Athens And Sparta Compare And Contrast Essay

Ancient Greece contained several city-states, of which includes Sparta and Athens. Athens and Sparta were two of the most predominant, conspicuous, and celebrated city-states in Ancient Greece. Although both city-states allowed the government to be elected by the people, Sparta was ruled by two kings while Athens government served to be the first ever democracy. Inside of these two city-states there was much resemblance and contrasts whether it was socially, politically, or economically.
Sparta and Athens, aside from the way the women were portrayed, had strikingly differing viewpoints on how children should be indoctrinated. Sparta being far more war-orientated had a large formidable army. Spartans were especially meticulous about their infants. …show more content…
Neither of them utilized the principal thought of totalitarianism, which has one sole and all-powerful ruler. Despite these similar philosophies of government, they are quite different. Sparta was an oligarchy, which means that decision and/or ruling were in the hands of a small group of individuals. The Spartan government contained two groups, the Assembly and Council of Elders. The Assembly, inferior to the Council of Elders, included male citizens who voted on laws proposed by the Council of Elders. The Council of Elders was comprised of two kings and twenty-eight other aristocratic men above the age of sixty. The Council of Elders had the authority arrange laws for the Assembly and veto any laws passed by the Assembly that they opposed. The Athens regulated as a limited democratic society. The Athens allowed all male citizens above the age of eighteen to participate in the Assembly. The Athens Assembly included about six thousand citizens whose purpose was to ratify laws presented by the Council. The Athenian Council was composed of five hundred men over thirty chosen to meet and consult on a daily