FREE ESSAY ON ATHENS AND SPARTA: COMPARISON

ATHENS AND SPARTA: COMPARISON

Words- 584
Athens and Sparta: Similarities and Differences
One of the greatest city states of all time was the city state of Athens from which we
take many of our modern ways. Their government was a full democracy in which they had an
assembly was all male citizens over 25 years old, they had the council of five hundred
which was chosen by lot of people over 30 and they proposed laws to the assembly. Then
there was the court where there were no judges and the juries were very large, the
archons which were the nine people with the most power before the assembly took it away
from them. The Athenians descended from the Ionians in the attica region. Their city was
mainly located on acropolis'. They had all around education which meant everyone was
entitled to education not just the rich. They were also concerned with money and they
also had unproductive soil which meant they would have to find other ways to make money,
so they became sea traders. Unlike Sparta their slaves had legal rights which meant they
could be freed if the owners of them thought to do so. They also had Draconian laws which
were pretty tough laws and sometimes unfair. Since they had slaves they had a lot of time
to pursue cultural interests and led their society forward intellectually, so they got
into making dramatic plays for their enjoyment. There were three classes of people in
Athens the first class were Citizens which were above age 19, then there were Metics
which were considered the middle class. Then there were slaves which was about as low as
you could go. So all in all you will see Athens is a lot different then Sparta which I
will tell you about now. Sparta government was a lot different then Athen's they had the
five ephors who were overseers and were the real rulers of Sparta. Then came the council
of Elders which was made up of 28 men over 60 and they proposed laws to the assembly.
Then there were kings who were elected by the assembly and served as high priests,
judges, and army commanders. Then came the Assembly which were all citizens over 30 who
elected officials and voted on major policies. Their government was Totalitarian. The
Spartans descended from the Dorians and were located in the Laconia region. Their city
was built in a valley and had no walls because they said they could defend from an
invaders. Unlike the Athenians their soil supported farming but they were culturally
backward, which means we never got anything out of their society's way of life. They had
no real family life and were very militaristic. They spoke in Laconic phrases which meant
they answered or spoke in as little words as possible (ex. yes, no, maybe, etc.). They
were forced to marry at 30 so they could produce as many children as possible and
unhealthy children were left to die. The society of Sparta was composed of citizens which
were the direct descendants of the Dorians then there were neighbors which were people
from other cities and nationalities living inside their cities who weren't as accepted as
the citizens. Then thereare the Healots which were their slaves, compared to Athens their
slaves were treated less then dirt. The smart and strong slaves were put to death because
of the fear of revolt because slaves outnumbered citizens there. So you can see how
culturally oppisate these two people are.