respects superior to that of the ordinary slaves in other parts
of Greece, it was embittered by the fact that they were not
strangers like the latter, but were of the same race and spoke
the same language as their masters, being probably the
descendants of the old inhabitants, who had offered the most
obstinate resistance to the Dorians, and had therefore been
reduced to slavery. As their numbers increased, they became
objects of suspicion to their masters, and were subjected to the
most wanton and oppressive cruelty.

The functions of the Spartan government were distributed among
two kings, a senate of thirty members, a popular assembly, and an
executive directory of five men called the Ephors.

At the head of the state were the two hereditary kings. The
existence of a pair of kings was peculiar to Sparta, and is said
to have arisen from the accidental circumstance of Aristodemus
having left twin sons, Eurysthenes and Procles. This division of
the royal power naturally tended to weaken its influence and to
produce jealousies and dissensions between the two kings. The
royal power was on the decline during the whole historical
period, and the authority of the kings was gradually usurped by
the Ephors, who at length obtained the entire control of the
government, and reduced the kings to a state of humiliation and
dependence.

The Senate, called GERUSIA, or the COUNCIL OF ELDERS, consisted
of thirty members, among whom the two kings were included. They
were obliged to be upwards of sixty years of age, and they held
their office for life. They possessed considerable power and