Life In Sparta Essay

Spartans military was a hard core and well rounded out military in its time. Part of the reason why they were so successful is because of their rigorous training each boy had to go through. Why I said boy is because the Spartan military training would start at age 7 for a chosen boy. The boy gets chosen to live in spartan society at birth. If the Spartans did not believe that the boy would be rounded out for their society they would leave the boy to die. During the boys training hazing and fighting was encouraged to help improve strength among the boys. During spartan training each boy was mainly taught mathematics, music, and how to fight. Also during their training, they would learn how to steal but without getting caught. If they were caught they would not be punished for stealing but only for getting caught. This type of training continues until the boys would become men. Which is at the age of 20 for the Spartan's. At age 20 Spartan men would have to pass a series of demanding

Spartans were very strict and set high expectations for their men in war. Taken from their families at the young age of 7 to train, the boys were whipped and starved. Spartans also enslaved people, called helots. The innocent helots were killed without warning. Spartans were so

The Gerousia was a body of older aged men of Sparta from noble families who were appointed because of their virtue by the Ecclesia (the Spartan Assembly) for life. The Gerousia formed aristocratic elite. Supposedly any male citizen could be considered for the role, if he was over age of sixty, but in practice, those chosen came from a small circle of wealthy aristocratic families. This council was composed of the two kings plus 28 Spartan citizens aged at least 60. The Gerousia prepared motions or “Rhetra” for the wider citizen assembly, to vote on. The Gerousia could also veto motions passed by the Apella and was consulted by the ephors in matters of interpretation of the law. Additionally, the Gerousia filled the role of a Supreme Court. It could try murder cases — and had the power to condemn, fine, or banish. It could even try the kings for any alleged crime. As a Supreme Court, it had the ultimate say in what was or was not lawful. In effect, it was the supreme institution in the Spartan constitution, and could override any decision by any other part in the Spartan political system.

The city-states Athens and Sparta were rivals in ancient Greece. Geographically the two were very close to each other, but they had a very different economy, cultural values, and way of governing. Both city-states had two very different ways of doing things. I will be highlighting the major differences.

This tradition allowed for a city-state with an exceptional army, women with a substantial amount of liberties, and a gene pool that was superior to those around it. The Spartan way of life was one that focused itself on the importance of a physically strong society, and the people of this city-state went to great lengths to ensure that they maintained this tradition. As a result of this mentality, the authoritative figures of Sparta gave women more freedoms, as society did not see them as inadequate versions of men, but more as the mothers of society, whose job was to be the backbone of the strong Spartan army by birthing and raising robust young men. In fact, this lifestyle was so prevalent and noticeable that soldiers and writers from Athens and other outside lands took notice. Many documents from almost all areas around the Mediterranean Sea demonstrate this, especially in Xenophon’s “The Constitution of Sparta”, which describes the importance of physical ability in Sparta, as written by an Athenian soldier. The people of Sparta preserved this physical superiority in many ways. Boys moved into barracks at the young age of seven to train and become a part of the renowned Spartan army, and mothers abandoned babies with medical issues as soon as possible. This not only ensured that all citizens were able-bodied and working to improve the city-state at all times, but improved the gene pool of the civilization by eliminating any possible genetic disorders with visible phenotypes within the society. All these factors contributed to the health, wellness, and overall success of the Spartan

During the late Archaic Greek and Classical periods, two particular city-states were in existence with significant similarities as well as differences. These two city-states, Sparta and Athens have unique formations of government, histories, goals, as well as societies.

