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Sparta vrs athens political
Ancient greek government essays
Social class and power in ancient greece
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History today recalls the Greek traditions starting from the second millennium B.C to date and not just during the Archaic and the Classical periods. The primary aim of history is to provide us with a broad comprehension of the principles that governed the Greek societies (Carey, 2017). Hegemony together with Greek historians provides a comprehensible examination of the fundamental cultural and political elements which pervades Xenophon, Thucydides, Ephorus, and Herodotus. Hegemony mainly explains the master plan. Sparta's polis was the most extensive military land forces during the classical Greek. It is during the classical period that Sparta administered, dominated and even influenced the whole of Peloponnese. Also, the defeat of Athenians …show more content…
These treaties do not only indicate that polis endeavored to be a political autonomy but also the polis was indeed considered as a political autonomy. In support of this statement, the King’s serenity of year 387/6 stated that all the polis regardless of their territorial sizes were to become autonomous. The only polis pardoned in the King's harmony of year 387/6 was those considered as Asia Minor together with a few more polis. One of the significant outcomes of the King's peace of 387/6 was that Thebans were to respect the political autonomy of other Boiotian polis by giving them independence and freedom (Ober & Weingast, 2017). If independence were a prerequisite for becoming a polis, Boiotian city-states with the exclusion of Thebes would not have become polis in the era before 387/6. According to Rauschenbusch, a polis is characterized by autonomy. In his reference to Aigina, the loss of his fleet, neither the destruction of her walls nor the settlement of her tributes could have implied the loss of her political autonomy (Ober & Weingast, 2017). Therefore, from this, it can be fulfilled that a city-state is termed as autonomous if it is free to exercise its political powers vital for its survival. In this respect, political autonomy meant political …show more content…
The restoration of Athenian democracy around the fifth century BC in the city-states referred to as the polis evidence the value of political autonomy. An Athenian democracy that was entitled to the city f Athens as well as surrounding regions likes Attica was the foremost autonomy across the universe. It inspired other cities in Greece to foster democracies (Ober & Weingast, 2017). A significant number of Greek cities followed Athenian theory. However, none of the cities were documented like Athens. Athenian autonomy was a structure of direct democracy. Athens residents were permitted to directly select their legislations well as executive bills through direct votes. Nonetheless, all Athens residents were not allowed to participate in the voting exercise. Voting qualifications included being an adult and a male citizen of
By the fourth century B.C.E. there were hundreds of Greek democracies. Greece was not a single political entity it was a collection of about 1500 separate poleis or cities scattered around the Mediterranean and black sea shores. The cities that were not democracies were either oligarchies or monarchies (often times called tyrannies). Of the democracies, the oldest, the most stable, the most long-lived, and the most radical, was Athens.
Athens was one of the largest Greek city states. (Stockton, 4). It was about one thousand square miles (Stockton, 4). Athens was founded in the 8th century BC (Muller). It was at first ruled by the college of archons. (Muller). After a term of one year, the archons became members of the Council of Elders (Muller). The people had a voice in the popular assembly, the Ekklesia (Muller). However, it did not have real power until 600 BC. By then, it was an established institution of Athens (Muller). It became the central policy making body in the 5th century. There were two main governmental bodies, the Assembly and the Council. (Acropolis). The Assembly was responsible for policy making. (Acropolis) The Council was responsible for administration and implementing the Assembly’s policies. Not everyone could participate in Athenian politics. Slaves, resident aliens, and women were excluded.
In the ancient myths from the Aegean seas, much political theory is derived. Lessons on the dangers associated with monarchical political forms are brought to light. The connection between gender and power along with violence, war and necessity raise questions to enact a democracy and depersonalize the government.
The Ancient Greeks were nothing if not influential. Ever since it 's formation in the 8th century B.C., Greek civilization has impacted many of the world 's greatest thinkers and shaped the landscape of Western Civilization. Aside from their art and philosophy, the Ancient Greeks were particularly interested in politics and, in the case of Athens, a new system of government known as: democracy! Long before the American founding fathers declared their independence from Britain, Athenian citizens governed their own state and voted to solve political turmoil. However, ancient Athens was no perfect twin to American democracy, and being an upstanding Athenian citizen meant more than simply voting and going about one 's business. A standout Athenian
Polis’s are small urban communities that numbered in the thousands during the time of ancient greece. they had a small government system that allowed them all to vote and be involved in their democracy. These small city states made up the great empires of the Greek and Roman cultures. They could not have been governed better with the concept of democracy. With all the city state's governing themselves then when the bigger political decisions came around that is when the central government, or head of all the other city states, was given the power to decide what would happen to these polises. That is how the founding fathers of the United States of America created their government that lasts even today. They modeled it after two great
Within this particular piece he carefully unpacks the notion that all associations (i.e states) are aimed at forming some good (after all why else would we chose to willingly leave the state of nature?); “every city is some sort of community , and that every community is constituted for the sake of some good (for everyone does everything for the sake of what is held to be good)” (Aristotle, “Politics” 1). In the Politics Aristotle makes it clear that though the city-state is created and sustained through politics it encompasses and foster many other associations such as families and economics. Within this work he discusses what makes the polis; the people (material cause), the constitution (boundary), legislators and the type of government (who will benefit and who will lose). Aristotle uses the relationship between causal and explanation to illustrate the necessary condition from which the city comes into being. He identifies two types of causality; primary (the most basic; material/matter) and secondary (formal; the form). He classifies the people, the first element of the polis as the material cause (first/primary causality). Aristotle writes that we are all here because of primary causality; the city-state is prior to the parts (can’t have a whole without the parts) and the parts constitute the whole (the conditions that must pertain for the city to come into
When examining the causes for the Peloponnesian War, which was between 431-404 B.C., there are a number of causes that factored into the cause of this war. However, one of the most important causes to this war was largely due to the fact that the Spartans feared the growing power and success of Athens. The Spartans were “particularly alarmed at the growing power of Athens” (Cartwright, “Peloponnesian War”). During the Persian war in 479 BC, Athens grew fiercely strong with power with help of its many allies and continued with their no mercy attacks on Persian territories. When the Persians left Greece, Athens further enraged Sparta when they built large and tall walls around its empire in the event of an attack, which was mostly thought to be from Sparta if it happened.
