Essay about Ancient History: Sparta 98% Assesment Mark

The city-states Athens and Sparta were rivals in ancient Greece. Geographically the two were very close to each other, but they had a very different economy, cultural values, and way of governing. Both city-states had two very different ways of doing things. I will be highlighting the major differences.

The Greek victory against Persia was largely due to efforts of mainly Athens but also Sparta as well. Athens was responsible for the major turning points of the Persian invasions, while Sparta was responsible for the deciding battle. Miltiades, with his skilful battle strategies, defeated the Persians during their second invasion at Marathon, which gave Athens a confidence boost on their military. During the third invasion, when the Athenians were evacuated to Salamis, Themistocles had devised a plan to trick the Persians which had resulted in Persian army without a supply line. Sparta?s importance had revealed during their sacrifice at Thermopylae and at Plataea, where they provided the most effective part of the army.

Any society that abuses children should crumble .Sparta was an ancient Greek city-state. They valued military strength above anything else. They did not teach academics, farming, or anything else besides military tactics. The weakness outweighed strengths because they lacked education , they abused their children and their society did not last more than 300 years.

Spartan’s government was far superior to the government of Athens. Sparta had elements of an oligarchy. The two rulers were a piece of the administration for convention were the Council of Elders, or Gerousia, a gathering of twenty-eight Spartiate men and the two lords that who make charges, that the Assembly, or basic man, vote on. . There were broad governing rules to ensure that no part, or branch, turned out to be too intense. The Assembly was made out of each mature male in Sparta, yet hypothetically anyone could take part. They voted whether to pass bills into law, and against normal conviction, they could vote more than yes or no. These individuals from the Assembly were picked, by the fair evaluators, who sat in an alternate room and tuned in for the loudest cheer for every hopeful. This technique gave everyone a shot, and in the event that you truly needed a specific competitor, you could simply shout louder. The Ephors, were a gathering of five individuals, who settled on everyday choices, and were chosen yearly.

During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.

Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. Sparta apparently didn’t agree with this statement. Sparta had many weaknesses compared to strengths. To begin with they lacked education in many ways, they had slavery and killed many slaves that could have retaliated ,and their children were very abused and taken from their families at young age to go to training camp for the Army.

Ancient Greece was comprised of small city-states, of which Sparta and Athens were two. Athens was renowned as a center of wisdom and learning. The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits. Sparta, on the other hand, was recognized for its military strength. A Spartan's life was centered on the state, because he 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.

In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings

The progressing city-state of Sparta was infamous for many things. Sparta was known for its powerful army, strict guidelines, and eccentric values. Due to these unique characteristics, residents of Sparta had to keep up to continue its legacy. Being a resident of Sparta meant taking numerous risks yet for reasonable causes. These risks were taken for the progression of the city state. Risks included krypteia mindlessly killing Helots to prevent them from rebelling. Despite this lack of respect for human life, Sparta had atoned for this by providing relevant teachings for women and lessons on survival. Sparta, being a city state with a small population , was primarily focused on winning battles. Thus they perpetrated many feats that were meant to benefit this major cause. Although there was a lack of respect for human life in Sparta, the strengths of a Spartan education are clearly greater than its weaknesses because of the education provided for women and teachings on survival.

     After experiencing the effects of a rising population and shortage of arable land, the Spartans moved through their mountainous western frontier in hope of seeking a new spacious land to live upon. Their decision to change their home grounds put the Spartans in great danger as they found themselves entering into the fertile plain of Messenia. Fearing that they may be overthrown by power by the Messenian resistance and the helot status, the

As seen in the Great Rhetra there were two hereditary kings, chosen from the ordained royal families; the Agiads and the Eurypontids. The Kings had a moderate role within Sparta’s judicial system. This is apparent through their position in the Gerousia. As members of the prestigious elder’s council, the Kings were able to oversee legislative change, as well as engage in debate and handle social matters. The establishment of the Gerousia somewhat limited the King’s power, however their involvement within the institution proved to be highly beneficial. Historian Paul Carthledge supports this view arguing that membership to the Gerousia ‘ensured perpetuity of status and influence’.

The history of Sparta was the great exception to the political evolution of the city-states. Despite the fact that Spartans in the end were all Greek, Sparta failed to ever move in the direction of democratic rule. Instead, its government evolved into something more closely resembling a modern day dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices they might have been able to avoid their own downfall and could have even become stronger.

Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.

The reforms of Cleisthenes established the basis for the Athenian democracy. All citizens enrolled in ten tribes and each tribe chose 50 members by lottery each year for a new council of 500 people. These 500 people had the responsibility to take care of foreign and financial affairs. There was also an assembly of all male citizens, and they had the final authority in passing laws through free and open debate. In Sparta there were two kings who led the army and ruled their city-state. There were five ephors elected each year and they were responsible for the education of the youth and the behavior of citizens. There was also a council of elders that consisted of two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60. They decided on issues to present to the assembly who were also all male citizens. There was no debate on resolution to these issues, only voting.

Citizenship in Athens and Sparta had their similarities however, were in-fact quite different. Citizenship in Sparta was generally only for males but not all men living in the city state could be citizens. In order to be accepted as a full Spartan citizen one had to; show that both parents were descended from the original Dorian's, completed all six stages of the 'agoge', which was the Spartan military and educational system and be a member of the 'syssitia' a military club. Spartan citizens were called 'homoioi' meaning peers or equal and were full-time soldiers, forbidden to do any other work. Total loyalty was expected to the state and authority. Other requirements included: being physical fit and prepared for war, they were expected to attend the assembly to vote on issues and any man would much rather prefer death that defeat in war. In Athens, to prove citizen eligibility, an