Compare And Contrast The Government Structures Of Sparta And Athens

Athens and Sparta government structures

According to Brand (n.d.), Athens and Sparta were said to be the two most powerful among many of the Greek city states, called poleis. There were a lot of well-known historical events which we still study and observe about them even in modern times because of Athens being the birthplace of democracy, and the impressive strength and courage of Spartan warriors. Although these two city states were powerful and influential at their time in Greece, they had significant similarities and differences in their government structures and civilization. Therefore, I will explore how they share some common characteristics and contradict each other at the same time in terms of their government structures, as follows.

For Athens, despite being the origin of democracy, there were some limitations to gaining the right to participate in political life. First, only male citizens above the age of 18 years, whose parents also being citizens of Athens, were allowed to participate in public life (Rothchild, 2017). This means that women, slaves, foreigners, and other males who lost their citizenship rights were excluded from this narrative. It could be said that the citizens held the ultimate political power in Athens.

On the other hand, all free male citizens of Sparta were considered as members of the popular assembly excluding women, Perioikoi, Helots, slaves and other Spartan males who lost their citizenship rights (Brand, 2010). Although they had an assembly like other poleis, the true political power lied in the hands of the elder council consisting of Gerousia, who were men over 60 years old, and Ephors (Brand, 2010).

Who held public

Firstly, most of the public officials of Athens were selected by lot, and they could serve a one-year term twice, albeit not in successive years. Secondly, they had to go through the examination process called dokimasia, which was to ensure the candidate had the particular qualifications, before taking their duties (Rothchild, 2017). In Sparta, Ephors were chosen by the assembly, and they could only serve a one-year term in office (Brand, 2010). Gerousia should be over the age of 60 years old, wealthy and elite, but only 30 members could serve at a time, two of them automatically chosen as the two kings of Sparta (Brand, 2010).

The similarities and differences of the two city states in their governmental structures

Athens and Sparta shared the common rule

of the right to citizenship and participation in public office. All citizens should have citizen parents, and only male citizens could participate in politics. Moreover, the Spartan Gerousia was similar to the Athenian Areopagus, and the assembly could pass laws and make political decisions like in Athens. Both the Ephors of Sparta and the Athenian public officials could only have one-year terms in office. Furthermore, most of these public officials were elected by the