A Spartan's life was centered on the state, because they lived and died to serve the state. Although the competing city-states of Sparta and Athens were individually different as well as governmentally diverse, they both managed to become dominating powers in Ancient Greece. The political power of Athens is based on economic power. Democracy is based on middle class economic power. In slow evolution towards democracy, as their trade increased, Athenian craftsmen and merchants had enough money to purchase their own weapons.
The helots were serfs that consisted of people that were overtaken by Spartans military victories. These people had to give half their profits to the Spartan citizens that owned the lands they lived in. (History.com Spartans) The male and female roles of Sparta were vastly different compared to Athens. Male Spartans lived their lives trying to be the strongest warrior. Being a warrior was an honor and every Spartan man wanted to fight for Sparta.
The Spartan King ruled supremacy over his one hundred Spartan bodyguards. In fact, being part of the Kings squad held great honor and meant that they were as what they would call a true Spartan. During a war, only one of the kings went into battle while the other stayed in Sparta. This is evidently told by Herodotus as he states that this ‘conflict between Kings Cleomenes and Demaratus is what finalized this decision in a time around 507 BC. Following on, the King would generalize and plan out military campaigns.
The Spartan army was significant in all aspects of the society. The army was the basis of which Sparta developed into the state known all over the world. It impacted their lives spiritually, politically and socially. Its army was fundamental for the running of the town. Sparta wasn’t always the great nation of military denomination.
Athens vs. Sparta There were many differences between Athens and Sparta. Both city-states started off similarly but, when they both began not to have enough food they took different roads. Sparta developed into a city-state that was narrowly focused on military. Athens became a In Sparta, all aspects of life focused on the military. Everything they did trained the citizens to be perfect soldiers.
The reason Sparta had so many levels of government was because they had to control and limit the kings in case they got too much power. In contrast, Athens was a democracy, which meant that it was ruled by the people. However democracy in ancient Athens was quite different from the way it is practised today. Athens was a direct democracy were every decision was made by a big group of eligible citizens in some cases there were more than 6000 citizens involved. The Athenians also had a council of 500 men called the boule.
The US constitution can be compared to government models of Athens and Sparta. Athens was one of the first known democracies: ruled by the people. Athenian’s based their life around philosophy and the arts. Athens took its name from the goddess Athena, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. It is the center for financial, political, economic, and cultural life in Greece.
The Greeks were a democratic society, believing that the power should be given to a group of men instead of only a single leader. The Greek society was a city-state society, meaning that each city, like Athens and Sparta, would operate like an independent nation; each one of them having their own government. The Roman society was first established as a republican society and then later becoming an empire. The Roman republican “Entrusted executive responsibilities to two consuls who wielded civil and military power. Consuls were elected by an assembly dominated by the wealthy classes, known in Rome as the patricians” (Bentley, Ziegler & Streets, 2008, Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, “The Roman Republic and its
Dunia Ibrahimi January 15, 2012 Period. 1 Compare and Contrast Essay Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and well known cities among all the Greek nations. Both Athens and Sparta had many similarities and differences whether it is culturally or politically. For instance the way that these cities were governed and their political procedures and functions are similar yet much different from each other. Although these two important cities located in Greek were very important in history they had differences but they also had many similarities whether it be cultural or political.
ATHENS Just like Sparta, Athens is a state in Greece with a system of government somewhat different from that of Sparta. Spartan practice dictatorship while Athens practiced something a little bit different. Athens is referred to as the birthplace of democracy. In Athens the wealthy dominated over the poor. The wealthy always took the best farm land.