Athens And Sparta Compare And Contrast Essay
In ancient Greek times two city-states, Athens and Sparta, dominated all of the Greek peninsula in their own way. The time the city-states flourished was in the late B.C. Both city-states were a success as they develop into the strongest Greek states. Whereas many people believe that Athens and Sparta are similar, the city-states are vastly different based on their ways of living, their government styles, and their military. Athenians and the Spartans have different ways of living as they focus on different morals. At a small age Spartan boys are taken from their families and forced into the Spartan standing army. On the other hand, the Athenian boys are not mandated into the military of their country and are able to get a good education. Spartans are focused on their military more than their interactions with other countries around them. “Sparta people were not open to education and they only concentrated on military strength and obedience and they didn't interact much with the outside world” (Athens vs). While Sparta focused on their dominate army, Athens focused mostly on education. “As an Athenian, one could get a good education and could pursue several kinds of arts and sciences” (Athens vs). There were many more
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opportunities in life for Athenians than Spartans. The little interaction Sparta had with others was providing an army for other Greek states. While as the Athenians want to control more land. “Athens, on the other hand, wanted to control more and more of the land around them. This eventually led to war between all the Greeks” (Athens vs). Athens interactions with other countries were the wanting of more land and overall wanting to expand their borders. Athens ended up going to war with most of Greece including Sparta; they lost the war. Another way of life for the Greeks was the treatment of women. The women in each country are treated differently. Sparta gives the woman of their country more rights than Athens. “They could also own property by themselves” (Athens vs). The women of Sparta could own land by themselves which was a frowned upon in the other Greek city-states. The woman in Sparta could also obtain an education where in Athens they could not. “Ideally, women were supposed to remain secluded within their households” (Lee). Women were meant to stay in the house to avoid attracting other men in Athens, therefore, having little to do outside the home. The government styles of the two city-states are vastly different. The government of Athens is styled as a democracy. “It emphasized personal freedom, individual responsibility, and the rule of law” (Lee). The Athens democracy was a direct democracy instead of a representative democracy. The representatives are elected annually in Athens. “A group of 500, who would then be divided into groups of 50. Each would take charge for about a month, and ten generals were automatically elected due to their experience” (Athens vs). Athens regularly changed the people in charge of the country. Athens was known as the birthplace of democracy.
Sparta had a government with a king system.
The Spartans had two kings to run their country one based on military issues and a second for political and or diplomatic issues with the country. Both of the kings ruled until death when the designated son of the king takes over the position. This system of government was called an oligarchy form of government. There is an argument about this form of government as it means ruled by few but they have elements of a monarchy. The ruled by few comes into their government as there are five elected member of the government called, Ephors. “The Ephors are elected annually and have the power to overrule the kings” (Athen vs). Unlike a monarchy, the kings did not have complete power of the
country. The militaries of the two countries were also different. The Athenians military focused mostly on their naval forces. The majority of the Athens army was their strong naval force as it was the stronger naval force in Greece leading to an advantage over many other countries. “The Athenian army grew to a monumental strength, almost matching the Spartans, overall it was inferior” (Knights). Although the land army of Athens was weak, Athenians were able to contend with the Spartan army as Athen’s naval force was too great of a power. This was an achievement Athens could hold onto as the Spartan army was no mere pushover.
With the Spartan culture making joining the military mandatory at a young age, their army is very disciplined and well trained. “The Spartan hoplite endured rigorous training from the age of 7, to become a part of one of the finest type of warriors of the ancient world” (Knights). Since the men of the army are trained since the age of seven, fighting is all they know and they know how to executed it well. The main contribution to Sparta having a well-trained army was the number of slaves they possessed: “The Spartan army became so formidable, to ensure no uprisings occurred” (Knights). Due to Sparta's slaves outnumbering the civilian population, the Spartan military needed to be vast and well-trained thwart potential uprisings. In contrast, Athens army was primarily naval dominated while the Spartans had little to no naval but the strongest land forces in all of Greece.
Although there are many differences between the city-states, there is still some similarity between them. Both Sparta and Athens are both located in Greece and share a common language. Both have a very disciplined and strong military that dominated the Greek peninsula. The Athenian and Spartan wealth and prosperity came from the labor of slaves. “Both city-states had extremely large slave populations, with each home to about 100,000 slaves” (What). Slaves ran the economy of the countries as they made up most of the country's workforce. The government of the two have some type of elected official to govern the country.
