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A comparative study of slavery in Sparta and Athens
Sparta in the fifth century
Sparta in the fifth century
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There was once an era when Greece was one of the most powerful empires intellectually and physically. Ancient Sparta and Athens, being two of the most popular city-states in Greece, were rivals. These two powerful states had different trademarks; “. . .Athenians boasted of their art and culture, Spartans valued strength and simplicity” (Frey 260). One contrast between the two city-states was the way they treated slaves. In Constitution of the Athenians, Pseudo-Xenophon wrote, “. . . they let the slaves live luxuriously.” The staff of history.com wrote, “Spartans, who were outnumbered by the Helots, often treated them brutally and oppressively in an effort to prevent uprisings. Spartans would humiliate the Helots by doing such things as forcing …show more content…
Even the rulers of Sparta focused mainly on their military. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian proclaimed, “These are the royal right which have been given by the Spartans to their kings, namely, two priesthood--of Zeos Spata and Zeos Uranios--and the right of making war against whatsoever and they please, and that no man of the Spartans shall hinder this right, or if he do, he shall be subject to the curse. . .” The rulers of Sparta had absolute power to make war with no one preventing it. Additionally, the Spartan government consisted of two kings. One king would stay at home governing the state while the other would go to fight. Evidently, the main problem for Sparta was that their military was the problem solver and creator. Therefore, the Spartan military was prepared for war. To remain prepared, the Spartans began military training for children at the age of seven and killed unhealthy infants. Once a male became the age of twenty he could become a full time soldier. The military remained in the lives of a male until the age of sixty. Military was the only sole occupation for men. Therefore, the society would not have been possible without the slaves/helots. To train children for military occupations, by terrorizing slaves and murdering trouble makers (history.com). A unique quality of the Spartan military was their unbelievable loyalty to the military and unconditional bravery. The …show more content…
During the Greco-Persian Wars, the Spartans and Athens fought together against the powerful Persians. One of the reasons for the temporary alliance was the impressive navy of the Athens. Historian Thomas R. Martin asserted, “The peace struck in 446/445 formally ended the fighting, supposedly for thirty years. New disagreements that arose in the 430s over how each of the two states should treat the allies of the other led to the collapse of the peace, however.” This navy helped the Spartan Army and the Spartan Army helped the Athenian Army. However, after fighting together to defeat the Persians, the two rival city-states went back to their old ways of despising one another. Ultimately, both military forces collided in the Peloponnesian War which lasted nearly thirty years. This war was amongst Athens along with its empire and the Peloponnesian League which was led by the Spartans. Athenian historian, Thucydides, claimed that the reason of the war “. . . was the rise of the Athens to greatness, which made the Spartans fear for their own position.” The Spartans were the ones who declared war. Additionally, the Spartans had a superior army while the Athens had the advantage of its navy. The turning point of the war was not part of the battle; it was the plague which resulted in the death of one-third to two-thirds of Athens 's population. Ultimately, the Spartans won this war against the Athens. Unlike the Greco-Persian
Imagine two countries, so different from each other, that conflicts were inevitable. Athens and Sparta were not countries, however, they were city-states of Greece with many contrasting values. Athens was the city of the arts, reading, and writing. Meanwhile, military was the only thing the on the Spartans’ minds. Athens and Sparta differ in many ways due to their governments, economies, and cultures.
Ancient Greece today is most known for the culture: the gods, the dramas, how people lived. What most people do not realize is that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different civilizations spread throughout Greece that all had different forms of government. The three main ones were Athens, Sparta, and Miletus. Each was very different from the other. The most powerful out of all three was Sparta: a military based society. The Spartan government had a strong foundation that was all torn down by one bad leader.
Following its domination of the Peloponnese, Ancient Sparta is often depicted in history as a utopian society of egalitarianism, patriotism, and military might. Even today, Sparta rouses the interest of historians due to its extraordinary society, form of government, and ways of life. Spartan life was dissimilar to that of the surrounding Greek states in two major ways. First, practically all aspects of life, including work, childbearing, and child rearing were dominated by training and preparation for the production of a tough, disciplined army. Second, collectivism and temperance of improper behavior were focuses of Sparta; in heavy contrast to the surrounding Greek states ' remarkable sense of individualism and overindulgence. This enduring
During the Persian War, Sparta and Athens worked together to defeat the Persians. The discipline and strength of Spartan Army helped saved Greece from invasion. Afterwards Sparta and Athens alliances were formed. Athenians had superior naval force and enforced the democratic rule in states allied to Athens. Neighboring allied states depended on the trade provided by Athens navy. In the same time Athens had established themselves as the head of the empire. (Lecture 7 notes). Sparta had superior land army and they destroyed Athens crops in order to have a hold on Athens and force them to surrender. The war lasted 10 years with neither side winning the war. At the end they agreed to a truce. A few years later, Athens tried to conquer Sicily, but the Sicilians defeated Athens. Athens lost much of its army and navy. The Spartans took advantage of this weakness and attacked Athens and cut of their trade routes and food supplies. Spartans won and Sparta became the most powerful city in
Like most Greek states of the Archaic and Classical Era, the Spartan city-state was a militaristic one. Sparta, however, took the idea to its extreme. In order to become the best soldiers, Spartan citizens had to dedicate their entire lives to the occupation. In fact to be a soldier – a hoplite – was the full infrastructure of Spartan society. While most Greek city-states looked down on labor, physical work, and even working for profit, they still had to work for a living, produce something. “The Spartans a...
