Athens Vs Sparta Research Paper

Introduction

Sparta and Athens were two big ancient Greek city-states, in this essay, we will discuss about how did the people of these two poleis obtain their political rights and participate in their public life. We will also illustrate who were the ones serving in public office and what were the rules that governed the selection process. Finally, we will compare the government structures of Sparta and the Athens, and analyze their similarities and differences.

In Sparta, only the Sparta warriors enjoyed the political rights. The male citizens (Homoioi) were the only ones that can have the political rights. Sparta women, Perioikoi (non-Spartan free man), Helots (virtual slaves) and slaves did not have any political rights. All the Spartan male citizens formed the Popular Assembly to exercise their political rights and made decisions on their public affairs. Among the Spartan citizens, there are class differentiations which had pre-determined the power-level that the

The two kings were chosen from the separate royal families which origins could be traced as the founders of Sparta. The Gerousia was a group of 30 Spartan aristocrats who were eligible to be chosen once they reached the age of 60, except for the two kings, they could be under the age 60 (Brand, year unknow). The position of the Gerousia was permanent until death of its members, once there was an opening, other eligible aristocrats could fill the position. There were three Ephors originally, later five were elected annually. The Ephors and the two kings constructed the “executive branch” of the Sparta government, however, the really power was in the hands of the Gerousia, which had overshadowed the power of the two kings and the ephors (Brand, year unknow). Only the Gerousia could decide on what issues and matters which would be discussed by the Popular