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The Gerousia (γερουσία) was the council of elders in ancient Sparta. Sometimes called Spartan senate in the literature, it was made up of the two Spartan kings, plus 28 men over the age of sixty, known as gerontes. The Gerousia was a prestigious body, holding extensive judicial and legislative powers, which shaped Sparta's policies.
Sparta had a special policy maker, the Gerousia, a council consisting of 28 elders over the age of 60, elected for life and usually part of the royal households, and the two kings. High state policy decisions were discussed by this council who could then propose action alternatives to the demos .
There was probably an age requirement of at least 30 years old to be elected ephor, the age from which a Spartan citizen was no longer considered eromenos. [24] The Spartan constitution is principally known through the work of Aristotle, who describes in detail the elections of the gerontes (the members of the Gerousia), but not the ephors.
The Gerousia consisted of 28 elders over the age of 60, ... At age 20, the Spartan citizen began his membership in one of the syssitia (dining messes or clubs), ...
For most of its history, the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it had two kings simultaneously, who were called the archagetai, [1] [n 1] coming from two separate lines.
The ekklesia was responsible for electing men to the gerousia for life. Candidates were selected from the aristocrats and presented before the apella. The candidate who received the loudest applause became a member of the gerousia. The ekklesia also elected the five ephors annually. Ephors presided over meetings of the gerousia and the apella.
The breakdown of the Gerousia's final vote is known (an exceptional occurrence in Spartan history): the 28 gerontes were evenly divided, but Agis cast his vote against his colleague. Pausanias was nonetheless saved by the ephors, who unanimously voted in his favour, but the reason behind this support is unknown. [31]
The agōgē was divided into three age categories: the paides (about ages 7–14), paidiskoi (ages 15–19), and the hēbōntes (ages 20–29). [4] The boys were further subdivided into groups called agelai (singular agelē, meaning "pack"), with whom they would sleep, and were led by an older boy (eirēn) who Plutarch claims was chosen by the boys themselves.