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Athens Vs Sparta Essay

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Among the Ancient Greece polices there are two which mostly deserve the research of their history, namely Athens and Sparta. These city-states applies different approaches to the political organization, social structure and adoption of different cultural priorities. The abovementioned differences presuppose the unequal influence of these states on the development of ancient Greece and modern world in general. Within the sphere of political organization, the Athens are regarded to be the homeland of democracy, while Spartan society demonstrates the features of oligarchy. The post-Cleisthenes Athens had a special system of government, which is often thought to be the most democratic one of all times. The leading power was an assembly of all free citizens called ecclesia. This body was responsible for the declaration of war and peace, electing the officials and applying laws. All the citizens had the equal amount of rights during the …show more content…

Athenian society consisted of citizens; foreigners, also called metics, and slaves. The division into these groups presupposed the different levels of personal freedom and civil rights. For instance, only Athenian citizens were allowed to vote, serve as officials and own land. Among other restrictions, metics had to pay an additional tax and were not allowed to apply to any state bodies without the mediation of citizens. The slaves were in a possession of their owner; however, the law limited owner’s power. The Spartan society included three main groups, the most privileged Spartiates, the middle class of Perioeci (foreigners) and state-owned slaves called helots. The main task of the citizens was a perpetual preparedness to the belligerence, therefore they spent their lives in the training camps. To sustain the agriculture, the state officials appointed helots to work on the Spartiates’ land, therefore slaves were not included to the private

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