Category: Sparta

Spartan’s government has been labeled as having a “mixed constitution.” This is because its government is a combination of elements of monarchy, democracy, and oligarchy.

An element of monarchy that is evident in Sparta’s government is having two hereditary kings. The kings had religious roles such as being recognized as priests of Zeus, military roles including having one of the kings leading the army in battle whilst the other remained in Sparta, and limited judicial roles such as being held responsible for matters involving the adoption of children. However, they also had many privileges such as the privilege of always being served first in the syncytia.

Democratic elements that have been incorporated into Sparta’s government include the ekklesia voting on laws and the ephorate. The ekklesia also voted on other matters such as the decision to instigate war, however, this element of democracy was limited as the Gerousia had the power to override decisions. The ephorate is another democratic element as they were elected by the assembly to serve only once in their life for only a year and held great power over the kings.

An element of the oligarchy that is evident in Sparta’s government is the Gerousia as they held a significant amount of power in the government. The Gerousia consisted of the two kings and 28 elders, males that were at least sixty years old and elected by the ekklesia by acclamation, who then retained the position for life. The primary function of the Gerousia was to prepare proposals for the ekklesia as it was a probouleutic body.

It is from Athenian democracy that basic concepts of freedom have been the base of modern democracy and that is why it has few similarities. This is because characteristics of Athenian democracy have few similarities to modern democracy in regards to rights and having systems set up to maintain democracy.

Characteristics of democracy in regards to rights include the right to vote, run for political office, and freedom of expression. In Athenian democracy, only free male citizens over the age of 18 were allowed to vote, meaning that only around 15% of the population could vote. However, in a modern democracy, where universal suffrage is granted, every adult citizen has the right to vote. Another right that does not exist in Athenian democracy is that no one had the right to run for political office as positions were selected by sortition. In comparison, in a modern democracy, it was possible to run for political office. According to the Parliament of Australia website, ‘In order to be eligible to become a Member of the House of Representatives a person must have reached the age of 18 years, be an Australian citizen; and be an elector, or qualified to become an elector, who is entitled to vote in a House of Representatives election.’ However, in Athenian democracy, male citizens had the right to freedom of speech as the ekklesia provided an opportunity for them to discuss, debate, and vote on matters relating to the government. Similarly, in a modern democracy, it is a human right to freedom of expression and an important part of democracy as it gives anyone the right to freely debate an issue to an extent. Therefore, as seen through rights, there are very few similarities between Athenian democracy and modern democracy.

Characteristics of democracy regarding maintenance include periodically holding free elections for political representatives and structures, powers, and limits of government set forth in a constitution. In Ancient Athens, officials, members of the boule, and jurors for the Chelsea were selected by sortition from citizen volunteers as they did not hold free elections for political representatives. In stark comparison, in a modern democracy, there are free elections held for political representatives periodically. For example, in Australia, free elections are held every three years for the election of 40 senators and 150 members of the House of Representatives. Also, in Athenian democracy, limitations to power such as restricting members of the boule to only serving on it twice is an example of one limit that was set forth. This was done to maintain power as the government was a direct democracy for a period of time. In stark comparison, modern democracy is a representative democracy in which adult citizens elect representatives who will serve for a maximum of three years to represent them. This is an example of a limit set forth in order to maintain democracy.

In conclusion, Athenian democracy has very few similarities to modern democracy regarding rights and systems or limits set forth to maintain democracy.

When Sparta is said, the first impression that comes to mind is power. Also, there is such a phrase like “Spartan power”. However, what is the key role behind such great authority? It is obvious from some sources that Spartans are well-known for their strong military system. It is the main item that the political system, social life, and civilization- all these stuff were created around this. If we want to illustrate people to figure out the importance of the military system, we can also call it such as “the way of life for Spartans”. Well, it is clear that men have substantial roles in the military, so if Spartans accepted the military system in all spheres of their life, the dominant role in people’s lives would have been men’s. Nonetheless, there is such a question arises that only men had a significant role in this great authority, or could women also impact this? In order to get more clearness how women also had an important role in Sparta, I will analyze this issue by comparing women’s life in Sparta and Athens which also was one of the main cities like Sparta in Greece. Essentially, women had less priority in almost all ancient states; nevertheless, women’s life in Sparta was a bit more different than theirs, also than in Athens. Within this framework, women in Sparta had several priorities such as getting an education and having some valuable rights.

