Spartan Hereditary Care

by Hans F. K. Günther

Hans F. K. Günther highlights the rigorous hereditary practices and laws aimed at preserving the physical and moral superiority of the Spartans.

This is an excerpt from Hans F. K. Günther’s Lebensgeschichte des hellenischen Volkes (History of the Hellenic People), 1965.

The Spartans paid close attention to the inheritance of human traits and the preservation of their ruling class. From Plutarch’s writings about Lycurgus, it is evident that Sparta had actual hereditary health legislation. ... In fact, the constitution attributed to Lycurgus preserves Indo-European traditions in its laws on hereditary care, which had been developed under Spartan conditions and gained the force of law over the centuries.