There are many similarities in Spartan’s way of life and how Totalitarian nations acted. Sparta was a militaristic society. Fitness was a top priority and this needed to be proved even as infants. All Spartan children were placed in a military style education program from a young age. Hazing and fighting were encouraged among children. All men in Sparta were expected to be lifelong solders. Men in Sparta were not allowed to live with their wives until age thirty. If you were to surrender in battle it was considered and ultimate disgrace. While in the camps food was intentionally kept scarce and poor fitness was not accepted.
Totalitarianism refers to an authoritarian political system of state that regulates and controls nearly every aspect of public and private sectors (cite). Regimes in these kinds of nations usually promise wealth and glory and a wonderful future to a population frustrated in their world. They believe that people are too soft, and too selfish to sacrifice for a higher cause. In Sparta it was essential that you dedicated yourself to the best of the city. That was mainly the purpose for Spartan citizens to serve. Totalitarianism was a force in Sparta. It was a war like state for several centuries until the rise of Alexander the Great in 336 B.C. The education system in
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In Sparta the citizens served the state not the other way around. Spartans really had no choice in what they were going to do. From the time of birth everything was already decided for them. The citizens were taught that bravery and strength were the most important qualities they should have. In a totalitarian government all aspects of society are controlled. Sparta had three groups of people. The slaves who were the ones that did all the work, Spartan females who were taught to be fit and be patriotic. Last were the Spartan males who were taught to fight and to aspire to be the perfect
Spartans military was a hard core and well rounded out military in its time. Part of the reason why they were so successful is because of their rigorous training each boy had to go through. Why I said boy is because the Spartan military training would start at age 7 for a chosen boy. The boy gets chosen to live in spartan society at birth. If the Spartans did not believe that the boy would be rounded out for their society they would leave the boy to die. During the boys training hazing and fighting was encouraged to help improve strength among the boys. During spartan training each boy was mainly taught mathematics, music, and how to fight. Also during their training, they would learn how to steal but without getting caught. If they were caught they would not be punished for stealing but only for getting caught. This type of training continues until the boys would become men. Which is at the age of 20 for the Spartan's. At age 20 Spartan men would have to pass a series of demanding
To begin with,any society that abuses their children deserves to crumble.Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece that focused on military training.They focused too much on military training rather than education.The weakness of Sparta outweigh the strengths of Sparta because they lacked education,boys were taken away from families,and they were abusive.
Spartan government, in contrast, is oligarchical. People were most often brought into slavery as a result of being conquered in battle, however some were brought in to battle through their familial lineage. Upon being brought in to slavery, a Spartan slaves’ main duty was to aid in battle. In Sparta, the government and voting was held by select elites. These elites would most likely make decisions for themselves, without considering the well-being of other citizens not wealthy enough to vote. This would be undesirable for Spartan slaves and common people as their voices are not heard, and they have no rights in their freedom to vote.
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.
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.
One of the reasons why Sparta was a success was because of its way of life, even for children of a young age. Sparta was a military state in Greece and was known as one of strongest of the city-states. Although ruled by 2 kings and a council of elders, the Spartans were not well fed and they left home at a very young age, usually around 7, to be trained to one day be a part of the Spartan army (Spartan Life, 2016). Despite the Spartans having an extremely demanding education and training program, especially physical fitness, they also produced very good art and literature. The Spartans intense training was
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.
In the military community of the rulers and soldiers of Sparta there was a very strict
One of the reasons the Spartan military was superior to other Greek city-states is because Sparta was focused on war and creating a warrior. Male Spartan citizens were allowed only one occupation, soldier. Indoctrination into this lifestyle began early, Spartan boys started their military training at age 7, when they left home and entered the Agoge, which is a military school for boys. The soon to be warriors lived under bad conditions. They had to
Sparta was ruled by a king or at some point two kings. These two kings were from two separate families of royalty and neither of them had absolute power. The king or kings had to be consulted by the Ephors. The Ephors had a lot of power and authority in the Spartan government. They were a group of five elders, men over the age of 30 who would serve in this position for a year. They had the power to bring up charges against anyone in Sparta, including the king. Unlike Athens who was set on trying to establish a peaceful democratic atmosphere; Sparta was a lot more militaristic and strict. One of the Spartan government’s main priorities was the strength of the Spartan army. They believed that strength, endurance and numbers were a key part in a successful and powerful army. Therefore every Spartan boy at the age of seven would be taken away from their mothers and put into training for the next 13 years.
Since Sparta was small, their main way to remain powerful was military strength therefore, their education was based on military disciplines. “A Spartiate’s son was nurtured by his parents only until he was seven years old. At that age he was removed from his family and, from his eighth to his twenty-first year, he was educated by the state according to rigorous [military-like]
After an embarrassing defeat at the battle of Hysiai Sparta went through great military change, these changes dramatically changed all other areas of Spartan life, turning Sparta into a military focused state. This militaristic influence impacted greatly on Spartan education, essentially aiming to mass produce the perfect solider. The education and training of Spartan boys aged as young as 7 in the agoge became the crucial
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.
Sparta and Athens societies and values were different as well. As stated in Document E Lycurgus, lawgiver of Sparta, did not allow Spartans to leave the city. This was done because he did not want them to adapt to foreign influences. All of these values/beliefs were based on one thing, to keep the Spartan soldiers strong and disciplined. In Athens Pericles boasts about how Athens is open to all which results in cultural diffusion (Document F). When Athens had festivals everyone except for slaves