Compare And Contrast Sparta And Athenian Government

The main objective of this essay is to describe and investigate the structure of the government in the ancient Greece’s most powerful city states, namely, Athens and Sparta. Both city states have gone through various cycles of wars, reforms, social upheaval and unrests, and each of these elements has had influenced the development of the governmental systems that we have bettered or inherited today. Athenians saw the need for fundamental changes in the government, allowing them to pave the way for direct participation of their citizens and citizen’s initiative in the democracy and elimination of the some oligarchical elements. The Sparta, although not as democratic as Athens, allowed women to be far more than reproductive machines whom were expected to live only to please the men. However, the militarized society of Sparta and the warrior mindset didn’t chose alienation of the masses over the integration of the weakest members of the society.

Greece was divided into individual city-states that each had their own form of government. Most notable, however, was the democracy of Athens and the oligarchy of Sparta. The driving force behind all of Greek life and politics was this concept of arete. While arete differed between Athens and Sparta, this lust for excellence became the driving force behind their democracy and oligarchy. The geography of Greece did not allow for a strictly central government, and so, the Greeks adapted.

IN Athens, which upholds direct democracy, all free male citizens are entitled to vote, while in China, only the emperor and his advisors can. Pericles, who was Greek, can be biased in his statement because as a leader, he needs to win the people’s support. Therefore, he can only say the glories of Athens. Document 5 supports Document 4’s statement. Document 5 talks about the details of the Athenian government.

There are numerous civilizations that came across the different lands in the world and each played a distinctive role and had its own rules and laws. Geography played a critical role in shaping civilizations, and this is particularly true of ancient Greek. The two rivals of ancient Greece were close together on a map but far apart in what they valued and how they lived their lives. Sparta and Athens had similar forms of government; both city states were in part governed by elected assemblies. However, the top rulers of Athens were elected, while Sparta 's were not.

Despite their similarities, the biggest difference between Rome and Carthage was that Rome was in the process of trying to include all their citizens in matters of the state. While the Roman Republic began as an aristocracy, the Plebeians were slowly gaining the right to representation in their government. In addition, Rome made efforts to give outlying territories some of the same rights that were given to their naturalized citizens. This gave Rome the advantage of loyal citizens that Carthage did not have (Morey, 1901). Carthage, on the other hand, relied upon an army of mercenaries and the strength of a single leader, instead of the governmental organization that Rome used (Morey, 1901).

Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.

In Greek epics, judicial power, military and politics are fairly related. The Greek Males were often virile, brave, semi god (half god half human), and necessary as they represent the men of excellence in an army, which explains that the hero of Greek epics is necessarily a man. Unlike men, the heroes are subject to the powers of the gods. The hero is a victim of moods of the gods, whether good or bad. This is the case for example for Odysseus, who is cursed by Poseidon and helped by Athena.

The United States of America established itself as a nation that advocated a political system subjected to the construct of democracy. This system was created to represent its citizens so that they may not grow weary in a tyrant monarchy, such as that of the British before the American Revolution [1]. The forefathers gathered to establish a constitution that respected the rights of its citizens and debated with much tension to how authority would be exercised in such a representative government. History has shared an active evolution to the structure of government within the United States , yet America today is actively still subjected to the famous political party establishment that was made in the years of 1783-1815. The political party commonly known were the Federalist and the Democratic Republicans – two very different ideal groups that helped change America.

Sparta seemed intent on consolidating power amongst its aristocratic families, while Athens moved in a different direction, attempting to keep power from gathering around any specific group, How were the two city-states similar in their governmental structures, and how did they differ? Both societies had a public assembly in which every citizen could make themselves heard. Both had relatively short terms of public office, (excluding the Gerousia) and both believed in reaching a consensus before enacting policy. Athens had a much larger group of citizens who had a much greater influence on matters of policy, and Sparta was a much more streamlined machine, geared toward making war, and maintaining military readiness. Conclusion Neither society was as inclusive as most modern societies, but both had things they held ideologically important, and did very well.

the idea of representative government began to take root in some city states, specifically Athens. Athenian reformers moved toward democracy, rule by the people. In Athens citizens participated directly in political decision making. However there were limitations on citizenship to ensure that only the most rational people were able to vote. Through the construction of democracy in Athens, equality of all citizens became greater, and the city would become the top democracy of all the democracies.