Running head: Athens and Sparta, A comparison of Greek Life 1

Athens and Sparta, A comparison of Greek Life

HIST 1421: GREEK AND ROMAN CIVILIZATION

University of the People

Athens and Sparta, A comparison of Greek Life 2

Assignment

How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make

decisions affecting the community? Who held public office? What rules governed the selection

of public office holders? How were the two city-states similar in their governmental structures?

How did they differ?

Athens and Sparta, A comparison of Greek Life 3

Athens and Sparta, Greek Life in Comparison

Athens and Sparta are just two of many of the famed Greek city-states of the ancient

islands. However, they continue to be by far the most well-known and talked about today. Part of

this reason is their influence over the countries' history and the stark contrasts in their societies.

This paper will discuss these contrasts, particularly roles in governance, and the similarities and

differences of each.

Rights to Participate in State Affairs

One important aspect of Greek life is the ability to participate in civil rights. The first to

be discussed will be Sparta. In contemporary cultures, such as the film "The 300", Spartan life

appears to have a strong balance between sexes and the general population. This portrayal is not

the case, as Spartan people did not at all treat people equally. The text states: "the Spartans not

only had a genuine political and social inequality. The Spartans were a military society in which

men dominated the culture. Women were not considered citizens and had no voting rights.

Therefore, they could make little decisions except the potential of making babies. Furthermore,

this society dominated by men had an aristocratic bunch considered superior to the common

peoples. Then there were the two kings whose roots of course trace to the founders of the city-

state. All of the Spartan male citizens were warriors. They themselves were divided among elite

levels. There were the Syssitia eligible exclusively to those men aged 20 and above. And all of

the Spartan warrior male citizens were seen as above those of the Helots, Periokoi, or slaves

(Brand, n.d.)."

In short, in Spartan politics, none were equal. Only the warriors had any semblance of

rights whatsoever, should they choose to pursue public life. Even Spartan warriors that had no

interest in politics had substantial rights over anyone else in their society. Helots were people
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from other local city-states that were dominated by the Spartan polis. People captured from local

polis were used as slaves for the Spartan people and had little to no rights in society. The Perioki,

however, were other neighbors of the Spartan people, but they were more skilled and thus more

valued than the Helot people. While free people were not warriors, they were still inferior to the

Spartan men and could not participate in political affairs (Brand, n.d.).

Athens, on the other hand, had a stark contrast in their hierarchy. While Sparta was

similar to a dictatorship, with only the chosen few allowed to participate, Athens is known for

creating democracy. However, while far more open and equal than the Spartans, they still did not

have what we often consider democracy today.

Participation in Society

Athens had a far more inclusive society that gave rise to a society of art, culture, and

philosophy. In addition, the Athens political system encouraged participation by many aspects of

society. This accountability helped create more accountability through all adult, free men, rather

than just the military as Spartan did. However, in contrast to modern pop culture beliefs, women,

in particular, had no rights to representation in the Athens government on par with foreigners and

slaves (Brand, n.d.)

When it comes to governance, Athens had a direct democracy where citizens voted on

laws and rulers and even served on juries. Athens had an assembly composed of male citizens

over the age of 20 who met regularly to debate laws (Brand, n.d.). In order to hold public office,

a citizen had to be a man over the age of 30 and pass a wealth requirement.

The Spartans, in contrast, had two joint ruling kings chosen from two royal clans of

Agiads and the Eurypontids (Brand, n.d.). Next, the executive branch, called Ephors, followed by
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the magistrates who served one-year terms. Finally, there was a council of elders called the

Gerousia (Manville, 1997).

While there were many differences in the way Athens and Sparta maintained their

governments, with one being more inclusive than the other, there were still similarities in both

systems. For example, only free men of some wealth and status were allowed to rule in both

systems.

Note: There was no length requirement that I had found, but I hope a two-page paper is

sufficient, as most classes tend to have one or two pages required for papers submitted.

References:

1. Brand, Peter. (nd.). Athens & Sparta: Democracy vs. Dictatorship. Retrieved 14th Apr,

2015 from:

http://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/77316/mod_resource/content/3/Athens

%20%20Sparta%20dictatorship%20%20democracy.pdf?forcedownload=1

2. Manville, Philip Brook. (1997). The Origins of Citizenship in Ancient Athens. Princeton

Legacy Library. Retrieved 14th Apr, 2015 from: https://books.google.com/books?

id=RBcABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=athens+public+life+and+decision+m

aking&source=bl&ots=tdiS7Y1eqm&sig=qabGFVuyL2GyRSo5GZSz4pTQAxQ&hl=en

&sa=X&ei=0a0tVeeSLcSbNqC8gGA&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=athens

%20public%20life%20and%20decision%20making&f=false