The Athenian and the Spartan civilizations were very unique and different but the people shared many similar ideas. The Athenians believed that their government was original and that everyone should participate directly in government. On the other hand, the Spartans believed that every man should train for the military. Both the Spartans and Athenians believed in an equal society where the members were devoted to the polis. During this time, Athens supported a democracy. In their democracy, every male was required to participate regardless of his social standing. In the Athenian government, “no one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the state is kept in political obscurity because of poverty.” This represents the Athenians belief that the people should have a role in politics and not just officials. The Athenians wanted to ensure equality and respect throughout the polis. Like the Athenians, the Spartans supported the idea that wealth should not limit a person. Lykurgus, “abolished… terrible evils of riches and poverty by inducing all land-owners to offer their estates for distribution.” The Spartan’s society forced everyone to be economically equal in order for the people to train together and be true Spartans. Similar to the Athenians, the Spartans believed that wealth stymies the concept of one Polis working together to achieve a goal. In addition, the Spartans and Athenians would do anything for their polis. The Spartans would use selective breeding in order to have children that were strong in order to be able to raise their own children. The Spartans did this …show more content…
Dedication and equality are just two of the many characteristics that the people of the polis have in common with each other. There are many differences such as their government and military styles but the people themselves share many honorable characteristics that made both poleis the two most
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Show MoreBut back then they thought that the social class was bad. For example “ Social class is not allowed to interfere with someone’s merit, and poverty does not block the way”. ( document A). I think that the social class should be able to interfere the any other. That's why I think that ancient athens was truly democratic because all the people should be able to vote and own their own land.
The Athenian assembly was open to all free male of adult age which showed that both had citizens involved in the government. They both had different social classes that were viewed and respected in different ways. In Athens it says “Certainly the good man… ought not to learn
As Athens was invested in learning new materials, the Spartans were gaining knowledge in war and gaining experience in combat. Although different methods in many ways they were both taught something in education and at least a small amount of military training. “...boys were taught survival skills, how to fight, how to steal what they need without getting caught…” Doc A. This
Even to this day, we still use Athens and Sparta’s societal systems and structures because they were so revolutionary. Athens even introduced the idea of democracy, and Sparta had a strong military culture. Although Athens and Sparta were close together, Athens focused on leadership and education while Sparta focused on the military and war. However, due to their different governments and cultures, each has their strengths and weaknesses. However, because Athens focuses on its future leaders, Athens is the better model for a society.
In this essay, I would like to answer and discuss the following questions: How did the people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? Who held public office? What rules governed the selection of public office holders? How were two city-states similar in their governmental structures and how did they differ with each other? For the Spartans the right to participate and made important decisions from the entire community were only exercised by the adult and legitimate male citizens of Sparta.
Sparta was about fitness, survival, and war while Athens was about public speaking, debate, and music. As you may see, Sparta and Athens may seem like two whole different worlds, and it’s clear that they deemed each value of theirs’ important, but which city-state would go to great length to preserve that value? Sparta was more committed to their cultural value than Athens. Spartans valued military power. For instance, “Their whole lives were about military training even after 30 the Spartan boys were required to serve the military until they were 60” (Document 2).
In comparison to other states of ancient Greece, Spartans were less cultured, due to their nominal interest in material possession. The Spartans while civilized and educated were less intrigued within the buildings of large monuments , than some of their Greek counterparts. Moreover, education was vital to the Spartans. Although their priority relied on military and combat over anything else, in many ways intelligence and knowledge were also important to succeed in war. Spartans’ would teach young children more than just the perplexing theories of war and strength.
Aside from this, that is about the only thing Sparta had going for them. Meanwhile, Athens was busy focusing on creating democracy and making famous literary works, like it was no big deal. Sparta, not so much, they just wanted strong jocks. After a reviewing a few elements of Athenian culture, it is clear to see Athens was clearly better than Sparta.
The birthplace of democracy: A look into the life Aristotle once said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” Athens was established in 3000 BC, while Sparta was respectively established in 431 BC. Athens was also referred to as the “birthplace of democracy,” a government system still in use today! Athens was a superior city state over Sparta. This is because of Athenian cultural achievements, government and social climate.
Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. Equally, hard workers have brought Athens power just as much as hereditary leaders. According to Document B all citizens should be allowed to speak their opinion and have a share in election because of the hard work they do to make the city powerful. Athenians allowed poor and common men to win a position in government which was a transition from the wealthy having power to everyone having power.
For starters, the Spartans lived a frugal, non-luxurious lifestyle, devoting most of their time to the military, while the Athenians lived a more simple, peaceful lifestyle. The second difference between Spartans and Athenians are that Athenians focused on transforming the citizens into educated individuals while the Spartans focused on transforming the citizens into strong, courageous individuals. The third difference is that men only had to serve in the military for 2 years in Athens while men in Sparta basically served in the military for thirty years of their life, training as soldiers before they were even a teenager. The fourth and final difference is all about the rights women had at Sparta and Athens. At Sparta, women were a bit more independent.
There were many cases of bribery in the government that wasn't taken seriously by the court. In Sparta power was given to citizens through the assembly which consisted of all male citizens in Sparta, but in theory anyone could participate. The government had an elaborate system of checks and balances to make sure that no branch had more power than another. Also contrary to popular belief the Spartans treated there slaves bette than the Athenians. The slaves in Sparta were actually known as helots who were lower class citizens.
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.
To an extant, their governments never really achieved the idea of all are equal before the law. Apart from these parallels, they have many differences, for instance, Athens was heading towards ‘one man one vote’ which reflects its social progress and its right direction in becoming a democratic state. However, “The Sparta system combined elements of apartheid, oligarchy, monarchy, militarism, terroistic secret police…and democracy all
This could be interpreted as a reflection of the social class system of Greece, of which, Batista (2017) argues that, “Athenian society was ultimately divided into four main social classes: the upper class; the metics, or middle class; the