Comparing Sparta And Athenian Democracy

From the medieval and ancient world comes many superior societies. From the dust of the ancient world comes the cities of Athens and Sparta. Athens and Sparta are both known for, but not limited to, their military and political power. Sparta is known for their impeccable military and utter brutality. Athens is known for their contribution to the creation of democracy. Even though both of these cities were two most influential societies to the modern day they do differ in many aspects. Athens military procedures were not nearly as brutal as Sparta’s. Sparta’s politics were ran differently than how Athens did. And even though Sparta and Athens have the same religious background, the way they practiced religion, perceived it, and participated

Along with the differences of lifestyles, Sparta and Athens also differed in their cultures. Athens is known for a very political culture. Athens is credited for contributing to modern day democracy. Athens was a society that had many different systems of democracy. Because there are different species of justice systems, there will be a difference in way that system works (Aristot. Const. Athen.) . Athens operated on a political system where decisions were made by men and solely for the province of men (Roberts, 25.) This made Athenian culture revolve around the men. Whether the men where middle class or leisure life, their vote was taken into account when making political decisions. Along with the democratic culture, Athens economy was a wide variety of manufacturing and trade. Athens is known for always having an outstanding navy and because of the ability to be able to allocate a way to trade throughout the Mediterranean, they relied heavily on trade. Even though trade was a major factor in their economy, the middle class man in Athens made an economic difference. A middle class man job profession ranged anywhere from a small business owner to a farmer. Professions in Athens consisted of farming, mining, manufacturing, and overseas trade . Because trade was such a big economic factor for Athens the relied on that trade and were not really self-sustaining. This can mainly be blamed on the lack of fertile soil in Athens.

How they perceived that religious background varied dramatically. Religious ideologies differed between the two societies. Athens, named after the Greek goddess Athena, saw religion as a very important part of their society. Monuments were built in favor of the Gods and the Athenians saw religious practices and rituals as patriotic duties in reverence to the Gods . Athenian way of showing homage to their religious beliefs and ideologies was very materialistic. Sparta did not have the same views on religion. Sparta had simplistic ways of practicing religion. While Sparta did worship the Gods, the showed their respect to the Gods by living their life in the old Greek way. Spartans believed they inherited this idea of a simplistic lifestyle from the Greek Gods themselves. The Spartans chose to live a simple life that involved individuals living and dying solely for their country, individuals practicing self-discipline along with practicing self-denial; this way of living was believed to be how the Gods wanted them to live. This can be tide into Spartan pride. The Spartans believed that it was better to die for their country rather than run away alive. This comes from the inherited old Greek lifestyle. The Athenians paid homage to their Gods with materialistic way; whether it was monuments or festivals/rituals. Along with rituals, festivals, and monuments, Athenians centered their army on their