Compare And Contrast The City States Of Athens And Sparta Politically And Culturally
Compare and contrast the city-states of Athens and Sparta politically and culturally
In ancient times, Greece was not a united country but rather a collection of separate city-states that were in some cases similar, in other cases different politically and culturally. The two most famous, powerful and influential city-states of that period were Athens and Sparta. Although Athens and Sparta had some cultural comparisons such as both were polytheistic societies sharing similar religious beliefs, their contrasts politically like Athens’s democracy and Sparta’s military oligarchy proved to be more significant.
At the first sight, Athens and Sparta had quite a few similarities culturally and politically. To begin with, both Athenians and Spartans were Greek-speaking people with the same religious beliefs. At the very early stage, first Minoans, then Mycenaeans, and finally Dorians founded and populated most of the villages and cities in ancient Greece. The culture of these people, same language, myths, and polytheistic religion where Zeus was a supreme god spread over entire Greece, including Athens and Sparta. Both Athenians and Spartans attributed human qualities, such as love, hate, jealousy, and bravery to their gods. All of the above set a common foundation for both cultures and influenced their further developments. Second, they also had some similarities politically. In the very beginning, Athens and Sparta had similar forms of government. They began as monarchies and then turned into oligarchies. However, people of both states were looking for such form of government where regular citizens could express their wills and influence higher authority decisions. As a result, they created Assemblies, whose members were elected by the people. In Athens, the Assembly was open to all citizens. Its main function was to pass the laws and make policy decisions. In Sparta, all male citizens over age 30 could join the Assembly. Those who joined voted on state policies by
In ancient times, Greece was not a united country but rather a collection of separate city-states that were in some cases similar, in other cases different politically and culturally. The two most famous, powerful and influential city-states of that period were Athens and Sparta. Although Athens and Sparta had some cultural comparisons such as both were polytheistic societies sharing similar religious beliefs, their contrasts politically like Athens’s democracy and Sparta’s military oligarchy proved to be more significant.
At the first sight, Athens and Sparta had quite a few similarities culturally and politically. To begin with, both Athenians and Spartans were Greek-speaking people with the same religious beliefs. At the very early stage, first Minoans, then Mycenaeans, and finally Dorians founded and populated most of the villages and cities in ancient Greece. The culture of these people, same language, myths, and polytheistic religion where Zeus was a supreme god spread over entire Greece, including Athens and Sparta. Both Athenians and Spartans attributed human qualities, such as love, hate, jealousy, and bravery to their gods. All of the above set a common foundation for both cultures and influenced their further developments. Second, they also had some similarities politically. In the very beginning, Athens and Sparta had similar forms of government. They began as monarchies and then turned into oligarchies. However, people of both states were looking for such form of government where regular citizens could express their wills and influence higher authority decisions. As a result, they created Assemblies, whose members were elected by the people. In Athens, the Assembly was open to all citizens. Its main function was to pass the laws and make policy decisions. In Sparta, all male citizens over age 30 could join the Assembly. Those who joined voted on state policies by