Athenian Government: Sparta Vs. Athens

Throughout every major empire, there are two opposing ideas of how to run a government. In ancient Greece the two ancient city-states, Sparta and Athens, both had very different ideas on how to run a civilization. Athens model was democracy and rhetoric speaking. Sparta had an oligarchy and everyone worked for the state. Today, most modern governments have modeled off of the Athenian democracy but what would the modern day look like if we modeled after the Spartans? The Athenians were at the center of philosophy, were great traders, had an extremely strong navy with many citizens. Eventually though greed led Athens to bullying other city-states into given them money and plague came when too many people populated the city. Spartans were trained

from a very young age to be elite women were trained to stay healthy and given education. Though with children killed at birth if not strong and boys killed while training, the Spartans had a small population. Each have their flaws and strengths but the evidence points towards Sparta. Sparta is the better model for civilization because of their oligarchy, women's rights, and a strong military power that enabled the city-state to maintain an orderly, stable civilization.
One reason Sparta is the better model for civilization by maintaining an orderly and stable system, was the Oligarchy.

Sparta had two kings and twenty-eight elders. This system was very important to maintaining their orderly, stable society since if a king died in battle away from home or was sick the other king would govern the country keeping it in order. There were not only the two kings but the twenty-eight elders who would also help govern the country and make laws. Within the oligarchy there was the citizen assembly. WIthout the citizen assembly laws could be passed that would not benefit the state or those who lived in the community. The citizen assembly ensured that the laws would benefit all except the slaves. (Helots) All citizens were men thirty years and older. At this age men were able to become citizens due to the facts that they had survived wars and were considered wiser from their experiences. Lastly but not least there are the five Ephors. The five Ephors were elected by the citizen assembly and their jobs were to make sure that the government was just and not corrupted. Their job was to observe laws and help maintain the king's authority. This is more effective than Athens political system since, rhetoric speakers in Athens would write their speeches somewhat based on people's emotions to be elected. While in Sparta you had to be elected and earn your place within government. In conclusion their oligarchy was important to the city-state's survival by

keeping order within the society.
One reason Sparta was the better model for civilization and maintaining an orderly, stable society was its advancement in women’s rights. Sparta, unlike other ancient civilizations, did allow women to have many rights. In fact majority of women in other city-states were treated as property by husbands and fathers. Sparta though, allowed women to have rights, which enabled their economy to thrive. For example, women were allowed to own property. This is a big impact on the economy since most men are at war or training. Women would take care of family businesses and trade to ensure that the state would receive the needed materials to survive. Women were allowed to train in gymnastics to stay fit and healthy. Therefore this led to the belief that if the women were strong and healthy they would produce strong and healthy babies. Not only were women allowed to train and own property but they were to be educated. This allowed women to have knowledge of how to own a business and make sure that trading is fair. Women were able to be educated on how their country ran and how to take care of a family and home. In conclusion the advancement in women's rights enabled the city-state to have a unique culture and for the economy to thrive.
Another reason why Sparta was the better model for civilization by how it maintained its orderly and stable community was by its strong military power.

The Spartans had extremely strong land battle tactics, each soldier was elite, and the soldiers learned to survive with very little and no luxuries. The Spartans battle tactics were extremely efficient and even though small, the army was able to bulldoze through much larger armies. Each soldier was trained to be the best of the best, the elite. Meanwhile in other city-states a soldier was given a sword and a shield and told to fight. Spartans had years of training with weapons and surviving with little food and no luxuries. This lead to the boys being forced to live with nearly nothing. This encouraged the boys to steal food and clothes for warmth. This would help with skills such as stealth. In conclusion the Spartans strong military power prevented other city-states from attacking them and allowed them to conquer other territories for needed

materials.
The Spartans did have flaws within their society that may portray Sparta as weak and foolish. Examples would be killing babies if they are deemed to be weak and young boys dying during training. Spartans did this to weed out the weak. In battle if there is one weak string the entire formation can collapse causing a much higher mortality rate. These flaws may set back the population but allowed each soldier to train to be the best and strive towards honor for the state. These flaws are quite small compared towards the ones of Athens. Athens model for civilization was democracy.Government officials overtime became corrupted and the rhetoric speakers began to appeal towards the emotions of the citizens. This caused Athenian citizens to elect officials who were insane and did not know what they are doing. This flaw is most present during the Peloponnesian War and demonstrates how rhetoric speakers who were elected only appealed to emotions of the people which than led to the downfall of the once powerful city-state.
Spartans had the ability to keep their community stable and orderly and is the better model for civilization because of its Oligarchy, advancement in women’s rights, and strong military. The evidence points towards Sparta due to its strong governmental civilization and equality. To keep the economy thriving the women were able to own property and be educated while the men were at war and trained. The Oligarchy ensured that only the most experienced of the warriors in the Spartans army would take control of the city-states actions and law making. Yes, Sparta had flaws but all civilizations do. Its strengths which were military, advancement in women's rights, political system, and training system allowed Sparta to be a powerful city-state. Athens was a powerful city-state but eventually fell to greed, bullying other city-states, and leaders who were insane or made foolish decisions. There are some cultural ideas in the Spartans culture that would be exchanged for some of the ideas of the Athenian democracy. Overall the Spartan system is the better model if the country wishes to have a an orderly, stable society. If the world modeled on the Spartans way of life, life would be very different.