La distruzione delle statue di Pausania nella Sparta tardoantica

This paper offers a new contribution to the history of Late Antique Sparta starting from a discussion of Lib. Ep. 1518 that provides the evidence of the late destruction of two ancient statues of Pausanias (the Spartan general of the Vth cent. B.C.) housed in the temple of Athena Chalkioikos. According to 'communis opinio' these statues were burnt by Christians. The focus here is on the relationship between local memory of the Greek past and provincial administration in the IVth cent. A. D. It is pointed out how the myth of Lycurgus as ideal lawgiver who had established 'eunomia' and the misrepresentation of Pausanias as responsible for 'staseis' in ancient Sparta help to explain the episode.