Great Rhetra

The Great Rhetra is an early Spartan constitutional text preserved by Plutarch in his Life of Lycurgus, presented as an oracle from Delphi given to the lawgiver Lycurgus. It orders the founding of a cult, the organisation of the people into tribes and obai, a council of thirty elders including the two kings, and regular assemblies of the citizens, who have the final decision. Its date and authenticity are debated.