Essay On Athens Vs Sparta

Introduction:

Athens and Sparta were ancient Greece’s two largest, most powerful and influential poleis, or city states (Brand: 1). This paper will compare the governmental structures of the two city states and provide an overview of how one became a citizen, became eligible for public office and rules governing the selection of office bearers. The paper will argue that although there were superficial similarities in the two poleis, their structures and governing political philosophies were very different.

How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community?

In both Athens and Sparta, the right to participate in public life and make decisions was conferred by birth and status. In Athens, citizenship was limited to free adult males who were born to Athenian parents (Brand: 28-29). In Sparta, the right to participate in public life and make decisions was restricted to adult male homoioi (“similars”), who had been admitted to and were in good standing with a syssitia (mess hall) where Spartans took their meals (Brand: 11). Spartan citizens had the right to participate and make decisions in the Assembly (Brand: 10). However, the power of the Assembly was severely restricted and in no

To begin with, Sparta had two kings (Brand: 9) while Athens had no royal house. Whereas Sparta’s Assembly had limited powers due to the formal and informal powers of the Gerousia and Ephors (Brand: 10), the Athenian Assembly was the defining feature of a demokratia, or “rule of the people” (Brand: 19). Another key difference between Athens and Sparta was the respective roles of the Athenian Boule, or Council, and the Spartan Gerousia. While selection to the Gerousia was limited to aristocratic Spartans, selection to the Boule was by lot and open to the citizen body (Brand: