Compare and contrast how the ideas about government affected the governing of Sparta and Athens. Even in single countries, different regions sometimes have governments that are very similar and at the same time, very different. Such a case occurred in ancient Greece, in the city-states of Sparta and Athens. While Sparta was more based on oligarchy, Athens was a democracy. Their profound differences in rule often caused them to war against each other. These two significant ancient Greek city-states, Sparta and Athens, had many differences and similarities in how their ideas about rule influenced their government. Spartan government was an oligarchy, it was based on financial status and militarism. The Spartans ruled over a set of oppressed people from Messenia known as helots. They outnumbered the Spartans by a large amount, and they revolted. The Spartans were just barely able to crush the revolution. They decided they needed their government to focus on military and their way of life to form a solid, completely unified society. The document entitled “The Lycurgan Reforms” says that “obedience to their [the people of Sparta] legislator” was the reason why the society prospered.
They had an assembly of all citizens over thirty years of age that played a part in the government. They elected five magistrates, called ephors. These magistrates held only one year in office but had considerable power. Despite these officials, two hereditary kings and their council of elder advisors (the gerousia) still had the power to overrule any decisions made by the magistrates and the assembly. The assembly of citizens supported the militaristic lifestyle of Sparta. In fact, Sparta was the only Greek city to support a full-time army. Citizens maintained their lives by having private plots in Messenia farmed by helots. Thus, the Spartans had a lot of free time, so the boys began to be sent to army camp at the age of seven and suffered the brutal ways of life there until they were thirty and free to leave. The document analyzed says that there were army commanders to train the boys in the harsh “boot camp.” They gave out orders and punishments. They served as a role model for the boys. Their, as the document states “chief care was to make them [the boys] good subjects, and to teach them to obey and conquer in battle…” This training from such a young age for so many years crushed the individual identity and formed a unified society without the enlightenment of the arts, just the love for Sparta the city.
The Essay on How were Spartans different from Athens
... Greece Sparta and Athens were different in so many ways such as in religion, government, culture, beliefs, education etc. Athens and Spartans were two major city ... to marry at 18, Athens men were expected to be citizens by 18 and from seven boys were taught mathematics, writng, ... there was no jury system. Spartans military was very important to them because at seven boys were sent to military camps, ...
The foot soldiers in Sparta, called hoplites, paid for their own equipment for protection. That shows how wealth was an important part of respect in Spartan society. Sparta became an isolated, self-sustaining society. Its government was a military machine, and apparently, Spartans lived only to fight. The Athenian system of democracy gave the power of government to the whole people of Athens. “Everyone is equal before the law” is stated in the document, “The Funeral Oration of Pericles”. The document also states that no one is “in political obscurity” because of their class or financial status, Any citizen, despite their class or wealth, could hold public office. The majority of the people were interested in what was going on in their government. Those who were not especially interested in political matters, still knew the basics of what was going on in the current government. Bribery to obtain office was also eliminated. The important Council of Five Hundred (Boule) was elected by the people of Athens, fifty from each region. One of its major deeds was to draw up the agenda for the Assembly. The Assembly of all working citizens, called the Ecclesia, elected magistrates and voted on any state policies.
The Essay on Good citizen
A Good citizen is one who knows his rights and duties as a citizen to maintain his/her rights and perform duties with interest . political rights consist of rights to vote, right to freedom of expression, civil rights are of as vital importance as the political rights. A good citizen defend his political and civil rights very zealously the state help him in the threw of law and justice. Violation ...
From these citizens, juries were selected by lot every year to form law courts, Heliaea. The Assembly also determined the strategies used in war, and they also had the right to declare war, make peace, grant citizenship, among many other things. However, the Athenian government was less liberal than many other Greek city-states, especially in how they defined a citizen. A citizen to the Athenians was a free man over eighteen born in Attica. Female relatives of these men were also citizens, but called astai which meant “those without political rights.” The military generals were called the Board of Ten Generals, or strategoi, they were elected every year and could be elected for an unlimited number of terms. Even though the Athenian system of democracy was effective, the minority opinions were not respected, and usually censured severely. The government was generally dominated by powerful statesmen who could force their laws unto the people. The governments of Sparta and Athens have many differences and similarities. Athens and Sparta are similar in that they do have respect for their citizens, and an assembly of citizens who play a part in the government. Both assemblies elect powerful magistrates.
In both societies, there was an general interest in the politics, although to almost an obsessive extent in Sparta. The governments of Athens and Sparta are also extremely different. Sparta focuses on military for the most part, and although Athens did have an army of some sort, it was not as strict and powerful as that of Sparta. Sparta’s militaristic government encouraged and, in fact, created the universal destroying of the individual person. They wanted their society to be completely unified down to the last inhabitant. In Athens, each single personality was allowed to develop into its own unique form. The freedom and involvement of the people in the government reflected this encouragement for individualism. In Sparta, the highest rulers were the two hereditary kings. They had the power to overrule any decision made by the government officials. In Athens, generally speaking, the Assembly had the final say in what was made in the laws. This did not include the unorthodox ways that the “powerful statesmen” used to get their laws into Athenian society. In Sparta, not everyone was equal. The rich and high class were valued more than the poor and lowly. They did not have the same opportunities, the poor’s were very limited.
The Essay on WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HUMAN SOCIETY
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN HUMAN SOCIETY? Be the government a dictorcratic, autocratic or democratic, all these have one thing in common and that is to rule the citizens under its power as established by the ruling citizens and or parties. Any government form will fight to preserve its sovereignty from both foreign and domestic enemies. Based on all wants and needs of the governing party ...
In Athens, all, no matter what class or amount of wealth they had, were allowed to have the chance to have a say in the government. These characteristics in both societies were generally restricted to male citizens only. In Sparta, the power of government rested more on elected officials than the people of the society, unlike in Athenian society. Both societies had governments that functioned well enough in their own environment for their own people. Sparta and Athens were arguably two of the most important city-states in ancient Greece. Their ways of life influenced and set standards for generations to come all over the world. Evidence of this is apparent especially in the modern-day United States. The US has Sparta’s strong full-time military and Athens “power to the people” based democratic government. These two societies within ancient Greece, Sparta and Athens, were similar and different each to their own advantage, their governments being highly influenced by their ways of life, past experiences, and ideals about how their lives should be run.
Bibliography:
Cheilik, Michael. Ancient History. 2nd ed. New York: Harper. 1969. Freeman, Charles. The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World. New York: Viking Penguin. 1999. Guy, John. Greek Life. New York: Barron’s. 1998. Nardo, Don. Life in Ancient Athens. San Diego: Lucent. 2000.
