Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
political relations among Athens and sparta
rise and fall of sparta
compare parliamentary systems
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: political relations among Athens and sparta
Ancient Sparta and the Peoples' Republic of China. Separated by two millenia and just as many continents, these two civilizations could not represent a more stark contrast. Both have experienced their fair share of media recently, with Spartan culture appearing on the big screen and the Peoples' Republic of China grabbing the attention of media for their censorship and shady governmental practices. In this short book I'm writing, we will compare the important aspect of the political system in both societies, first in Ancient Sparta, then in the Peoples' Republic of China. I will also briefly delve into the social classes in these societies, as they are important to the understanding of the polictal system.
Sparta, also less commonly known as Lacedaemon, was an oligarchical city-state of ancient Greece. It was located on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, which is still part of Greece to this day. It came about around the 11th century BC, following the invasion of the Dorians, on the four major Greek tribes. Sparta is perhaps best known for its military strength, which can be credited to legendary law-giver Lycurgus, who created the Spartan constitution in 650 BC.
Not much is known of the internal development of Sparta, and it was widely believed by many Greeks that the Spartan constitution was unchanged from its creation. According to tradition, Spartans were prohibited from keeping any historical records, literature, or written laws. As a result, Spartan traditions and laws were passed down orally from generation to generation, so little was known about them. What we do know about Spartans comes from historians of the day, and was considered primitive by Greek standards. The Spartan government was a mash-up of a monarch...
... middle of paper ...
...f America, they are not equal in duties, and as a result a balance of power is not created.
The National People's Congress holds the greatest amount of power in modern-day China. It consists of approximately 3,000 delegates to date, each elected for a 5-year term. About 70% of the currently elected delegates are members of the Communist Party of China. Delegates are not elected directly by the populace, but rather by other provincial representatives, who are in turn elected by lower level representatives, and so on and so forth, often reaching 5 or more tiers of representatives before actually being directly elected by the people. Unlike the United States, China does not allow for an unlimited amount of candidates per seat. The NPC allows for only 110 candidates per 100 seats, although at the lower levels of government, there is no limit on the amount of candidates.
From this evaluation and historical representations given by philosophers and historians during approximately the same era that is represented within 300. It is argued that the popular culture incarnations of Sparta as the ‘Noble, selfless fighters with a warrior mentality’ and the Persians as the ‘Evil, tyrannical, overindulgent, oppressors’ were not entirely historically accurate.
After the Messenian war the Spartan people moved into the Taygetus mountains and there they would set up what would eventually become the military government of Sparta. Almost defeated, but maintaining the control of the territory the Spartans invented a new political system by turning their state into a military state. By making this dramatic change it in essence changed the everyday living styles of each individual living in the Spartan society.
When discussing the Spartan economy it is essential that the structure of Spartan society is explained. This structure directly effects Spartan economic production and its primary agrarian focus. The social structure of ancient Sparta was made up of three classes of individuals, the Spartiates, the Perioikoi, and the Helots. The Spartiates were native Spartans, those who had ancestry back to the first inhabitants of the settlement. The Homoioi—peers and equals—were at the top of the social pyramid, they were citizens with full rights, Spartiates. It was strictly forbidden for the Spartiates to engage in any economic activity at any time, rather they were devoted to military service and training. Family life for a Spartiate was limited, a
Sparta had very different values than that of societies today. Located on Peloponnese, a peninsula in southern Greece, it slowly grew enough to be considered a city-state. The people there valued military more than morals. The Spartans owned helots and fought against an army much bigger than theirs and everyone died but stopped the Persians using the phalanx. The strengths in Sparta’s education system outweigh the weaknesses because boys were taught the proper attitude, to care for and use their bodies, and how to be prepared for whatever comes their way.
Sparta was a war-like Greek city-state that had 2 main ranks of society. There were the Spartans, who were citizens that
Sparta, a city-state from Ancient Greece, was very respected in its time. One of few cities to rival its power was Athens. With thousands of poleis in Ancient Greece, it was a great achievement to reach this level of prestige. So how did Sparta become so strong? I believe the strength of the city can be contributed to the roles of both men and women working and devoting their lives to Sparta. Since birth, both sexes were educated, treated, and acted accordingly to reap the most power the state it can from its people.
Sparta was a city-state based on strict military ruling, at the age of seven a young Spartan would start out training and be trained into killing machines. When a Spartan baby is born, high elite Spartan soldiers would observe the baby to see if it was healthy and strong, if not the baby was ill and weak so it would be taken up a mountain and left there to die. This is just one example that shows how Sparta only wants a strong army and doesn't care about anything else. Strict rules of the government made it so that every Sp...
Sparta was a strict military city-state. The people were Dorians who conquered Laconia. This region lies in the Peloponnesus, which lied in southern Greece. The invaders turned the conquered people into state owned slaves, called helots. Since the helots greatly outnumbered their rulers, Spartans established a strict and brutal system of control. The Spartan government had two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of all citizens approved all major decisions. From child-hood, a Spartan prepared to be part of the military. All newborn were examined and the healthy lived and the sickly were left to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers or mothers of soldiers to be healthy. At the age of seven, boys trained for a lifetime in the Spartan military. They moved to the barracks and endured brutal and extensive training.
In ancient Greece during the 7th and 8th centuries, different armies and cities were fighting for control of land and power. During this time period, it was very gruesome and many people died because different states wanted to expand their control over new territories so they could gain more power. With all the different armies and militaries fighting for control, there was one that stood out as the elite of all militaries, Sparta. Quickly Sparta became known throughout Greece as the most highly disciplined and coordinated militaries in the world.
Sparta contained a four branch government system that was considered among the most unique in all of Greece. Unlike the democracy of Athens, Sparta was based on an oligarchy structure. The diarchy, which consisted of two kings, was the first division of this government. These figures held little influence over the state and served more as a symbol of royal heritage (Kennell 83). The second branch was the Gerousia council which acted as an advising body and hel...
Farris, Dale. "Shutt, Timothy B.: A History of Ancient Sparta." Library Journal 15 May 2009: 45.
Governing has never been an easy task during the times of ancient Athens and Sparta. Both equally were ahead of their time by giving their people an actual voice and weight when making decisions. Unfortunately, neither of these civilizations lasted the great length of time.
In Sparta, only citizens could be members of the assembly. Sparta’s assembly was not a democracy it was a dictatorship. Sparta was a unique dual kingship, one king went to war and the other king stayed home. I would venture to describe them more like Generals
In the year approximately 500 B.C., the Greek civilization came upon a time of peace. Because of the tranquil times, the civilization’s society had more time to focus on writing, math, astronomy, and artistic fields, as well as trade and metallurgy. Out of all the city-states of Greece, two excelled over all the rest, Sparta and Athens. Even though they were the most advanced and strong civilizations, they were bitter enemies. While Athens focused mainly on the people’s democracy and citizen rights, Sparta were ferocious and enslaved its original inhabitants, making them unable to leave
eager for more land. After 20 long years of war the Messenians were forced to