First of all, we say that Sparta has a powerful military system, for this reason, the priorities of men are much more important than women’s. Also, it is clear that the education system does not play a main role in the military so much, and the military-based system in Sparta also does not request to get a high education level. There is a just education system such as learning training, boxing, swimming, and wrestling for the military aims. As a result, if only men do take place in the armies and need to learn these all, why Spartans should care about the education system of women. According to the book “Ancient Greece” by Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland, it is a fact that women in Sparta also got educated by learning wrestling and swimming. Well, it illustrates that women like men in Sparta also got somehow educated; however, the system was different for women in Athens. Even though Sparta and Athens, both were the main cities in ancient Greece and their perspective on the education side could be the same, there was no education life for girls in Athens, it does not matter that it is military-based education or something else. Well, what is the related part of this issue in shaping the civilization of Sparta? As earlier mentioned, all fields such as civilization, social life, and political system in Sparta were for the welfare of the military, briefly men. For more illustration, Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland mentioned in their book “Ancient Greece”, the reason for getting education such as learning swimming and wrestling by women is that Spartans believe that if women practice these exercises, they will have robust bodies and they can give birth easily and in a healthy way. Also, their newborns will be strong, so strong children will be powerful soldiers in the future. In addition to that, the top levels of social structure in Sparta consist of males, especially kings, and people who lead the armies are more significant. As a consequence, from my point of the view, Spartans believe that these powerful males can take them to more improvement, so it leads to the developed unique civilization. Nonetheless, Athenians are not aware of this, women in Athens cannot get an education, it is impossible for them. As a consequence, it is the fact that Spartans were more powerful than Athenians. Also, it is good from my perspective because it is one of the proofs that despite the military-based system, women’s impact on civilization is undeniable. Despite ancient times, people agree that educated women are much stronger than uneducated women, additionally, this education system is military-based.

Moreover, we somehow talked about the dominant role of men in Sparta; however, this dominance did not influence the lives of women there so much. One of the reasons for women’s freedom in Sparta is when boys at seven leave their houses, move to military training, and stay there until their twenty-years-old ages. Even though they are getting married, they cannot live in their houses, they are dependent on the military system. It illustrates that women have more freedom in some fields such as making some decisions about their children and controlling their houses until their husbands return. Additionally, women since their childhood are not confined to the home, they can get an education as earlier mentioned, make friendship with males, also they can choose their life partners themselves. However, it is totally various for the rest of the Greek women. To take an instance, women in Athens are restricted by men, we can call it like they have male guardians. It basically means that women have so limited rights such as they can never speak with any male who is not a member of their families, they cannot go outside or know any people. In addition to that, women cannot choose their life partners, this decision absolutely depends on the thoughts of their fathers or brothers. Well, even though Sparta and Athens, both were cities in ancient Greek, why did Spartan women have more rights than Athenian women. From my point of the view, Athens does not have a military-based system, so men always can manage their houses, therefore, there is no need for getting an education or knowing the life outside by women. However, learning the life outside the house is significant to Spartans because some males cannot return to their houses during their military life, in this circumstance, women can take all control of their houses. As a consequence of this, the Spartans need to give women a right which is having land ownership. Essentially, it is related to that when males leave their houses for military purposes, there is a chance that they cannot return their houses, so they can be killed in wars. As a result of this, their wives take land ownership and begin to run their economy and manage their households. If these women are successful in these economic fields, they can be wealthy, even they can be displayed like one of the rich people in the social structure. Nonetheless, in Athenians and the rest of the Greek world, there is not such a right. Well, does the freedom of Spartan women have a considerable impact on shaping civilization or not? From my perspective of the issue, it should not be a matter that what century we live in, women’s influence on society is undeniable. If we speak about ancient times, especially the main purpose of the women is raising and taking care of their children, women should have considerable priorities. As mentioned earlier, for Spartans, well-educated women will raise much more intelligent and stronger children, as a result of this, if a woman does not know her rights or get an education, what is the logic behind this? Manifestly, women who are aware of the hardships of life can raise children in a much more effective way. Also, the economy is one of the significant factors which shape civilization. The roles of women in this economic field are illustrated, so this is one of the main reasons that women have an impact on shaping the civilization of Sparta.

