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Cultural differences between Sparta and Athens
Sparta vs athens life
Sparta vs athens life
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Athens and Sparta were two rivaling city states in Greece. Athens was known for its artists and philosophy while Sparta was known for its military prowess. Athens had a direct democracy which was made up of elected official, a council and an assembly. Sparta had an oligarchy made up of two kings, five overseers, a council and an assembly. In Athens you were either free or a slave, and women basically had no rights. In Sparta there were three social classes and women were more free than anywhere else in Greece. Overall Athens was more focused on having a rich culture full of beauty and art and Sparta was more structured and did everything to better the military. There would be positives and negatives to living in both city states. Athens at
first glance seems to fit more with my personality because its focused on art and drama and is a democracy, but to be a women in that time period in Athens wouldn’t be very plesant. Sparta has hilarioiuly fair gnder laws for the time period. Women were educated up to a certain age and were free to enjoy themselves more it seems. For all intensive purposes I am a pacifist but im also a feminist so I honestly am undecided about which city state I would prefer tp live in
Imagine two countries, so different from each other, that conflicts were inevitable. Athens and Sparta were not countries, however, they were city-states of Greece with many contrasting values. Athens was the city of the arts, reading, and writing. Meanwhile, military was the only thing the on the Spartans’ minds. Athens and Sparta differ in many ways due to their governments, economies, and cultures.
Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not.
Athens is better than Sparta because Athens has a better trading system. Athens economy was based on trade. It was near the sea, and it had a good harbor. They traded with other city-states and some foreign lands to get the goods and recourses that they needed. Athens bought and sold goods at a huge marketplace called the agora. They also bought and sold slaves at the agora. They traded: honey, olive oil, silver, and painted pottery. In return, they received items such as grain and wood. Athens made its own coin system to make trading easier. Coins were made out of gold, silver, and
I think, Sparta would be the best place to live in to fill my needs, if I lived in Ancient Greece. The three reasons that I think this is I could be a leader of an army, I am wealthy so I would have a fair amount of power over the city, and I would rather live in a country that fairly treats women and lets women do what men can do. I think all these reasons are important to support why I would rather live in Sparta if I was part of Ancient Greece.
These states were either known for their political, military, or economical strength. These states were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and Argos. All of these states were established on the eastern side of Greece, with Thebes and Athens being the central areas. Athens and Sparta were the two most well known states due to their roles in the fifth century B.C. so those are the two I will go into some detail about. Sparta was different from other Greek states because of its size, recourses, and historical development. Laconia, which was controlled by Sparta, was much larger than an ordinary Greek state, and contained some of the most fertile land in Greece. For the government Sparta citizens that could perform military services created what was known as an assembly, there was also a council of elders made up of senior representatives that were from twenty-eight noble clans, and Sparta had an unusual two royal families, and two different kings. Private ownership of land was taken away and all the land was state controlled and was evenly distributed. Sparta soon became strictly militarized and every man became a soldier starting at the young age of seven. This made Sparta’s army indestructible but the political, economical, and cultural evolution ended for Sparta due to the military reforms. Athens on the other hand was not as big of a state as Sparta, and they were a sea power state instead of focus on land military. Also Athens went from a Monarchy to being controlled by archons, which were chosen actually by the aristocrats. Disagreements and many other factors between the states lead to the Peloponnesian war, which began in 431 B.C. no one, won the war but it seemed Athens suffered the biggest loss. Greek civilization hit its full maturity between 500 and 362 B.C. sculpture, architecture, and painting began to flourish along with
This article is credible and reliable; it offers two sets of information for the reader. It is also suitable for any age group. This site is helpful for those wanting to compare Athens and Sparta or simply read about one or the other.
Athens and Sparta were all very big, successful city-states in the ancient world that conquered many lands and won many battles. Ancient Athens and Ancient Sparta seem similar; they have very different functioning societies. Athens was known for its impressive art and culture while Sparta was a very war-like city-state and their society was completely based on having a great military. The thing they had in common was that social status and the jobs that each rank of society had was very important. The social status was crucial to Sparta and Athens because, without it, both Greek city-states would not be able to function.
One of the most important difference between the two city-states is the type of government they used. Athens was democratic and allowed the citizens to be a part of the law decisions. While, Sparta was an Oligarchy and ruled by two kings. The government was highly exclusive and only open to higher social standings. Athens lifestyle was modern and free, with an open outlook on life. The young men were not forced to join the army, unlike the Spartan boys who had no choice but to join the army. They concentrated solely on military strength and did not venture to the outside world. Another key difference is, how the woman are treated among the city-states. In Athens the woman had very little freedom, they depended on their husbands and could not own any land. But, Spartan women were stronger and could forge relationships with any man they pleased. They did not have to do any chores while the Athenian woman partook in weaving and cooking
Imagine if you were a young girl, would you want to live in Athens or Sparta? In Athens you had education and spent time with your family. In Sparta you were strong and had rights. Athens was a better city to live in. The reason why I didn’t choose Sparta is because if you had a baby boy you would have to give him away to the army.
Greece is a country united by its name, but divided by its ways. Although Sparta and Athens were both Greek cities, their societies were different. Sparta was focused on having a perfect military, whereas Athenian daily life revolved learning and knowledge. When Spartan boys were being trained for an army, Athenian boys were being trained for life. Both of these societies revolved around different government, education from when kids to teenagers, the responsibilities each individual had to keep their spot, and how women played a role throughout each city state.
Athens and Sparta are both infamous Greek city states. Both could not be more different, yet similar in the way they governed their own city state. Another, main difference was the women’s rights and roles in the system. Athenian and Spartan women both were considered to be second to their male counterparts. Spartan women had more rights than Athenian women. Through, research realizing that the Spartan women were slightly greater role than Athenian women.
Sparta and Athens - Explain and Contrast Both Sparta and Athens were Greek city-states. Sparta was a strict military ruled city-state where the people established themselves as a military power early. However Athens was more of a political city-state that was more involved with their economical stature than their military forces. Still changes from the Persian wars would change the powers of the city-state and somewhat unite them.
Athens and Sparta were both city-states in Classical Greece. While Athens embraced democracy, Sparta was a dictatorial fierce warrior state. Sparta was a militaristic community, Athens was a freethinking, and commerce minded city-state. Modern societies have modeled their government organizational structure and military discipline practices from lessons learned of these ancient city-states. There is much is to be praised regarding Classical Greece for their courage, their progressive thinking and the birth of democracy. However, I think it is important to remember that in both cases, Athens and Sparta were able to sustain their lifestyle on the backs of countless slaves, non-citizens and women and that there is a darker and less romantic side to the past.
Ancient Greece today is most known for the culture: the gods, the dramas, how people lived. What most people do not realize is that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different civilizations spread throughout Greece that all had different forms of government. The three main ones were Athens, Sparta, and Miletus. Each was very different from the other. The most powerful out of all three was Sparta: a military based society. The Spartan government had a strong foundation that was all torn down by one bad leader.
Both Athens and Sparta had some positive and negative aspects in their systems. Modern day democracy still supports and adopt some aspects of political system of both Athens and Sparta.