Sparta and Athens are two city-states that clashed greatly with each other in Greece. The life in both of these Greek places very vastly differ from each other, and the great differences among these two city-states eventually led them to war. There were similarities and differences involving how each city state was politically, economically, culturally and socially. Along with these, the roles between Spartan and Athenian women differed as well. Sparta and Athens were both advanced and intelligent in their own ways which led each of them to find their own success.
To begin, each of these Greek city states differed mostly in their political aspect of ruling. Sparta is located in Greece with a militaristic society which was ruled by two kings,
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Sparta was considered the ‘protector of the Greek’ because they are content with themselves and put out their army whenever it was needed. Spartans were known as warriors with the most intimidating army in Greece. Unlike the Spartans, the Athens wanted to take control of more land in Greece. Their difference in being content with their land and wanting more land led to the war between Sparta and Athens. Sparta has a powerful army and Athens had a powerful navy unit which Sparta did not. After the Peloponnesian War neither of their armies were as strong as they once were. In addition, the Spartans were said to have a ‘simple’ lifestyle while Athenians had a very ‘modern and open outlook’. Sparta people were forced to join the military since they focused so much on strengthening their great military. Spartans were not open to getting an education, that was not a priority. As an Athenian, you were open to an education and could follow up in multiple kinds of arts and sciences. A young Spartan’s education was focused on military strategies and war whereas Athenian education focused physical and mental …show more content…
As interesting as it may sound, we are not growing up and being trained to be a warrior as the Spartans were. Starting school and learning at just 5 years old is something the Athenians would have done. We focus on education in the modern world as did the Athenians. It is almost a social norm to further your knowledge as over 50 percent of graduating high school students move on to secondary education. In fact, 65.9 percent of those graduating students enrolled in college for that upcoming year. Growing up being a trained warrior like the Spartans would have been cool, but the Athenians are more comparable to the way of life we, and almost every other country in the world, live today. In conclusion, Sparta and Athens were both two great city-states that developed in Ancient Greece. Both of these groups set a name for themselves; Athens is remembered for its knowledge and infrastructure, and Sparta is known for its unbelievable military power and advancements. There were similarities and difference from political to economically, culturally and socially. Including the previous listed comparisons, the women of each city state also lived very different. Sparta and Athens each found their own success. Athens had a lasting effect in education that influences the modern
“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.
Athenian girls were not officially schooled, they were usually taught in the own homes. The purpose of an Athenian education was to train people to be thinkers, people who are well-trained in the arts and sciences (Columbia). The education of the youth establishes a precedent for the differences between the way Spartans and Athenians lead their lives. At age seven, training for the military began for all Spartan boys, they’re forced to leave their homes and go to military schools, where they endure all types of harsh training and discipline. The main lesson was learning to take pride in enduring pain and hardship.
One of the most important difference between the two city-states is the type of government they used. Athens was democratic and allowed the citizens to be a part of the law decisions. While, Sparta was an Oligarchy and ruled by two kings. The government was highly exclusive and only open to higher social standings. Athens lifestyle was modern and free, with an open outlook on life. The young men were not forced to join the army, unlike the Spartan boys who had no choice but to join the army. They concentrated solely on military strength and did not venture to the outside world. Another key difference is, how the woman are treated among the city-states. In Athens the woman had very little freedom, they depended on their husbands and could not own any land. But, Spartan women were stronger and could forge relationships with any man they pleased. They did not have to do any chores while the Athenian woman partook in weaving and cooking
Sparta was a war-like Greek city-state that had 2 main ranks of society. There were the Spartans, who were citizens that would receive an education that emphasized self-control, courage, obedience, and discipline. They both have the upper class, which are the citizens of the city-state. They were usually wealthy, and they didn’t spend much time at home or around their families.
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.
Athens and Sparta are both infamous Greek city states. Both could not be more different, yet similar in the way they governed their own city state. Another, main difference was the women’s rights and roles in the system. Athenian and Spartan women both were considered to be second to their male counterparts. Spartan women had more rights than Athenian women. Through, research realizing that the Spartan women were slightly greater role than Athenian women.
Both Sparta and Athens were Greek city-states. Sparta was a strict military ruled city-state where the people established themselves as a military power early. However Athens was more of a political city-state that was more involved with their economical stature than their military forces. Still changes from the Persian wars would change the powers of the city-state and somewhat unite them.
Sparta was one of the strongest Greek city-states to ever exist. They fought valiantly in many wars, all because their strong military force could defeat almost anyone. They were the neighbors of Athens, a city-state that prided itself on their arts and strong government. Sparta’s dominance stems from its long history as a militaristic society. The lives of the soldiers were hard because they had to be so disciplined to last in the tough military schools that all men seemed to have attended from a very young age. Their women were held to higher standards than the neighboring city-states because the men could do nothing but be in the military. Women were given a new level of respect that was not seen anywhere else at that time. Spartan soldiers were the ultimate hoplite warriors, devoting their lives to training as heavy infantry (ancientmilitary.com, 2013).
Sparta, an ancient Greek city-state, was most well-known for its militaristic lifestyle and its soldiers’ prowess in battle. Though war was an essential part of life in Sparta, many other aspects contributed to its society. Sparta’s origin, unique government, slaves, bold women, and elite warriors all shaped the legendary city-state and defined its culture.
It is amazing that the leaders of Athens would trust their citizens, albeit a select few, to make decisions and choices about their life style. It is also incredible to contemplate the discipline required to establish a military force when Sparta had no physical infrastructure to fortify their city-state. It is important to respect our past and learn from it. However, we also must recognize the limitations and not romanticize the past to the point we ignore its shortcomings and not forget that it took nearly 2000 years to abolish slavery. These ancient city-states neglected a large number of their people, and approved of slavery and the subjugation of women. As long as one class dominates and discriminates against another, as a world society, we still have work to do to ensure peace and basic freedoms for all of
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.
The ancient Greece was divided among several hundreds of city-states called “Poleis”. Within this poleis, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful, significant, largest and significant states.
Sparta was a city-state based on strict military ruling, at the age of seven a young Spartan would start out training and be trained into killing machines. When a Spartan baby is born, high elite Spartan soldiers would observe the baby to see if it was healthy and strong, if not the baby was ill and weak so it would be taken up a mountain and left there to die. This is just one example that shows how Sparta only wants a strong army and doesn't care about anything else. Strict rules of the government made it so that every Spartan was trained to be physically and mentally fit for war.
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.