To sum up, the paper shows that the difference between the life of women between Athens and Sparta. However, the focus point of it is that women have an impact on shaping civilization or not. Essentially, as mentioned earlier, the life of women is full of restrictions in the Greek world, especially, in Athenian society. Nonetheless, women are more important to Spartans than Athenians, therefore, Spartans give more priorities such as getting an education, having freedom, and owning lands to women. All in all, it is an undeniable fact that women have considerable roles. The key point is that woman who is well-educated and has rights influence on shaping society or civilization in a more effective way.

Civilization is defined as the stage in which social and cultural improvements are considered the most advanced. In the past, there had been a great number of civilizations that left great signs for future generations. The ancient Greek people were one of those civilizations which had an enormous impact on world civilization. Greece was situated in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula where is a mountainous region. Due to religious practices and different political systems, the ancient Greeks had their own city-states. The main known city-states are Athens and Sparta. While Athens was in the region named Attica, Sparta was located in the Laconia territory. Both city-states had played a great role in the ancient Greek civilization. Despite having few similarities, this paper examines the differences between Athens and Sparta in terms of education and government system.

As an ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle mentioned, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”. Education had played a very essential part in ancient Greek civilization; however, the approach to education was different in Sparta and Athens. The education system of Spartans was based on military services as men were educated in war and fight to start from 7 years old till the age of 30. The system was harsh enough because men were doing painful practices, and they were offered low-quality foods. Spartans believed that men had to find food themselves and it had not been any matter of the season for them. In case they were caught while stealing food, they were severely punished. After receiving hard training for 12 years, the men were sent to the test where they were beaten till their bodies bled, and in case of tolerating such pain, they were declared as a winner and sent to military service. Otherwise, they were not given any political rights. Besides men, women were educated in the military too, but not as harsh as men since the aim of education for women was to be physically strong and healthy to have strong and healthy sons for Sparta. Women were also physically tested and if she had passed, the husband was assigned for her. From my point of view, Spartans had a high sense of patriotism through education, since no matter women or men, they all were aimed to serve the state. However, despite having two years of mandatory military education, Athenians were offering science-based education as well. Both men and women had a right to get an education in Athens too. Men at the age of 16 were considered to complete the basic part of education; however, depending on their willingness, they could continue their education till 18. The primary education contained math, writing, reading, music, and physical training, such as running and jumping. Having completed primary education, they were taught philosophy. At the age of 18, they had to take military training for the army since Athenian parents wanted to have sons having both educational and military skills. Based on the researches, it is deduced that Athenians wanted to have both power, education, and military. Thereby, today, Athens is known as the birthplace of several sciences. Philosophers, such as Hippocrates, Pythagoras, Aristotle, etc., are the paradigms of how Athenians had been strongly educated. Women were educated at home by their mothers or private tutors. Their education system was mostly about housekeeping, motherhood, as well as writing and reading. The purpose of educating women was to educate their children in the future.

Moreover, the government system of Athens and Sparta had differed from each other. The government system of Spartans was an oligarchy which referred to a small group of people to govern a city-state. Sparta was ruled by two kings and the council of elders. One of the kings was supposed to stay at home to care homeland while the other one was away to fight battles. The Council of elders was over the age of 60. Once a person attained the position of the council, the seat had been held until the end of the council’s life (Schrader, 2012). The citizens almost had not had the right to make governmental decisions; however, males had a right to vote in the assembly. To be more specific, the government system of Sparta was on the basis of a disciplined military perspective. Women in Sparta were given more freedom since the males were in the military services, women were the ones to take care of houses. In my opinion, it must be highly appreciated since the Spartan women were given a sense of power and domination which lead to the factor that while the men were away to fight, the safety of the city-state was possibly guaranteed by their wives. On the other hand, Athens was a place called the birth of a democratic system that gives every person a right to express themselves; thereby, Athenians were given more freedom than Spartans. It had law courts with trial by jury and about 500 citizens were part of juries. Since there was not any lawyer, people were supposed to defend themselves on their own in a given time scaled by the water-clock. This way of government was a sign of balance in the society, and I believe that the system of democracy prevented Athens from rebellions. Furthermore, people had been given a chance to choose a new politician through voting if they did not like it. The voting had taken part among the adult male Athenian citizen and he must have completed the military training. However, most of the population, such as women, children, slaves, did not have a right to vote. Even though Athens’ government-supported fairness, not having freedom as much as Spartan women could be considered a negative point.

