Athens Vs Sparta Essay

Comparing Athens and Sparta: How two City-States were alike and the same, while carrying the title of Greek.

Greek Background:

Greek geography was something of a different animal to the rest of the world. These “city-states” were formed communities that governed themselves in one of three types of government. Monarch, Oligarchy, or Democracy. The monarchy was ruled by a king, while the oligarchy was made up of a small group of men to run the government, and democracy was made up of ordinary citizens. This last form was a newer way of attempting to give a voice to the people. “Whatever the mode of government, the crucial idea was the sense of belonging to a political community.” (Ibid) Unlike other regime’s, there was no absolute ruler over all of Greece. Each city-state managed its own territory, which may have been nothing more than a farming

community or could be a large city. “It has been calculated that there were at least 862 city-states” at one point. The Greeks felt that through their city-states, they could achieve the good life, and identified themselves as such, not as Greeks.
Even under the one name of Greece, the differences were astonishing. At times, they even fought with one another, though they would band together and fight side by side as well. They had different ideals on politics, gods and goddesses, how the people should be treated, especially woman, and what the major purpose of the city-state was. For all their differences, they had a common bond…the Olympics. This one event caused the Greeks to set aside their differences to compete with other city-states, but it was still Greek on Greek.
This Idea of city-state was taken straight out of Homer’s writings. The hero’s he wrote about were their identity and the foundation for the beliefs of the Greeks. Taking a look at two city-states in particular, it is evident the differences between them, based on some of the same foundational principles.
Beginning where Homer did, with the heroes of his story’s he wrote, Sparta would hold great value in Helen and Menelaus, who “sparked the Trojan War” (Ibid). Spartans held being a warrior in the highest of esteems and would identify themselves as warriors before any other task they set themselves before. They even began taking boys away from their family’s at age 7 to train in the military camps to become warriors. While the Athenians did not share the same affection for war, it is interesting to note that their city-state is named after the Goddess Athena, who was the goddess of war. Throughout both the Iliad and the Odyssey, she is written as a ruthless warrior. Yet in spite of this, Athens uses the goddess as it’s protector. Even though Athenians are not the warriors the Spartans are, they did have a powerful Navy, which in the end proved extremely valuable in defeating the Persians. Speaking militarily, the Athenians and Spartans could be called upon to defend themselves, it was the ideals that were different. Spartans treating war, and the identity of being a warrior more as the only way to live, while the Athenians chose to embrace different goals to their life. “For Athenians, freedom was more about political freedom” (Ibid), with an emphasis “placed on human beings reaching their full potential and the enrichment of personal life.” (Ibid) Spartans didn’t care about enrichment of personal life, in fact they were called by some as “culturally stale”, which put Athens in the lead as the highest Greek civilization.
A major difference between these two city-states was their political beliefs.

Spartans were Oligarchy, which means they were run by a small group of men, 28 to be exact (compared to the hundreds in Athens). Most of the political authority rested in these men, all over the age of 60, who served for life, and “were the wealthy and more influential people in society.” Athenians on the other hand were a democratic society, which meant the citizens debated and voted on the issues. Many thoughts this may not be the best way to run the government. “Athens had been described as a government run by amateurs.” (Ibid) This gave the people power to make decisions that might not be the most wise due to inexperience. There were critics who called democracy the “mob rule” and had “no confidence in the common people to make important decisions.” (Ibid) While this method of government worked for Athens, Sparta could not consider it as an option, as they led the way in their Peloponnesian League as the major oligarchy government, believing that freedom came from “preserving the independence of their fatherland” (Ibid), not political

freedom.
There were three types of people in Greece; men, woman, and slaves. And no matter what city-state you lived in, this fact did not change. The way however each was treated is what varies. Men were the leaders, the warriors, and the breadwinners. As a man in Athens you could be a politician in the Athenian Assembly, even if you had always been a farmer. You could also serve on the Council of Five Hundred, managing the courts, the military of other public facilities. Another option was being a magistrate, collecting fines, policing, street repair, and inspections. Lastly one of 10 Generals in the military, elected by the Assembly. In Sparta a man could be two things. One of the men on the Council of Elders, or a warrior. There were only 28 on the Council and you had to have money. That put the layperson out of reach for political office. However, in Athens, you stood a much better chance. Woman had a role of their own as well. In Athens it was a bit more limiting than Sparta. In both societies, the prominent role of a woman was to bear children. Since in Sparta bearing children meant “bearing warriors” (Ibid), woman were allowed to take part in sports to strengthen their bodies, even chariot racing! While Athenian woman were restricted to the home most of the day. While woman were not allowed to hold a political office in either city-state, Spartan woman were required to be educated, while Athenian woman could learn but at home, and on their own. Spartan woman in comparison to Athenian woman had more freedom and “authority in the running of everyday life.” (Ibid) Slaves were a part of Greek life, whether Spartan or Athenian. “Slavery was considered by the Greek to be necessary for the good life.” (Ibid) Most slaves were captured war rivals, while there was a small few who were Greek. Either way, a slavery didn’t change from one city-state to another except how they were to serve.
Like most societies, Greeks were defined by what they worshipped, how these ran and defended their city-states, what everyday life looked like, and how everyone was treated. These are basic building blocks for any society. The Greeks didn’t have the prefect society, or all the answers. Some city-states did better in some areas than others. But regardless of their grade, as the Olympics showed, in the end, only Greeks would commune with Greeks and that was a common bond they forever would share.
Cited Work:
HIST 101 Western Civilization 1, Regent University Historical Readings.