Similarities Between Sparta And Athens

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Comparison Between Athens and Sparta 1
Comparison Between Athens and Sparta
University of the People
22nd June, 2017
Comparison Between Athens and Sparta 2
Athens and Sparta are two rival cities in the ancient Greece. The two cities are opposite in terms of governance as ancient historians view Athens using democracy and Sparta as dictator.
However, in terms of the rule of women in each city, women in Sparta are given huge obligation and that is to conceive a boy that will become a Spartan. On the other hand, in Athens, women are useless as they are not even recognized as Demos. Demos, according to Peter J. Brand (n.d) referred as the rule of the people. To quote, “but only free, native – born males” (p. 29). In the
Delian League, whose purpose …show more content…

On the other hand, the Ancient Sparta is located in southern Greece in the Peloponnesus peninsula (Brand, n.d) and has a population of 100,000 where only 8,000 are
Spartiates or adult male Spartan (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d)
Comparison Between Athens and Sparta 3
Women and Education
In Athens, both boys and girls are educated. Though boys are into mathematics, reading, public speaking, girls, on the other hand are into arts and no political power (“Two Faces of Greece”,
n.d). Moreover, males in Athens spent two years in military training before they reached twenty while women remained prisoners of their own home. Women are considered property of their husbands and few were involved in religious events (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d). In Sparta, boys, as early as the age of seven, boys were taken from their parents to be in military training
(Brand, n.d). At the age of 20, they will be placed in higher ranks and at the age of thirty, they will become a property of the stat (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d). They can marry but they will live in the barracks together with their fellow soldiers and their son will have same fate as …show more content…

The
Assembly, on the other hand, is open to all citizens except women who are not allowed to
Comparison Between Athens and Sparta 4 participate in politics (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d). The Assembly passed the laws and made decisions (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d). During the time of Pericles, the Jury was created so that not only the aristocrats can participate (Brand, n.d). The Spartan government, on the other hand, is dubbed as an oligarchy where only few are running the system (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d).
However, it also follows monarchy as it is ruled by two kings – the army commander and the other is for religious duties. (Brand, n.d). Moreover, the five Ephors were elected annually to ran the daily operations in Sparta (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d). They can also veto the rulings made by the Assembly (“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d). The Assembly on the other hand is composed of
30 – year old Spartan males. Like the women Athenians, women Spartans are not allowed to participate in politics(“Two Faces of Greece”, n.d).
Personally, though women have distinct roles in two different cities, patriarchy is prevalent