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Comparison Of Citizen Participation In Sparta And Athens

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Introduction
Two notable Greek city-states from antiquity, Sparta and Athens, created different methods for citizen involvement in politics and decision-making. Despite placing a strong focus on citizen participation, both city-states took very different approaches. This paper compares and contrasts the administrative institutions of Sparta and Athens, looking at how citizens in each city attained the right to engage in public life, who held public office, the procedures for choosing candidates for that office, and who held those positions.

Getting the Right to Participate in Public Life: Male citizens who were born to Athens-born parents were given the right to take part in public life in ancient Athens. They were referred to as "demo," …show more content…

Citizenship restrictions at Sparta, however, were more stringent. Spartiates were required to complete rigorous military training and adhere to age and health requirements. Only Spartiates could occupy public office and take part in the Assembly, claims Cartledge (2016) (p. 112). The goal of this limited strategy, known as oligarchy, was to establish a society that was orderly and war-oriented.

Candidates for Public Office and the Procedures for Selection:
In Athens, the sortition system was used to choose those in public office. Equal possibilities for participation are ensured by the ability to select any eligible citizen for a post. Courts may investigate magistrates and other public servants, and their terms were finite. By encouraging citizen engagement, this strategy intended to prevent the concentration of power. Sparta, on the other hand, took a different route. The two kings, who held their positions by inheritance, were the highest-ranking authorities in Sparta. A group of elders known as the Gerousia had considerable influence beneath them. Hodkinson (2017) states that "Members of Gerousia were selected based on their age and experience and held their positions for life" (p. 42). The lifetime tenure and hereditary system provided stability, but citizen participation in the decision-making process was …show more content…

Their strategies and results, nevertheless, were different. Athens adopted direct democracy, allowing more people to participate in decision-making through the Assembly, whereas Sparta operated as an oligarchy, with power concentrated in the hands of a small number of people.
Similarities include the existence of governing bodies in both city-states that were in charge of making decisions. The Council of 500 in Athens was in charge of drafting and enforcing laws, while the Gerousia in Sparta served as an advisory body to the kings. Both Athens and Sparta also had assemblies and courts as institutions for upholding the law and order (Brand,

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Unlike the Athenian democratic system the Spartans believed in Oligarchy, meaning ruling by a few. Sparta came to reach the height of it power after defeating rival City Sate, Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) (Bailey). The oligarchy was a governmental system composed by a limited number of elite citizens such as: Ephors, five magistrates with executive and judicial privileges, elected by assembly; two kings, army leaders and chief priests; gerousia, council of thirty elders comprise of men at least sixty tears old, twenty-eight of which were elected by assembly and includes two kings; assembly of citizens, men over thirty years old, they do not vote, but shout acclamations supporting the decisions of the oligarchy above (Bailey). The Spartan governing system led to a military based society where male children from the age of seven would start going to a special educational institution, which was military based. This led to Spartans being warrior like people unlike the Athenians.

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Sparta is a great city-state to live in. Spartans focus on military and have a great form of government. Oligarchy is the form of government Spartans used, wich means ruled by few. Sparta’s military was very strong, when Spartan boys were to the age of seven they were sent to military training, since the Spartans started training so early when men were at the age of thirty they could join the professional army. Sparta was ruled by an oligarchy because it seemed to work better than previous forms of government the Spartans used.

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Pericles popularity is well known for harnessing that mob power to steer Athenian society, while Thucydides is known for claiming weaker demagauges (rabble rousers) that followed are what lead to Athens eventual downfall (Brand, 2013, p. 34). Sparta, being a oligarchy, had a much clearer set of public offices consisting of two kings, a weakly empowered assembly of all male citizens, powerful elders over age sixty called the Geriousia, and five annually elected magistrates called Ephors whose powers often contested the kings during their one year terms (Brand, 2013, p. 9). Much like the Metics of Athens, Periokoi were foreigners of ATHENIAN VERSUS SPARTAN GOVERNANCE 4 Sparta who could gain much wealth filling tradesmen roles, but would never participate in Spartan governance (Brand, 2013, p. 3). The only people allowed in public office were native born Spartans who met specific requirements.

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