While there is some similarity between Athens and Sparta, the two city-states are vastly different in many different categories. Their ways of living and government styles having the least similar quality based on their morals and cultures. Their military was also different but strong in their own ways as Athens had a strong naval force and Sparta a strong land force. The city-states of Athens and Sparta for developing very differently both succeed as a country for many years allowing them to be the two dominant city-states of Greece.
opportunities in life for Athenians than Spartans. The little interaction Sparta had with others was providing an army for other Greek states. While as the Athenians want to control more land. “Athens, on the other hand, wanted to control more and more of the land around them. This eventually led to war between all the Greeks” (Athens vs). Athens interactions with other countries were the wanting of more land and overall wanting to expand their borders. Athens ended up going to war with most of Greece including Sparta; they lost the war. Another way of life for the Greeks was the treatment of women. The women in each country are treated differently. Sparta gives the woman of their country more rights than Athens. “They could also own property by themselves” (Athens vs). The women of Sparta could own land by themselves which was a frowned upon in the other Greek city-states. The woman in Sparta could also obtain an education where in Athens they could not. “Ideally, women were supposed to remain secluded within their households” (Lee). Women were meant to stay in the house to avoid attracting other men in Athens, therefore, having little to do outside the home. The government styles of the two city-states are vastly different. The government of Athens is styled as a democracy. “It emphasized personal freedom, individual responsibility, and the rule of law” (Lee). The Athens democracy was a direct democracy instead of a representative democracy. The representatives are elected annually in Athens. “A group of 500, who would then be divided into groups of 50. Each would take charge for about a month, and ten generals were automatically elected due to their experience” (Athens vs). Athens regularly changed the people in charge of the country. Athens was known as the birthplace of democracy.
Sparta had a government with a king system.
The Spartans had two kings to run their country one based on military issues and a second for political and or diplomatic issues with the country. Both of the kings ruled until death when the designated son of the king takes over the position. This system of government was called an oligarchy form of government. There is an argument about this form of government as it means ruled by few but they have elements of a monarchy. The ruled by few comes into their government as there are five elected member of the government called, Ephors. “The Ephors are elected annually and have the power to overrule the kings” (Athen vs). Unlike a monarchy, the kings did not have complete power of the
country. The militaries of the two countries were also different. The Athenians military focused mostly on their naval forces. The majority of the Athens army was their strong naval force as it was the stronger naval force in Greece leading to an advantage over many other countries. “The Athenian army grew to a monumental strength, almost matching the Spartans, overall it was inferior” (Knights). Although the land army of Athens was weak, Athenians were able to contend with the Spartan army as Athen’s naval force was too great of a power. This was an achievement Athens could hold onto as the Spartan army was no mere pushover.
With the Spartan culture making joining the military mandatory at a young age, their army is very disciplined and well trained. “The Spartan hoplite endured rigorous training from the age of 7, to become a part of one of the finest type of warriors of the ancient world” (Knights). Since the men of the army are trained since the age of seven, fighting is all they know and they know how to executed it well. The main contribution to Sparta having a well-trained army was the number of slaves they possessed: “The Spartan army became so formidable, to ensure no uprisings occurred” (Knights). Due to Sparta's slaves outnumbering the civilian population, the Spartan military needed to be vast and well-trained thwart potential uprisings. In contrast, Athens army was primarily naval dominated while the Spartans had little to no naval but the strongest land forces in all of Greece.
Although there are many differences between the city-states, there is still some similarity between them. Both Sparta and Athens are both located in Greece and share a common language. Both have a very disciplined and strong military that dominated the Greek peninsula. The Athenian and Spartan wealth and prosperity came from the labor of slaves. “Both city-states had extremely large slave populations, with each home to about 100,000 slaves” (What). Slaves ran the economy of the countries as they made up most of the country's workforce. The government of the two have some type of elected official to govern the country.
While there is some similarity between Athens and Sparta, the two city-states are vastly different in many different categories. Their ways of living and government styles having the least similar quality based on their morals and cultures. Their military was also different but strong in their own ways as Athens had a strong naval force and Sparta a strong land force. The city-states of Athens and Sparta for developing very differently both succeed as a country for many years allowing them to be the two dominant city-states of Greece.