Taking everything into consideration, the system of education and government is believed to differ in both, Sparta and Athens obviously. While the education system in Sparta was based on military principles, Athens preferred to teach both scientific and military factors. Athenian males were taught math, writing, reading, art, philosophy, music as well as military training; however, Spartan males were only tested by tolerating painful training and very harsh systematic conditions. Nonetheless, both city-states had education for women, Spartan women were educated in physical practices to have strong sons, on the other hand, women in Athens were taught housekeeping, motherhood, writing, etc. to educate their daughters. Besides education, the government was also varied between both city-states. The new system named democracy was implemented in Athens, and every citizen had a right to express themselves in court. However, only adult males were eligible to vote for choosing the new leader. In Sparta, the system was called oligarchy and ruled by two kings and a council of elders. Specifically, like education, the government in Sparta was also based on a military system. Both the education and regulation systems of ancient Greeks have had an enormous impact on the modern society of Greece. In spite of the past thousands of years, today, in every street of Athens, where is the capital of modern Greece, the signs of ancient Greeks are being felt as billboards describe quotes of ancient Greek philosophers, exponents in museums are mostly the heroes from Sparta and their preserved clothes. I believe that the role of ancient Greece is still being played to improve modern society, education and will be passed down to the next generation successively.

To a first-timer, it may sound rather strange why both Sparta and Athens keep on getting mentioned in the study of Greek and Roman cultures for ancient times. However, the nature of the position which they both occupied as the duo megapolis in ancient Greek times shouldn’t be a surprise any longer. They were both city-states and the two biggest city-states in ancient Greece. More so, Greece is famous for academia especially Philosophy and the Hellenization of the Mediterranean world, and there is so much to learn from these histories that we cannot pretend to ignore. Therefore, we can only learn from their mistakes so as to prevent them from occurring in our present existence.

Describing the communal existence and resolution determinants which impacted society in Sparta and Athens alongside those who occupied public office. The authority in Sparta compared to that of other Greek city-states varied exceedingly. It was about the aristocrats who were the privileged class in society. They ran oligarchies and enforced the access to take part in communal life. These aristocrats were resolution determinants in the land. It comprised of the Gerousia which was an elder council of a solely male breed that had men who were beyond 60 of age each and the Ephors, alternatively known as magistrates or judges that were only 5 in number. They were voted in yearly and their time in office would last only 1 year. The unusual rulership was of double regality. There were two kings in Sparta. One of the kings would go to war while the other king would stay at home to oversee the affairs of the Spartan state. The Gerousia held public positions due to their affluence. Both the Gerousia and the Ephors determined what would be amended and how indigenous problems would be visited and eventually solved and without them, no transformation could be made in the land.

For Athens conversely, it was in ancient Greece between 800-500 BCE that democracy became conventional in the Athenian soil in about 507 BCE. The aristocrats partnered to dominate the steering of society. It was the same plutocrats who adjured the authority concerning the resource of the state (affluence). They were aided alongside prominent landlords of the time. It was so bad that households lost track of real estate to their names. In most cases, these households could only gain freedom by servitude to the aristocrats. The situation seemed unending which led to the discovery of democracy.

Cleisthenes refurbished the bureaucratic scene. He established a governmental system called demokratia, a consortium owned by the people for the sake of the people. This would be a milestone achievement that changed the course of democracy forever because everyone had a say and consequently no government could be empowered without the firmest choosing of the masses. Therefore, it was the Athenian nationals — the Ekklesia or the People’s Assembly – that could enjoin in driving this sort of choice as well as served as resolution determinants which impacted society while public positions were held by members of the Council or Boule.

