[Date and place of birth and death unknown.]
Lycurgus holds an ambiguous place between tradition and history. Nothing
authentic is known of him, and a touch of the fabulous pervades his
story. He is said to have been of the line of Spartan kings, and, after
having travelled in nearly all countries of the world, to have brought
back his laws to Sparta, whose constitution he remodelled. Quitting
Sparta, he exacted a promise from the Spartans that they would not alter
his laws until his return. He never returned. He was honoured with a
temple and a yearly sacrifice. He inculcated, according to the
tradition, rigid discipline, unquestioning obedience, and military
ardour.
[From the head of the statue in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican,
Rome. It is another example of conventional or traditional
portraiture, but possesses one very remarkable confirmation of an
accident related in his life. In one of the disturbances of the
populace, he was struck in the eye; and it will be observed that one
eye of the bust has the peculiar appearance of being useless.
Visconti, who noticed this peculiarity, first named the statue
Lycurgus. There is a head in the Naples Museum which corresponds with
this, and both are confirmed by the medals which bear his name. The
drill holes about the beard are interesting, as they prove that the
ancient sculptors worked on the same plan as the moderns.]