Sometime around 750-600 B.C.E., the Greek poet Hesiod produced what is generally thought to be the oldest surviving Greek poetic works. During this time, Greece was near the middle of its Archaic period, a period of technological, social, political, and cultural innovations. This was the period in which the first true alphabet system arose, the system which allowed Hesiod and other poets like him to record permanently the oral stories and lyrics so important to Greek culture. This was also the time in which the Greek polis emerged – what is today translated as “city-state” – as a result of increases in population size. Hand in hand with the increase in population and formation of political bodies like the polis comes the colonization of foreign land which marked this period. Colonies arose all around the Aegean Sea and onto the coast of North Africa, spreading the Greek culture well beyond its homeland (Earth 128-131).
We have now examined Thucydides' strongest arguments for Athenian rule. It is clear that Athens had a stronger claim to rule than the Melians had to remain sovereign. We also know that Athens' claims hold up when we examine them for validity. Thucydides beliefs in Athens' claims were therefore well founded.
It has long been said that, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck”. This so-called “duck test” implies that one can identify a subject by observing its characteristics. By this standard assessment, we can then ask, is the United States an empire? The answer, according to the duck test, is a rather definitive yes. However, a nation is more complex than a mere duck and therefore, I believe that there is merit in the argument that slapping this label on the United States can at times be inappropriate and distracting. For this reason, I lean more toward the argument that the United States is in fact, not an empire, but rather a hegemony that is too often mislabeled. In order to fully critique and analyze these opposing arguments, I will define the term “empire” then identify, compare, and contrast the assertions of each position.
The existence of the city-state (polis) requires an efficient ruler. A community of any sort can possess order only if it has a ruling element or authority. This ruling principle is defined by the constitution, which sets criteria for political offices, particularly the sovereign office. Aristotle defines the constitution as “a certain ordering of the inhabitants of the city-state” (III.1.1274b32-41). It is not a written document, but an immanent organizing principle, analogous to the soul of an organism. Hence, the constitution is also “the way of life” of the citizens (IV.11.1295a40-b1, VII.8.1328b1-2). Here the citizens are that minority of the resident population who possess full political rights (III.1.1275b17–20). Once the constitution is in place, the politician needs to take the appropriate measures to maintain it, to introduce reforms when he finds them necessary,...
One of the more fascinating aspects of Ancient Greek city-states were the various forms of government which spanned throughout its period. There was democracy, monarchies, a dose of tyranny, and oligarchies. Many of these forms of government varied throughout specific territories. At times, these forms of government will resemble each other with respect to certain features incorporated. In certain aspects however, they will be noticeably different as well. Analyzing these forms of government, many of which were attributed to Ancient Greece, plays a critical juncture in understanding their importance in 21st century life. Throughout this essay I will discuss, compare,
Hegemony was derived from the Greek word "egemonia," meaning leader or ruler, often in the sense of a state other than his own (Williams 144). Although the base of this definition remains true, the word has evolved to much more. Hegemony is defined by Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought as "Political and economical control exercised by a dominant class, and its success in projecting its own way of seeing the world, human and social relationships as 'common sense' and part of the natural order by those who are, in fact, subordinated to it." Hegemony is defined as a predominant influence or leadership of a dominant class or institution over a subordinate class; the question is are the "subordinates" forced to follow the beliefs, or do they agree with them?
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 and kept under a close eye to prevent insurgence (History of Greece:The Golden Age of Greece). Additionally, Sparta had strict and trained soldiers that underwent intense physical exercising and instruction.
Poleis at the time in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome had a monumental influence on the government during the Renaissance. Due to the expanding number of Greeks moving to the coasts of the mainland, islands, and to the east coast of Aegean to participate in commercial trade, a new social and political system needed to be developed in order to accommodate the growing numbers and limited agricultural land. However, the Greeks desired a place where they could keep their "autonomy and independence, celebrate[d] their own rituals, and honour[ed] its own heroes" (Cole 61). This issue was solved with the development of the Polis or "city-state". By implementing poleis, this allowed for different states to enforce their own laws and traditions and not lose their independence. Sparta and Athens are two of the most famous poleis of the thousands found in Ancient Greece and exhibit how two city-states can be so different. Sparta was the most militarized polis, whereas Athens was best known for its agriculture and trade. Athens also was considered to be