The administration of Sparta annually voted in 5 Ephors per year. These Ephors were to stabilize the kingship control. Their jurisdiction included legal matters, combatant affiliations, and consular affairs. They were also the medium by which uninfluential members of the Spartan state could get to the corridors of power. 60 was the eligible age for service in the Gerousia. After induction, membership would be for life, and the council comprised only 30 members. The only 2 persons that could join the council without getting to the age of 60 requirements and also without contention too were the 2 kings. For Athens, on the other hand, it was the Boule also known as the legislative council that was required to address the law-making manifesto. They selected annually councilors in the count of 500 members and this was established by choosing these candidates across Attica, 50 members per tribe.

Sparta and Athens had a number of things in common. They were individual city-states talking about both Sparta and Athens. They had a common ground in terms of the language in which they spoke. They both spoke Greek. They were both steeped into idolatry so religious-wise they were indistinguishable. Their society at the time gave no authority to any of the women, serfs, or foreigners except men. It was a purely masculine-bred society with regard to authority and power. Politics was left to the men also. Additionally, both were rich in the culture that they esteemed themselves in. Lastly, they both had a sense of dignity in their established city-states alike.

Athens was found in Attica while Sparta was located in Laconia in the south of Greece. Meanwhile, Athens was rich in academia, while becoming a soldier wasn’t mandatory but learning was exclusive to the males alone. Sparta, on the other hand, was not about academia, becoming a soldier was compulsory for all men and the women from this site in the south could learn, unlike other Greek women. Furthermore, while Athens ran a democracy, two kings ruled over Sparta in a government type known as an oligarchy.

In conclusion, after all said and done, we are back to where we started off all over again- we are back to Sparta and Athens in ancient times. There are similarities in comparisons and we compare just because we want to see differences. These differences we then realize would benefit us in establishing better patterns today for success in our government and society. Sparta and Athens were two different civilizations, two different city-states, and had two different administration types. It may seem queer to outline both similar and dissimilar patterns delineating the different governance types between the two but a proper analysis would facilitate in ameliorating both our governments and administrations which we create by all standards today.

Ancient Athens – a world of men who decided everything. The women, children and slaves were not considered a citizen of ancient Athens government while the men were the real citizens. Only men could engage in government elections and higher councils or officials or committees campaign. Men usually left home to farm or do trading each day to raise the family. Women were not allowed to left house except for collecting water or husband’s permission. The Women collect water from a fountain using amphora. Women needed to do all the household of the family, such as daily cleaning, laundry, making foods and clothes etc if not rich. Wealthy women had slaves to support her to do the chores so they might have time to go to religious events. Men in ancient Athens could go to gymnasium and meet his friends in the agora or other entertainment place. Men relaxed by telling latest jokes and gossips after a meal while women were cleaning up. Women did not have the same living areas with men, the dark and squashy areas for women and the bright and open space for men. From several sources they gave different treatments, levels and roles of women and men.

Ancient Sparta – a military polis, preparing to battle was the responsibility to every single person. Same as ancient Athens, only men were the citizens of the government. Men would be elected to be kings or ephorate of the government and it would be changed very often. Sparta women’s main role was bear strong and heathy children, to do that women needed to keep fit and exercised a lot. Spartan women could have their own lands and stood up for themselves. Lots of boys killed in the battle or the judge of whether heathy or strong enough for the city- state. Mother was deserting the post and burying her child. The children from in ancient Sparta was not only belonging to a mother but also Sparta. Mothers must admit the truth that her son could die for the Sparta strict rule and harsh battle. Spartan boys left home when they were 7 years old to the military camp. And could marry when he was 18 years old. But needed to stay in the camp until they were 30 years old. Wrestling, whipping, combat practice and eating etc were involving. The accommodation and shelter of the camp were very simple and not considered to be comfortable, which raised the harshness that boys could bear. The military camp was the duty of Spartan boys and the hope depending on every single person. Women did have training as well to strengthen themselves and would be ready to combat when men were away. Sparta did not have much artworks or academic learning because they believed that battling against another city-states or country would be more important.