hawk is the American representative of the European kestrel, which is a larger but similar bird. It feeds upon mice, grasshoppers and other insects. Its nest is usually in a hollow tree.
Spar′ta, the ancient Lacedæmon, the famous Greek city, was in the southern part of Greece on the Eurotas, about 20 miles from the Mediterranean. It was shut in by mountains, one, Mt. Taygetus, rising 8,000 feet; and the valley was so easily defended that it was not regularly fortified until 195 B. C. The city had few fine buildings; the Acropolis was a steep hill with a temple to Athena on its summit, and the white marble theater was one of the largest buildings. The city was formed from several scattered hamlets, and was governed by two kings, whose powers were equal, and who at first were priests, judges and generals as well as rulers. There were three classes of citizens; the Spartiatai or governing class, the Perioikoi, who were free but had no voice in matters of state, and the Helots or slaves, who were bound to the soil, cultivating it for its owners, and were also employed in war. The greatness of Sparta is due to the laws of Lycurgus, which made it a nation of soldiers. There is some doubt resting on the received traditions of Lycurgus, but there certainly was a very ancient legal code, dating back to 825 B. C. The citizens, according to this code, lived only for the state, and children were under the public care. If deformed or weak, they were not allowed to grow up; if healthy, they were taken from the mother when seven years old, and drilled in military exercises, in habits of endurance and skillfulness and in speaking short sentences, to the point, which last gave rise to the expression, “laconic,” from the name of the province, Laconia. Their training is illustrated in the story of the boy with the stolen fox, who was applauded because he bore the torture of the desperate animal tearing his flesh rather than by crying out and confessing that he had stolen him. Between the ages of 20 and 60 all Spartans served in the army, and, though allowed to marry and to engage in business, ate and slept in the public barracks. The early struggles of Sparta with Messenia, Argos and Athens, gave Sparta the victory and made it the chief power in Greece, but its tyranny induced rebellion, and the Thebans under Epaminondas reduced Sparta to its old boundaries. The Macedonians still further cut off its provinces, and finally, with the remainder of Greece, it became a part of the Roman empire. The modern town of Sparta, founded by the Greeks in 1836, the capital of Laconia, occupies a part of the site of ancient Sparta.
Spartacus (spär′tä-kŭs), a leader in a revolt of Roman slaves, about 73 B. C., was born in Thrace. He was first a shepherd, then the head of a band of robbers, and when taken was sold to a trainer of gladiators at Capua. He escaped with 70 others and fled to the crater of Vesuvius. Here he was joined by many runaway slaves, conquered all forces sent against him, and sacked many of the cities of southern Italy. His army increased to 100,000 men, whom he sought to induce to march across the Alps and to seek their old homes, but the fever of revenge and conquest was upon them, and Spartacus continued his fight with the Roman authorities. At last he was defeated by Crassus in 71 B. C. while trying to seize the shipping at Brundusium, and was slain at Petelia.
Spar′tanburg, S. C., capital of Spartanburg County, on the Glen Springs, Charleston and Western Carolina and Southern railroads. It lies 94 miles northwest of Columbia, the capital, and 72 miles southwest of Charlotte, N. C. It is the seat of Converse College and of Wofford Methodist Episcopal College, and has a number of churches, schools and other public institutions. It has extensive cotton manufactories and has been called the Lowell of the South. This industry has greatly advanced the growth and prosperity of the city. Population 17,517.
Spathe (spāth), the very highly developed bract which invests the spadix. In Jack-in-the-Pulpit it is tubular below, and spreads above into an overarching hood. In the calla lily it is very large, and beautifully white. The spadix with its spathe is characteristic of the Aroids, and in the numerous tropical forms the spathe is extremely varied in form and often brilliantly colored.
Spe′cie Payments in the U. S., Suspension and Resumption of (1861-79). In consequence of the Civil War and the beginning of the drain on the United States government to meet its current obligations in metallic money, the nation, following the action of the banks, suspended specie payments at the close of 1861 and resorted to the issue, in large sums, of legal-tender paper-money (“greenbacks” the notes were called) in lieu of gold and silver in the payment of debts and taxes. The suspension, which lasted until Jan. 1, 1879, had the effect of depreciating the national paper-currency to half its face-value in gold; though, when the war closed, the government, in pursuance of an honest financial policy, began to redeem its obligations with coin and stopped the issue of the U. S. legal-tender notes. This had its effect on the national currency, which began steadily to rise in value. The government finally grappled with the financial problem and solved it by announcing that on Jan. 1, 1879, the resumption of specie payments would take place. The government kept faith with its creditors and the nation on
