Classical Greek Essay

Around 1500 years ago, Athens and Sparta were two extremely different city states that existed on the Greek Peninsula. Sparta was known for being a very war-like city state, the oligarchy decided that their military presence on the Greek Peninsula should be prioritized. On the other hand, Athens is known for being a place of philosophy, math, and science. It is also known as the birthplace of democracy, a form of government that modern countries use even to today. However, both city-states also shared similar beliefs socially, like how males had the most power in the family. Therefore, Sparta and Athens share differences and similarities not only in their government, but also socially.

Athens and Sparta obviously are very different in their forms of government. Athens was known for their democracy, while Sparta's form of government was an oligarchy. This meant that citizens in Sparta did not have much of a say in the government. Although the debate between democracy and oligarchy is a completely separate topic, the oligarchy was what ultimately allowed the Spartan government to prioritize their military presence. One could argue that because the Spartans prioritized their military presence, it led them to win the Peloponnesian War against Athens. Athens on the other hand, had a democracy. Free-male male citizens would discuss and debate about important issues, which may have contributed to Athenian philosophy. Some similarities between Athens and Greece were that they both began with monarchies. This is interesting as both cities switched to an oligarchy, which probably means that monarchy may not be the most ideal form of government to the Greeks.

Society and lifestyle were both different in Sparta and Athens. A great example would be the difference between women's rights in Athens compared to Sparta. Women in Athens had very little rights, the sole purpose of women was to bear children and to maintain the household. On the other hand, women in Sparta had similar rights when compared to men - they could own and manage property, etc. Athenians had agoras or market places where people basically hung out and discussed topics like religion, philosophy, and politics. They also had a better education system, children were taught subjects such as math, literature, music, science, and politics, but in Sparta, young boys at the age of 7 would need to begin their military training. Another infamous thing Sparans were known for would be leaving weak babies to die in the wilderness. Spartans were also known for punishing people for being caught doing something wrong - not because they were doing something wrong. In general, the lifestyle and society between the two cities were very different.

Athens and Spartans did have some similar aspects though. Even though women in Sparta had rights similar to men, it does not mean that they were completely equal. Both Athens and Sparta were both patriarchal in some sense, women were never equal to men. Slavery was also very common in both city states, every Athenian family could atleast afford one slave, and in Sparta, slaves or Helots were so common, for every free citizen there were atleast 7 slaves.

In conclusion, Athens and Sparta share many similarities and differences. The biggest differences between the two city-states would be it's government and society. Sparta focused on their military presence, males would need to begin training in the military when they were 7 years old, but Athens focused on democracy, education, politics, and philosophy. Sparta ran as an oligarchical country, while Athens ran as a democratic country. Women in Sparta had more rights than Athenian women, but both Sparta and Athens were patriarchal. Nearly any citizen in either city-state had access to slaves. Therefore, Sparta and Athens were similar and different on many cultural aspects: politically, sociallilay and with their lifestyle.