Daily Life In Sparta

689 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Athens and sparta comparison

Daily Life in Athens and Sparta Daily life in Athens and Sparta must have been so different from each other, like living in two different worlds. The lives of Athenians are pretty well known from the surviving artifacts, including pottery, architecture, and writing depicting daily activities of the citizens. Of the Spartan life very little is known: Sparta’s focus was on military strength; they did not give much value to writing and the arts. What we do know of them comes from the impressions of outsiders. Four sources: Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Plutarch are credited with what information remains of Sparta today (Canadian Museum of History, n.d.). The lives of citizens in each city would depend on their economic status. I have …show more content…

He is required to supply food for his Syssitia and the grain from his ancestral lands in Messenia have not arrived. Helots, serf slaves, farm the land and he does not have the time to go there and find out why the crop has not been delivered. His wife lives at home with their infant son and his parents, but he does not live there. He lives in the military barracks with his Syssitia group. Today is a special day for he will bring his son in front of the group of elders to be inspected. If he passes the test he will be given a name and return to live with his mother and grandparents (Brand, n.d.,p.6). To him his son looks strong and he is sure he will not be left on the mountain to die, but will grow to be a strong brave warrior. His daughter, now seven, has already joined the Agoge, for physical training and is proving to be a strong and bold girl. His wife has arranged to meet him on his return, if the child is worthy she will take him home and our citizen will return to his barracks in time for evening meal. If all bodes well he will sneak out tonight to be with his family and wife, on this special day (Emory,

Show More
Related

  • Dbq Compare And Contrast Sparta And Athens

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    The governments of these two city-states were not alike in many ways. “It is true that our government is called a democracy, because its administration is in the hands, not of the few, but of the many,” (Document 3). Athens’ government was what we would consider today a direct democracy. This means that their government was run by the people, or in other words “the many”, rather than a couple government officials, or “the few”. Although Athens was running their city as a government by the people, Sparta had a different form of government. “it is made up of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy,

    Read More

  • Comparing Athens, Sparta, And Miletus

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sparta: Infrastructure, Social Structure, and Superstructure

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    Spartan culture is a great example of how a society’s infrastructure will directly affect both, its social structure and superstructure. It also serves as a warning that any society that becomes too rigid in its structure and too static in its values will not last long when confronted with more agile and adaptable cultures. This paper will explore why Sparta became the Hellenic army par excellence, how this worked to create a very specific social structure founded on martial values, and, finally, how that social structure would ultimately be the undoing of the culture.

    Read More

  • Plutarch's Life Of Sparta

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    Firstly, the rejection of luxury and avarice invariably results in a focus on military pursuits. Secondly, the apparent equality belies a vast slave network (common in antiquity, but the unique brutality of the Spartan kind can only bring to mind the Gulag). Lastly, intellectual sterility sets in. Sparta, intellectually, seems to be only good at cracking jibes (Athenian: “I can imitate a sparrow” Spartan: “So what, I have heard the real thing” upon approaching the walls of a city, a Spartan said, "What kind of women live here?"). Their poetry is stale and militaristic; their women are absolutely free; children are encouraged to steal; sex is made to resemble rape; parents mourn when their children return safe from war, and celebrate when they die: this is the weirdest state ever. The book “On Sparta” is a well written book as well is most of Plutarch’s

    Read More

  • Sparta: The Militarized City-State of Ancient Greece

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Women in Sparta

    1800 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sparta and Athens - Explain and Contrast

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sparta and Athens - Explain and Contrast 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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Sparta

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 warriors all shaped the legendary city-state and defined its culture.

    Read More

  • Aspects of Spartan Culture

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Sparta And Athens

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Long Way Gone

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first strategy the army uses to recruit children is satisfying the kids’ basic needs. For example, to live life, a person will need food, water, shelter and good temperature, which the army provided to the children. Upon the soldiers first couple of days on duty, the Lieutenant asked Ishmael, “are you getting

    Read More

  • The Spartan Economy

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    When discussing the Spartan economy it is essential that the structure of Spartan society is explained. This structure directly effects Spartan economic production and its primary agrarian focus. The social structure of ancient Sparta was made up of three classes of individuals, the Spartiates, the Perioikoi, and the Helots. The Spartiates were native Spartans, those who had ancestry back to the first inhabitants of the settlement. The Homoioi—peers and equals—were at the top of the social pyramid, they were citizens with full rights, Spartiates. It was strictly forbidden for the Spartiates to engage in any economic activity at any time, rather they were devoted to military service and training. Family life for a Spartiate was limited, a

    Read More

  • Athens: The Superior Polis Compared to Sparta

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Spartan Daily Life

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Daily Life of Ancient Greeks

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Daily Life of Ancient Greeks Life in Greece in ancient times will remind you of your own life in many ways. There were school, family, athletic competitions, and social gatherings. Knowing that participants in their sporting events competed nude or that you rarely knew your husband/wife until the wedding day does however, make you grateful for the society that you live in today. Babies Life for the Greeks in Athens began in their home. Babies were delivered by the women of the family, and only in cases of serious complications was a mid-wife called.

    Read More

More about Daily Life In Sparta

Open Document