Introduction
Athens and Sparta were two of the largest, most powerful, and most influential cities of Ancient Greece. They may have both been big and historically well revered, but their societies were structured and ruled very differently. This difference is especially true politically speaking. (Athens & Sparta: Democracy vs. Dictatorship, 2016) Sparta was very focused on growing and maintaining a strong army, in efforts to ward off any uprising from their rule over the Helots. Athens on the other hand, seemed like a much more progressive society where culture, philosophy, and a thriving economy were valued. Athens can also be credited with inspiring many of today's democratic societies.
How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community?
People in Athens obtained the right to participate in public life and
…show more content…
It was solely focused on creating and maintaining a strong Army. Men were raised to be soldiers, and women were raised to procreate many sons for the army.
Who held public office? What rules governed the selection of public office holders?
The Athenian society and public offices were determined by classes mostly based on wealth:
500 Bushel Men: Labeled that because of their annual income from bushels of grain production. These men could seek the highest political offices including the most powerful 10 generals that were elected each year. Horsemen: Provided horses for Athenian military Middle Class: Could acquire weapons, serve in the military, and run for lower political offices. Thetes: The bottom of the classes with no land or much money. (Athens & Sparta: Democracy vs. Dictatorship, 2016)
Spartan society & public office was made up of:
The Kings: a dual kingship of two different royal tribes. The Kings were not true monarch because they were overruled by the Gerousia and the
Sparta’s government was said to have a mixture of the major types of government which is oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy. While Athens seems to only have a democracy. In Document 2, an excerpt from “The Spartan Constitution” by Aristotle there’s a quote that states “they praise Lacedaemon because it is made up of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy..” This quote tells exactly what type of government Sparta had. It’s also said that Sparta is the foundation for the governments we now have in the world. Athens on the other hand had a democracy as stated in Document 3, an excerpt from “Funeral Orations” by Pericles a quotes from this excerpt states “it is true that our government is a democracy, because it’s administration is in the hands, not of the few, but of many..” This quote clearly states that the type of government Athens has is a
During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.
Athens had a better government in my opinion. I think Athens had a better government because they created a democracy. According to the Athens and Sparta Document Set, a democracy means “rule by the people”. The Athens also got to abolish politicians they did not like. Athens also had ten generals, meanwhile, Sparta has two kings. In my opinion, I think that having ten generals is better than two kings because they understand you more. Sadly not all Ancient Athens were citizens, but if a free male would be a citizen if his father was a citizen of Athens. Later on, they changed that law, it was then bothering the father and mother had to be a citizen for the child to be considered a citizen. Sadly the women didn’t get that many rights but they soon they got more status. The Athens also made it to where not only the wealthy can engage in the jury service. In the Athens, you have to be an 18-year-old man to complete military training. On the other hand, in Sparta, you have to be a 30-year-old to complete military training. Basically, I’m trying to say that the Athens had a better
Athenian citizen makes more contribution to government rather than Spartans. The Athenian government allows citizen to be a member of the government except for the military position, as its stated on an article that ” each citizen can be voted for each legislation”(Echos in the past, page, print). Which signify that being in the government position means having the capability and not the wealth. In the athenian
Ancient Greece was comprised of small city-states, of which Sparta and Athens were two. Athens was renowned as a center of wisdom and learning. The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits. Sparta, on the other hand, was recognized for its military strength. A Spartan's life was centered on the state, because he lived and died to serve the state. Although the competing city-states of Sparta and Athens were individually different as well as governmentally diverse, they both managed to become dominating powers in Ancient Greece.