Sparta was a key city state which was located on the Peloponnesian Peninsula in southern Greek, which today is referred to as Laconia. Sparta is historically known for their strong military training, warfare tactics, and numerous victories. This city state included full citizens known as the Spartans, the helots, and the Perioeci. The men of Sparta had a main obligation to become strong warriors, fight with their brothers, and protect against any invasions or attacks. The helots where owned by city state of Sparta. They came from Messenia and were forced into slavery after being invaded by the Spartans in c.735. The helot’s responsibilities included farming, being of help if needed during battles, used as nurses, and for any other task that need to be accomplished. Unlike many traditional slaves, the Messenia’s were given certain leeway. They had
Sparta was a strict military city-state. The people were Dorians who conquered Laconia. This region lies in the Peloponnesus, which lied in southern Greece. The invaders turned the conquered people into state owned slaves, called helots. Since the helots greatly outnumbered their rulers, Spartans established a strict and brutal system of control.
The Peloponnesian war (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens against the Peloponnesian led by Sparta. Thucydides famously claims that the war started “because the Spartans were afraid of further growth of Athenian power, seeing as they did have the greater part of Hellas was under the control of Athens”. The two main protagonists from opposing sides Lysander and Alcibiades had the most influential impact on the end of the war.
In the years following the Persian Wars in 479 B.C., Athens had come out on top being the most dominantly powerful of any Greek city with a navy that had superior strength that increased day by day. The Athenians “ruled with heavy-handed, even brutal force as well as with reason” (Kagan 2). This was due largely to the fact that Athens had a stable and effective government, which only increased their advantage in proving themselv...
Athens and Sparta were both city-states in Classical Greece. While Athens embraced democracy, Sparta was a dictatorial fierce warrior state. Sparta was a militaristic community, Athens was a freethinking, and commerce minded city-state. Modern societies have modeled their government organizational structure and military discipline practices from lessons learned of these ancient city-states. There is much is to be praised regarding Classical Greece for their courage, their progressive thinking and the birth of democracy. However, I think it is important to remember that in both cases, Athens and Sparta were able to sustain their lifestyle on the backs of countless slaves, non-citizens and women and that there is a darker and less romantic side to the past.
Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not.
Spartans were originally Dorians who had come to Laconia as an invading army. Although by the end of the ninth century they had conquered all of Laconia but still were not satisfied. West of the Taygetus Mountains was the fertile plain of Messenia. The Spartans were determined to conquer, and they were successful in their goal to dominate the Messenians. The Spartans took the land of the Messenians, Killed and expelled their leaders, and turned the general population into slaves called helots. Almost all of the features of Spartan life resulted from the Messenian wars. Unfortunately when they enslaved their enemies they unknowingly and foolishly enslaved themselves. “They lived through the remaining centuries of their history in deadly fear of insurrections. This fear explains their conservatism, their stubborn resistance to change, lest any innovation result in a fatal weakening of the system.”
In 480 B.C, the Spartans declared the Peloponnesian War because they feared that Athens were expanding their empire too much, and were going to take over all of Greece. The Spartans went to Athens and waited outside of their city for the Athenians to come out and fight. The Athenians waited patiently, hoping the Spartans would leave, but the Spartans began to burn all the crops around Athens in hopes they would starve and be obligated to admit death. This is why Athens is better than Sparta. They are more mature and fair towards their people, unlike
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) was a conflict between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta that resulted in the end of the Golden Age of Athens. The events of the war were catalogued by the ancient historian Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides’ writings showed the ancient Greek belief that there is a parallel between the city-state and the character of its citizens; in order for the city-state to be successful, its citizens must be virtuous. Thucydides did not believe that the true cause of the Peloponnesian War were the immediate policies of the Athenian Empire against the city-states in the Peloponnesian League but rather the fundamental differences in the character of the two city-states
Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave and kept under a close eye to prevent insurgence (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece). Additionally, Sparta had strict and trained soldiers that underwent intense physical exercising and instruction.