If you’ve heard of Sparta and think it’s fantastic, think again. Sparta was a city state located on a peninsula in southern Greece called the Peloponnese. Sparta was very violent and all they thought about was having the strongest military. The weaknesses of Sparta outweigh the strengths because the Spartans lacked education, boys were taken away from their families at a young age, and they were very abusive.
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.
Who was the better Greek city-state? Athens or Sparta? A question asked for quite some time now, probably since they existed. It’s time we get an answer! If you ask me, I think it was Athens that was the better Greek city state. Athens was better than Sparta because, it had a better government, education system, and had more cultural achievements.
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.
Rome has a better system than Athens in my opinion. Athens citizens have more responsibility and rights then Rome. Rome has more of a family oriented style of citizenship. Athens and rome both honored citizenship in their own ways equally. So in a effective way to live I’d say Rome is superior. Athens can be good, they have more independence for their freedom, they are all equal to each other in superiority, and they were more physical because they were required to participate in government otherwise they were a “beast”. Rome on the other hand, was bigger in size compared to Athens, Roman’s were not considered a “beast” for not participating, there was more citizenship participants that were more genuine than Athen’s.
Today, many of the world’s government structures were based on the principle of one of Greece’s city-states. Greece became a country advancing well before its time, strong in both military and brain power. This country was able to produce two city-states that became foundations to advancing the rest of the world. The first city-state, Athens, is thought to be the first to implement a democratic government while Sparta became known for their military power. While Athens and Sparta provide the world with advancements they differ in the ways of government structures, social motivations, and cultural differences. Athens and Sparta have proven to provide strong governmental structure to help lead to each city-state’s success.
I would like to educate the masses on a matter of frequent debate. This is none other then Athens vs Sparta, and I can say the thorough research and facts have lead me to concluded that Sparta is a much better city-state then Athens. Sparta is better then Athens because of its respect of women, more equal school system, integrity of government, treatment of slaves, and superior military. First of all, women were given far more rights than in Athens. First of all, Women in Sparta could own there own land, participate in politics and the olympics among other things. Where as in Athens women weren't even allowed to leave there houses in there own accord. Furthermore on average women were married of at the age 12 or
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.
Ancient Greece, a thriving country consisting of nearly 100 city states from within. A gem of the Archaic and Classical Greek Era that we have come to discover. While the country thrived, they also had much tension from within caused by its two leading cities, Athens and Sparta. Athens, a democratic and well invested political city found apprehension with their neighboring municipality Sparta, a highly dense military society. Though the two cities shared several traits such as slavery and gradation systeming, they were separated by their political and economic differences.
The book “Spartan Women” by Sarah B. Pomeroy seeks to reconstruct the lives and the world of the Sparta's women; including how their legal status changed over time and how the women held on to their amazing autonomy. Susan B. Pomeroy generally analyzes ancient texts and to construct the world of most noticed females. Sarah B. Pomeroy is a Classist author in the twenty-first century. Throughout this paper, what will be discussed is: the author credentials, the book’s main aim, the book’s evidence, and the author writing style of the book. Spartan Women would be a powerful credible source to learn the life the Spartan women endured during their time.
“A Spartan father had no right to decide whether to rear his newly born son or not.” (Document A) If his son was healthy, he would be sent away at seven years old to train for the military he would soon be apart of. If his son was not healthy, he would be left outside to die. This puts strain on a family, causes grief for the siblings, and is very distressing for the mother. Another disadvantage of Sparta's military is that the boys only learned reading and writing to a certain extent, since their military was their main priority. According to Document D, “The Spartans learned to read and write for purely practical reasons: but all other forms of education they banned from the country,...” If an man wasn’t interested in fighting and wanted a strong education, he was simply out of luck since in Sparta, killing others was more important than schooling. The men in Sparta had no choice of their future. Overall, Sparta’s weaknesses outweigh their strengths because they are under a harsh discipline, they are taken from their families without a choice, and education was not a main
The Spartans were basically the soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-state, Sparta. The Spartans devoted all their time to the military, partaking in military training, hunting and war battles. They lived a frugal lifestyle and without any luxuries. They were taught to be brave and courageous at a very young age, soon evolving into soldiers for the military.
In ancient times, there is a general sense that women were simply items and slaves to their husbands. Ancient Greece specifically has a renowned reputation of favoring men. Men possessed the dominant role in public affairs and events while most women were pressured to stay at home. Very few records extensively discuss women; the records focus mostly on men. Despite the lacking records, it is certain how ancient Greeks viewed their women and their relationships with their male counterparts. Sadly, most of how women lived away from their husbands’ world and how they interacted with other female companionship remains a mystery.
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?
To begin with, Athens and Sparta were both famous in antiquity for their legend, cultures and the character of the people. On the one hand, the two poleis share certain obvious affinities, such as language, geographical scope, a common Greek ancestry etc. On the other hand, they were polar opposites in many aspects, from social spheres, political structures, to military might, which I believe there are some hidden depths in these city-states. Hence, let’s look at how did their people obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community, and who held public office first.