 The reforms, which were ascribed by later tradition to the possibly mythical figure of Lycurgus, created new institutions and established the military nature of the Spartan state.This "constitution of Lycurgus" remained essentially unchanged for five centuries.From c. 750 BC, Sparta embarked on a steady expansion, first by subduing Amyclae and the other settlements of Laconia, and later, in the First Messenian War, conquering the fertile country of Messenia.