How were the Athenians and the Spartans different.
Athenians and the Spartans may have similarities but they also have differences. They are both in the same regional area and country. But just because they are close doesn't mean their lifestyles nor their teachings are the same. Let alone their government ideas and presidential election way either. Their beliefs in what they women, men and children do for a living and the education style. Life styles are different built on beliefs of what their area believes. The Athenians and the Spartans were the two rivals of Ancient Greece, Close together on the map but not in what they valued and lifestyles were completely far away from each other. Athens form of government had an assembly where they
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Then the last two were slaves and woman. Athens is considered Democracy, which only lasted up to 100 years. Upper class: You have citizenship and you're a man also have a high rank in the military or no job. Very few families were considered upper class. Middle: mostly metics or noncitizens who had no rights to vote or own land. They were mostly merchants or traders who lived in Athens because of guarantee of work and economic stability. Lower: Free men who were once slaves or very poor families. They had very little rights in saying of politics, they were also not …show more content…
If a baby was weak or sick they would abandon the baby on the countryside and for it to die. In the Greek world this was normal because Sparta made it an official government policy.
At the age 7 as a male in Sparta they would be taken from their mother and transferred into the special barracks military for about 23 years. They were taught athletics, discipline, survival skills, hunting, and weapon training also in how to endure the pain. The males became soldiers of the state at age 20. The life of a Spartan soldier was with his army, they ate, sleep and trained together. They were basically their own little families together. They could marry but they wouldn't be able to live with their wifes.
Only if they were an “equal” they could live with their wife and children. An equal is a soldier of age 30, but they could risk not becoming an equal if any soldier disgraced himself in any
Throughout history, many forms of government have come and gone with varying levels of success. Despite the vast cultural differences between Ancient Athens and the Modern Day United States, current American political institutions have been heavily influenced by the Ancient Athenians.
“reach them to endure pain and conquer in battle.” (Document 11). Sparta was especially known for their strong army force. From age seven, all boys were trained not to express their pain and become great soldiers on the battlefield. Unlike Sparta, Athens’ main focus was not on the military. “For we are lovers of beauty, yet with no extravagance and lovers of wisdom, yet without weakness.” (Document 9). Athens was essentially based upon the arts and intelligence. Instead of boys going through years and years of military training, Athenians learned subjects like literature, art, and arithmetic.
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.
The citizens also had the most important jobs. Then there was the lower class, who were the slaves. They were treated like property and forced to do all the hard labor. The difference between the two city-states is that Spartan women were given an education, could own land, and generally had many more rights than the Athenian woman. This was because the Spartan citizens, the men, had to go off and fight in the military for most of their lives so women were left and they had to run the city.
This article is credible and reliable; it offers two sets of information for the reader. It is also suitable for any age group. This site is helpful for those wanting to compare Athens and Sparta or simply read about one or the other.
In Athens, only male citizens were able to hold public office. In Sparta, the society was organized like the military, so only soldiers (who were male) were in the political circle.
Thomas Jefferson referred to the Spartans as “military monks,” only able to fight well (Richard 32). The Fathers actually preferred regular socialization for the nation, welcoming culture. In other words, they believed in expanding territory and trading with others. Although the Founding Fathers respected the Spartan’s strength, they preferred peace that included individual freedom for all. Therefore, Sparta would not become their model for government, but they would be history to learn from (Richard
In their youth, Spartan women were allowed to train with Spartan warriors. This was done in the belief that their training would give them the power to bear warrior sons (Robert R. Edgar). In fact, women in Sparta formed a military background in their youth. They were also as strong
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 Spartan government had two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of all citizens approved all major decisions. From child-hood, a Spartan prepared to be part of the military. All newborn were examined and the healthy lived and the sickly were left to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers or mothers of soldiers to be healthy. At the age of seven, boys trained for a lifetime in the Spartan military. They moved to the barracks and endured brutal and extensive training.
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.
Although the Spartans and Athenians fought for almost 20 years, there was a time when they lived in harmony. Almost 15 years before any disturbances the Athenians and Spartans fought together in the Persian war. During the Persian war, the Spartans were thriving in their fight against the Persians, however over time the Persians began to grow stronger. After being to lose their fighting streak, the Athenians came in to help the Spartans and bring an end to Persian dominance once and for all (The Delian League, 1). After defeating the Persians in 449 B.C., the...
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.
My impression regarding the comparison of the likely daily lives of the citizens of Athens and Sparta is that they were two very different things. The differences hold true for men, women and children alike. In this discussion I have focused on the "average" person with the understanding that the roles of people of higher or lower social elevation surely led different lives.
Differences aside in their ruling structures, Athens and Sparta equally believed that the people should have a voice in governing themselves. It is unfortunate that their forward thinking views of political structure and policy were not picked up and applied until the 18th century. Had there been more civilizations around and after the time of Athens and Sparta, surely mankind would be much different than what we currently know. It certainly makes one wonder what is further along the political timeline in terms of policy and global mindset. Athens and Sparta were in no way perfect utopian societies to live in, but had their models for democracy been further developed by those who came after them, where would that have lead us to today?
The life of both cities was strongly influenced by governmental organization. For instance, because Sparta was military polis and this has strong influence on how they treat infants, children, gender roles, education, merit questions, craftsmanship and military affairs itself. While for Athens 'freedom ' which came with birth of democracy had influence on social life. For instance, rule of wealth dictated the way society organized and how each piece of social life was organized.