The government in Sparta followed a very different coarse than that of the Athenians. It was controlled by an oligarchy in which the power was held by a group of five men called ephors. Working below the ephors was the Council of Elders and an Assembly. Male citizens over age sixty could serve on the Council while anyone, male or female, over the age of twenty could be a member of the Assembly. Though the citizens had little say in the decisions made by the government, the system worked effectively. Over the years, the Spartan's brutal reputation in war grew so great that other nations and city-states were too frightened to attack Sparta even though the Spartan army was no larger then eight thousand men. The Spartan Constitution called for all men to begin their military education at the age of seven, where they were trained to be tough and self-sufficient. Every man in the army fought with a great deal of passion for his country. Life in Sparta may have been rough, but the rest of the Greeks envied the Spartans for their simplicity, straight forwardness, and fanatical dedication. The beliefs of Sparta were oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. The combination of this philosophy, the education of Spartan males, and the discipline of their army gave the Spartans the stability needed to survive in Ancient Greece.

The history of Sparta was the great exception to the political evolution of the city-states. Despite the fact that Spartans in the end were all Greek, Sparta failed to ever move in the direction of democratic rule. Instead, its government evolved into something more closely resembling a modern day dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices they might have been able to avoid their own downfall and could have even become stronger.

Education in Sparta: Did the Strengths Outweigh the Weaknesses? Would you like to be neglected just because you weren’t strong? That is what a Spartan kid would undergo. Sparta is a small city-state located in Peloponnese, Greece. The Spartan civilization was established in 900 BCE Despite its early foundation, it lived fairly peacefully until the Persians and the Athenians came along and tried to invade Sparta.

If I had the choice, I would want to be from Sparta. Spartanian girls were allowed an education, unlike girls from Athens. There are some downsides about growing up in Sparta. First of all, Spartanian children were supposed to have perfect bodies. They didn't realize that everyone has different shapes and sizes. Also, Sparta thought that it was more important to learn how to fight instead of reading and writing. Lastly, children had to live in their school instead of home. This might be good for some things, like being more concentrated, but you would also miss your family. Now, listen to some good things about Sparta.

Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.

This included having the boys wear minimal to no clothing to endure various weather conditions and making them go barefoot to strengthen their feet. The boys were also encouraged to steal food as a way of developing independence. This can be seen as a very cold and dehumanizing way of raising soldiers, but this training helped boys become talented fighters who were very well rounded and could adapt to any situation. During a boy's teenage years, they would begin military training and at the age of twenty, they were allowed to marry, but required to live with the military until the age of thirty. The final stage of the agoge was for boys to be admitted into the syssition and to contribute a certain amount of food. Being a soldier was usually the only thing men could do in Sparta as hoplites were required to be fit for military service until they were sixty years

In these barracks, they were taught discipline, athletics, survival skills, hunting, weapons training and how to endure the pain. At the age of twenty in the barracks, the male Spartans become soldiers for the state. A Spartan was taught that loyalty to the state came before everything else, including one’s family (History.com Staff, 2009). Female Spartans enjoyed status, power, and respect that was unequal to any other city-state, or even the rest of the entire classical world. Sparta women could own property, which they often gained through dowries and inheritances.

The Spartans The "Spartans," who were they, where did they come from and what did they accomplish for Greece and, in time modern society. All these questions I hope to answer in my investigation. I found the Spartan, very interesting when I first encountered them in "The Odyssey" by Homer, where we hear of "Helen of Sparta," the partner of both "Paris of Troy" and his enemy and his city's enemy "Menelaus of Sparta." The entire war in fact broke out because Helen ran away with Paris and the whole of Greece was dragged into what at first was a personal feud. Had this not happened none of the Odyssey would have taken place and the old fable like story, as it seems to have developed, of the giant

The reforms of Cleisthenes established the basis for the Athenian democracy. All citizens enrolled in ten tribes and each tribe chose 50 members by lottery each year for a new council of 500 people. These 500 people had the responsibility to take care of foreign and financial affairs. There was also an assembly of all male citizens, and they had the final authority in passing laws through free and open debate. In Sparta there were two kings who led the army and ruled their city-state. There were five ephors elected each year and they were responsible for the education of the youth and the behavior of citizens. There was also a council of elders that consisted of two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60. They decided on issues to present to the assembly who were also all male citizens. There was no debate on resolution to these issues, only voting.