The two dominating Greek city states, Sparta and Athens, have there own strengths that make them the strongest throughout Greece. Sparta is "located in the southeastern Peloponnesus, in an area known as Laconia" (Spielvogel 53). Athens is on the peninsula of Attica (Geography). Sparta is know for their immense military might (Spartan Military). Athens is known better for their "leading naval force in Greece" (Women of the Ancient World). Their government systems were very different but very effective. Each Greek state was able to conquer a lot of land using different tactics. This brings up the thought that every country or state could be effective if all the people supported the cause. Political correctness however tends to breed idiots. With this being said, unenforced laws leads people to start thinking that they can get away with whatever they want or better yet, defy the lawful order of an officer. This can than become deadly and spread, until it cripples the system and a new one takes over. What does this new system believe in? Are they idea 's that are realistic? Or are they the idea 's of tree-hugging hippies who thinks everyone is going to "play ball." Well little does the tree-hugging hippie know, is that "The Man" who was "keeping him down" actually did know what he was talking about. Maybe the thirty plus years of military experience wasn 't complete garbage. Maybe it was keeping him and his family safe from the psychopaths and terrorists that
My first point is that the people of Athens held annual meets to vote people in and out of their government. “In other words, the Athenians not only voted people into office, but they had a regular procedure for voting one person per year out of office. “(Doc E) This was only done when they believed it be necessary. If they voted someone out of office, they were exiled from any political area. This also supports my second point.
“Virtue can only flourish among equals.” - Mary Wollstonecraft. In Athens, all citizens were equal, therefore a strong community thrived. Starting in 500 BCE a new idea of citizenship was starting to form. This idea was used by Athens and Rome, and included giving citizens a balance between rights and responsibilities. This paved the way for modern day citizenship in our countries and many others. Athens had a better system of citizenship because they chose government offices by lottery, to keep a strong democracy they made sure no one had too much power, and citizens in all social classes could participate in government.
The Athenian citizen had a further contribution to the government than Spartans citizens. The Athenian government allowed its citizens to take part in government positions, aside from military positions, as it stated on a textbook, Echoes from the Past that ”Every citizen had an equal chance to hold public office”(Newman, Echoes from the Past, page132). Which signifies that being in the government position means having the capability to rule and not wealth. In the Athenian democracy, each council member and government officials had an
After the wars, Athens emerges as the center of all activity amongst each city-state in Greece. One of the key features within the Athenian society was the arrangement of public assembly and the rule of the people, democracy. In the assemblies, any male citizen could actively vote
Athens had a form of government called a democracy which is what we practice here in the United States. They would put all their citizens name in a pot and randomly choose people as representatives. In ancient Sparta on the other hand, they practiced a form of government called an oligarchy. This means that they had a few people ruling, as in fact they had two kings. The issue there is that the power remains in that family line and cannot change, whereas in Athens it can fluctuate.
Sparta was a military-based city-state, on the other hand, Athens was a generous, art based community. Athens was a greater city to live in because they had education privileges, a strong government, and had characteristics for agriculture. One reason Athens was a greater city to live in is because they had many education priviledges. According to the article, “Athens and Sparta,” by Mr. Duckworth, “Unlike Sparta, in Athens, boys were not forced to join the army. As an Athenian, one could pursue several kinds of arts and sciences.
Athens' government is democratic with all free citizens capable of voting or holding a government position. This is better than Sparta's government because Sparta has an oligarchy with only two kings that make all the decisions without anyone's say. In addition, The Athens military was primarily based on
Sparta and Athens were both prominent city-states in Greece. Their culture, and political policies, however, couldn't be more different. Sparta had monarchical elements in their government. 2 kings ruled in Sparta, and leadership was mainly hereditary. Sparta's focus was on its military strength; They formed the academy system, whose goal was to train an elite fighting force, starting with boys at age 7. Conversely, Athens' focus was on its culture and trade. Athens desired constant change and improvement; Additionaly, Athenians wanted to be economically advanced. Democracy was also founded by the Athenians, and this led to Athens becoming "the leader of the Greek world" (Sources of the Making of the West,57).
The idea of sacrificing the needs of the individual Athenian for the benefit of everyone in Athens was at the core of the inner workings of its democracy, thus, a distinct privilege was placed on engaging in the political atmosphere. (Of course, said privilege of voting and serving on juries was only afforded to male natural-born citizens, but that is beside the point.) “Our public men have, besides politics, their