Greek History Essay: Question 1. Athens, Sparta, and true freedom
In ancient history when we think of ancient Greece thoughts often turn to the legendary, city-states of Athens and Sparta. Both cities toted freedom being central to their individual constitutions, despite neither truly being completely free, it is easy to see how Athens version of freedom, is far closer to our modern definition and understanding of freedom.
In order to engage in discourse on whether Athens is more truly free than Sparta or on Sparta being freer than Athens, it is imperative that we first come to a common definition of what freedom is, according to Oxford dictionary, freedom is defined as “The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.” however, when …show more content…
It can be said that freedom of thought is the basis of all freedoms, in Athens, we can see what could be called the foundation of modern education and thought. Unlike Sparta, individuals were not indoctrinated into a specific method of thought by the state, but instead had to rely upon individual schools of teaching run by the philosophers, while this leads to more varied points of view it still suffered from individuals being extremely disposed to a specific point of view, however, the same could be said for modern education. When looking at how the Athenian constitution deals with the person, we can see that little control is placed upon citizens of Athens, save for slavery, individuals were not delegated by the state to be in a certain place and could form relationships with whomever they chose. When looking at freedom of society, we can see that there most certainly was the possibility of advancement, and by necessity regression, through societal ranks. The entire social structure of the Athenian system was developed around the ability of an individual's owned land to produce a predefined number of bushels of grain, this by its very nature, allows for an individual to potentially advance (or recede) in social rank between the small elite upper class, usually large landowners and generals, the not particularly large middle class usually skilled tradesmen, the abundant lower class …show more content…
They made themselves to become one of the most renowned and feared Greek ‘nations’, but at what cost? In order to foster a stronger soldiers who were bound by nothing but their loyalty to their polis, the Spartans underwent a massive amount of effort to indoctrinate individuals to the state, as children, the spartan boys and girls were taken and are placed under the guidance and control of a public servant, the “paidonomos”2 who bore a whip and to chastise severely should the need arise “that in Sparta modesty and obedience ever go hand in hand, nor is there lack of either”3, also they were housed inside gender separated communal barracks, living among their peers, where they would live out the majority of their lives. Further, meals were not eaten at a home but instead were eaten in a mess hall where the Spartans would eat their meals among the other Spartans. In isolating the minds of the Spartan youth from outside influence, the Spartans ensured the total obedience of the spartan peoples to the Spartan system ology. Further, the Spartans took great lengths to isolate individuals as cowards, “at Sparta there is not one man who would not feel ashamed to welcome the coward at the common mess-tables or to try conclusions with him in a wrestling bout”4, to this effect they became polarized and thus easier to manipulate. When looking at how the Spartans handled the
In ancient history when we think of ancient Greece thoughts often turn to the legendary, city-states of Athens and Sparta. Both cities toted freedom being central to their individual constitutions, despite neither truly being completely free, it is easy to see how Athens version of freedom, is far closer to our modern definition and understanding of freedom.
In order to engage in discourse on whether Athens is more truly free than Sparta or on Sparta being freer than Athens, it is imperative that we first come to a common definition of what freedom is, according to Oxford dictionary, freedom is defined as “The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.” however, when …show more content…
It can be said that freedom of thought is the basis of all freedoms, in Athens, we can see what could be called the foundation of modern education and thought. Unlike Sparta, individuals were not indoctrinated into a specific method of thought by the state, but instead had to rely upon individual schools of teaching run by the philosophers, while this leads to more varied points of view it still suffered from individuals being extremely disposed to a specific point of view, however, the same could be said for modern education. When looking at how the Athenian constitution deals with the person, we can see that little control is placed upon citizens of Athens, save for slavery, individuals were not delegated by the state to be in a certain place and could form relationships with whomever they chose. When looking at freedom of society, we can see that there most certainly was the possibility of advancement, and by necessity regression, through societal ranks. The entire social structure of the Athenian system was developed around the ability of an individual's owned land to produce a predefined number of bushels of grain, this by its very nature, allows for an individual to potentially advance (or recede) in social rank between the small elite upper class, usually large landowners and generals, the not particularly large middle class usually skilled tradesmen, the abundant lower class …show more content…
They made themselves to become one of the most renowned and feared Greek ‘nations’, but at what cost? In order to foster a stronger soldiers who were bound by nothing but their loyalty to their polis, the Spartans underwent a massive amount of effort to indoctrinate individuals to the state, as children, the spartan boys and girls were taken and are placed under the guidance and control of a public servant, the “paidonomos”2 who bore a whip and to chastise severely should the need arise “that in Sparta modesty and obedience ever go hand in hand, nor is there lack of either”3, also they were housed inside gender separated communal barracks, living among their peers, where they would live out the majority of their lives. Further, meals were not eaten at a home but instead were eaten in a mess hall where the Spartans would eat their meals among the other Spartans. In isolating the minds of the Spartan youth from outside influence, the Spartans ensured the total obedience of the spartan peoples to the Spartan system ology. Further, the Spartans took great lengths to isolate individuals as cowards, “at Sparta there is not one man who would not feel ashamed to welcome the coward at the common mess-tables or to try conclusions with him in a wrestling bout”4, to this effect they became polarized and thus easier to manipulate. When looking at how the Spartans handled the