the helots on their knees. And so they do." One of Sparta's leadings historians, Stephen Hodkinson, is noted as being the historical consultant employed by Gillan throughout the series. Hodkinson describes Gillian's depiction of the Crypteia as a "perfect amalgam" of the information available in the two source traditions; those being Plato's Laws and Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus. The reason for this, according to Hokinson, is that these two sources portray the Crypteia in different, almost contradictory, ways. Aristotle's account, which is taken from Plutarch, depicts kryptai hunting helots, while Plato's account does not mention the killing of helots and views the Crypteia as a mode of endurance training. Hodkinson claims that the differing accounts have led modern scholars to adopt a "composite" understanding of the Crypteia.

See also

• Kóryos
• Agoge

Further Reading

• Spartan Education: Youth and Society in the Classical Period by Jean Ducat.
• A Companion to Sparta edited by Anton Powell.