ATHENS, THE CRADDLE OF DEMOCRACY, SPARTA, THE ART OF WAR
Athens and Sparta, the two largest and most powerful cities in ancient Greece (between 800 and 323 BCE) were two different models of polis, their social, political and cultural values and ways of life were dramatically different. (Brand, n.d.)
Athens was located in the region of Attica, a fertile valley and rich in minerals. The city was a cultural powerhouse: the cradle of democracy, the birthplace of many great philosophers, of politics, of architecture and theatre, of history, science and mathematics, with a formidable naval fleet that defeated the Persian army. Athenians had access to education and freedom to pursue their interests in war or business. (Mark, 2011)
Sparta, an oligarchy, a military state, was located in the rich and productive plains of Laconia, it was the city with the largest military and constantly focused on war: boys were bred to be soldiers; girls were brought up to birth boys who grew up to be soldiers, a polis where slaves and helots were forced to work. Life in Sparta revolved around obedience and war. (Brand, n.d.)
LIFE IN ATHENS
Unlike the Spartans simple lifestyle, Athens was a modern and open society. Athenian society was divided in three classes: citizens who could participate in politics, the aliens who could participate in the army and the slaves who had no political rights. Children stayed at home until they turned 7 after which time, they attended school to learn how to read and
During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.
Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. The Athens lived by the Sea which was an advantage because they had an excellent trading system. Even though the mountains protected Sparta it also caused trading problems, the Spartans had no way to get around the massive mountains to trade with people. Athens was located on the coast and included a harbor. The Athenians had an advantage and a disadvantage for them because they had easy water access but during the time of
Athenian democracy focuses on economic advancement, while Sparta oligarchy focuses on military force. Democracy is a system of government where the citizens have the right to vote, whereas the oligarchy is when a group of people is in control of the government and it’s only their opinion and decision that are taken to consideration. Implicating the thesis that people are better served by Athenian democracy than the Spartan oligarchy, which is supported by three evidence points. Firstly, the Athenian citizen's participation in government, by voting and taking part in the government position.Secondly, the Athenian men are provided with better education by being taught how to read and write, not only focused on military training. Lastly, the Athens advancement in military protection for the safety of its citizens.
Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and well known cities among all the Greek nations. Most would find it easier to find more similarities among these two groups of mighty people. But there are some differences between these two power houses. For instance the way that these cities were governed and their political procedures and functions were quite different from each other.
Sparta was located on the southern peninsula of Greece, or the Peloponnesus. Around 725 B.C.E., Sparta launched a war against Messenia on the west which gave the Spartans significant land and caused the Messenians to become serfs. Then around 650 B.C.E., the existence of Sparta was threatened when the Messenian serfs (Helots) rebelled, causing Sparta to decide to permanently become a military system. The society in Sparta was purely military. Officials of the Spartan state decided which infants were physically fit to survive.
Ancient Sparta was one of the major Greek city-states in ancient Greece. Sparta’s “uniquely military society,” in
Around 500 BCE, a city-state on the Peloponnese peninsula Began to grow. This city-state is Sparta that bagan has just a cluster of houses on the Evrotas River.The boys would go to Military School from 8 to 20 years in age, practicing the Phalanx and other Military practices, the Men were ready to fight.In 431 BCE, Sparta and Athens broke out in a 25-year war known as the Peloponnesian War.In the end, Sparta did win against Athens, but both of them had suffered.In Sparta the weaknesses outweighs the strengths because the Helots the slaves do their dirty work, boys were abused ,the Spartans had a weak education.
Sparta rose to its greatest power during the Peloponnesian War when they defeated their rivals in Athens. It was ultimately a warrior society, you were a soldier or basically you were nothing. They began to train young boys for the military at the age of seven. They were taught to be tough, brave, and
Sparta was a very self-sufficient state, they had their own monetary system and didn't need to trade with anyone. The land was divided equally among all the citizens. A lot of the culture of Sparta was focused on their military. The Spartan Military was very efficient on and off the battlefield. Of course Sparta was not only a military state, they also had lots of interest in art and philosophy.
A Spartan man lies in the middle of a battle, covered in blood with his mother’s determind voice ringing in his ears, “If you can’t come back with your shield, come back on your shield.” Sparta had very strong morals, and thought all should fight to the death. Even though Athens had a culture that focused on, and valued important and strong morals, such as playwright, school, and government, Sparta was the superior city state because of the freedom and rights they gave women, it’s powerful military and the way in which it trained both women and men to be strong citizens. Athens may have provided a more luxurious and comfortable life, but Sparta had morals that were less harsh towards women, and were similar to our present day ones. Athens may have provided a more comfortable life for some, but Sparta does have many benefits,
Sparta was ancient Greece most dominant City-State with the military power to defend, if not attack, any intruder. Sparta owed this military efficiency to its social structure in the region. Sparta, also known as Lacedaemon, was an oligarchic city-state, ruled by two hereditary kings equal in authority. Spartan society was largely structured around the military, and around military training. Inhabitants were classified as Spartiates or Spartans which were citizens who enjoyed full rights, the Perioeci who were free non-citizen inhabitants that worked as craftsmen and traders, and the Helots who were state-owned enslaved non-Spartan population (History.com Staff, 2009).
The author of “Life in Ancient Sparta”, Brian Walsh, talks about how life was for the ancient Spartans. Sparta was Greece’s military city-state. The lives of the Spartans was much different than the lives of average Greeks such as the Athenians. First of all, the men and women of Sparta began building a military society, mainly due to the helots, who were slaves. The Spartans became part of this system right from birth.
Life in Sparta is much different than it is now days. Although my memory is foggy, I can remember getting taken away at the age of seven to be trained for the army. We were housed with other boys and endured harsh physical discipline and deprivation. During training, we were taught to fight and endure pain. As a way to toughen us up, the older boys willing beat us younger boys.
The ancient civilization of Greece contained many different city-states; two of these city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta and Athens were different in their values, politics, and societies. Sparta was focused on their military, discipline, and to have a strong state. Athens was a democratic state that was peaceful and where women were open to culture and democracy. How do these two city-states differ?
Another topic you touched on was their military. Spartans military was mandatory at the age of 7 you were forced into the military until the age of 60. Now the Athens believed it was your choice to enlist in the military.