This articleis a historical commentary on Herodotus’ account of thefunerals of the Spartan kings. It is an attempt on the author’s part to explain why for centuries the royal funerary ritual continued unchanged despite its being too lavish for ascetic Sparta. The study focuses on the socio-economic composition of the funeral attendees. In the author’s opinion, the participation of representatives of the lower classes – the helots and perioikoi – in the ceremony facilitated theevolvement ofelitesfrom both categories of the Spartan subordinate population. Thefuneral ceremony performed an important ideological and propaganda function serving as a unifying factor for all thesocial classes and indoctrinating the masses with the belief in theeternal and immutable nature of theroyal authority and, by extension, of the Spartan state.