Spartan And Athenian Government Essay
A Comparison of Spartan and Athenian Governments
University of the People Student
University of the People A Comparison of Spartan and Athenian Governments
While both were large poleis in Greece, Athens and Sparta had different ways of governing. Sparta was an oligarchy where all Spartan men could participate in the government, but aristocrats held almost all the power. Sparta was ruled by two kings from two different royal families. However, the kings did not have the control they would in a monarchy. In actuality, two councils, the Ephors and the Gerousia, held most of the power.
The Ephors, a council of five men, behaved like the executive branch of government and “served as a balance to the power of the kings” (Brand, n.d.). Positions on the Ephors were reserved for non-aristocratic citizens to serve a one-year term. However, the power of the Ephors was overshadowed by the rulers on the Gerousia.
A much larger council than the Ephors, the Gerousia was …show more content…
Similar to Sparta, this assembly would vote on laws that the Boule proposed (Brand, n.d.). However, Cleisthenes changed the system so that each assembly member’s vote had equal weight. Since the popular assembly was made up of all free Athenian males, this was a precursor to the democracy that Athens would become by 480 (Brand, n.d.).
Despite one governing as an oligarchy and the other as a democracy, one similarity between Sparta and Athens was that both had limitations on which citizens could participate. Both poleis restricted any participation of women or other groups such as slaves. Both Sparta and Athens reserved government participation for citizens, and not foreigners.
Another similarity was that Sparta and Athens both had a general assembly made up of citizens. However, the Athenian example actually gave much more power to the citizens than the Spartan example, thus becoming an early form of democracy.
University of the People Student
University of the People A Comparison of Spartan and Athenian Governments
While both were large poleis in Greece, Athens and Sparta had different ways of governing. Sparta was an oligarchy where all Spartan men could participate in the government, but aristocrats held almost all the power. Sparta was ruled by two kings from two different royal families. However, the kings did not have the control they would in a monarchy. In actuality, two councils, the Ephors and the Gerousia, held most of the power.
The Ephors, a council of five men, behaved like the executive branch of government and “served as a balance to the power of the kings” (Brand, n.d.). Positions on the Ephors were reserved for non-aristocratic citizens to serve a one-year term. However, the power of the Ephors was overshadowed by the rulers on the Gerousia.
A much larger council than the Ephors, the Gerousia was …show more content…
Similar to Sparta, this assembly would vote on laws that the Boule proposed (Brand, n.d.). However, Cleisthenes changed the system so that each assembly member’s vote had equal weight. Since the popular assembly was made up of all free Athenian males, this was a precursor to the democracy that Athens would become by 480 (Brand, n.d.).
Despite one governing as an oligarchy and the other as a democracy, one similarity between Sparta and Athens was that both had limitations on which citizens could participate. Both poleis restricted any participation of women or other groups such as slaves. Both Sparta and Athens reserved government participation for citizens, and not foreigners.
Another similarity was that Sparta and Athens both had a general assembly made up of citizens. However, the Athenian example actually gave much more power to the citizens than the Spartan example, thus becoming an early form of democracy.