Sparta, Athens, and Sparta’s Women
If one was to look at the people of the Hellas, they would come to the conclusion that they are a very unique people. The different groups of people within Ancient Greece which stretched from the Atlantic to Turkey, had many prevalent similarities and differences. Ancient Greece was divided into many separate city states. Two extremely important and distinct city states that flourished during ancient times was Sparta and Athens. Even though they had their different ideas, and way of life, they were similar in many ways. Throughout their ancient history, they fought alongside each other, and against each other. Showing that even though they could cooperate, their differences sometimes fueled hatred. In both …show more content…
Upon exploring these two topics, I found that the political systems of Sparta and Athens had more similarities than one may think. It is often known that Athens was led by a democratic government and Sparta an oligarchy. These two seem to be completely different and on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. However, upon delving into each society, it is clear that there are numerous similarities, with a decent deal of differences, as well. The similarities often come as a surprise. Athens became a democracy in 508 B.C. but before this they were governed much differently. They were originally led by a tyrant, which seems to be much more related to the Spartan system of oligarchy, which was a group of military minded men, that led them. If one was to look at both of these places in this sense, it made sense that many of the governed people were oppressed. In Sparta the Helots and in Athens, the women and …show more content…
A big difference is that the Spartans were run by two kings cooperated with each other, but also competed. In Athens, after Tyrants were long gone, the Assembly was in charge. The people ran their city state. Even though the Spartans had their own similar assembly in the gerousia, they did not debate, like the Assembly did. The Assembly determined everything that happened within Athens, and the gerousia did not. The kings made most of the important decisions. Spartan kings were chief priests and “exercised military, religious, and judicial powers” (Pomeroy et al., 114). A lot of the differences that were present in both societies stemmed from their social systems. The Spartans being on a more extreme
If one was to look at the people of the Hellas, they would come to the conclusion that they are a very unique people. The different groups of people within Ancient Greece which stretched from the Atlantic to Turkey, had many prevalent similarities and differences. Ancient Greece was divided into many separate city states. Two extremely important and distinct city states that flourished during ancient times was Sparta and Athens. Even though they had their different ideas, and way of life, they were similar in many ways. Throughout their ancient history, they fought alongside each other, and against each other. Showing that even though they could cooperate, their differences sometimes fueled hatred. In both …show more content…
Upon exploring these two topics, I found that the political systems of Sparta and Athens had more similarities than one may think. It is often known that Athens was led by a democratic government and Sparta an oligarchy. These two seem to be completely different and on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. However, upon delving into each society, it is clear that there are numerous similarities, with a decent deal of differences, as well. The similarities often come as a surprise. Athens became a democracy in 508 B.C. but before this they were governed much differently. They were originally led by a tyrant, which seems to be much more related to the Spartan system of oligarchy, which was a group of military minded men, that led them. If one was to look at both of these places in this sense, it made sense that many of the governed people were oppressed. In Sparta the Helots and in Athens, the women and …show more content…
A big difference is that the Spartans were run by two kings cooperated with each other, but also competed. In Athens, after Tyrants were long gone, the Assembly was in charge. The people ran their city state. Even though the Spartans had their own similar assembly in the gerousia, they did not debate, like the Assembly did. The Assembly determined everything that happened within Athens, and the gerousia did not. The kings made most of the important decisions. Spartan kings were chief priests and “exercised military, religious, and judicial powers” (Pomeroy et al., 114). A lot of the differences that were present in both societies stemmed from their social systems. The Spartans being on a more extreme