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Explain How Did Athens And Sparta Obtain The Right To Participate In Public Life

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How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? In Athens the assembly was made up of every adult male citizen of 20 years. It met 2 to3 times a month and voting could be done on the day. This was the way the Athenian participated in public life and made decisions affecting the community. Furthermore, some people participated in their government by serving as public officers or jurors in court cases. These public officers were paid for their service. They are also people of Athens that were even paid to attend the assembly and to serve as jurors, a citizen had to have some wealth and be at least 30 years old. The Sparta participated in public life and made decisions affecting their community as male citizens of Sparta and are also members of the assembly. These categories of people are not male members of the assembly as they have no citizenship rights such as Periokoi, Helots, slaves and freeborn Spartan. The assembly has electoral powers to choose the Ephors and the Gerousia annually when a position becomes available. The assembly also passed laws and made decisions for war. However, the powers of the assembly were limited by the powers of the Ephors and the Gerousia who can decide the assembly …show more content…

In Sparta there were two kings from different tribes. These kings are verified by the Ephors who are elected by the popular assembly. The Ephors acts as legislators serve only a single term in office. They execute judicial affairs, military organization and foreign relations. In Athens, public officers are men that have wealth for the office and who are 30 years old. They must be non- aristocratic. In Athens, the women, foreigners and, slaves, are not allowed to participate in the political system. The Athenian system of government makes it possible for wealthy but non-aristocratic Athenian men to participate in the political system and aspire for public

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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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Athens was known for its democratic system, allowing its citizens to participate directly in the political process. The Athenian democracy was characterized by institutions such as the Ecclesia (Assembly), where citizens voted on laws and policies, and the Boule (Council), which set the agenda for the Ecclesia (Kelepouri, n.d.). In contrast, Sparta had an oligarchic system with power concentrated among a few. The Spartan government included two hereditary kings, a Gerousia (Council of Elders), and the Ephors, who were elected officials with significant power. The Spartan Assembly had less influence than its Athenian counterpart and was primarily involved in electing the Gerousia and Ephors (Kelepouri, n.d.).

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Meaning that unlike the Athenians, American citizens do not participate directly, but instead have a “the option of voting for officials to represent them (USCIS). However, in Athenian democracy there were more limits on who could vote and participate in meetings. For instance, only free male citizens who were of age could participate, which excluded women and slaves. Additionally, unlike in the United States where citizens vote for their representatives, the citizens of Athens were chosen at random to fill

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Who held public office? What rules governed the selection of public office holders? In Sparta, native Spartan boys who were healthy by birth survived and became soldiers (Brand, n.d.). The Periokoi who were in Laconia and were dominated by Sparta by 750 BCE were not Spartan citizens nor slaves, but they were inferior to Spartans (Brand, n.d.).

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Some important roles, like generals, were elected by the Assembly. In Sparta, the selection process was less democratic. The kingship was hereditary, meaning the position was passed down through families. The Ephors were elected by the citizens, but only from the class of Spartiates.

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Why Did Athens And Sparta Obtain The Right To Participate In Public Life

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Under them were the Gerousia and Ephors who represented the "elder council". Only the kings and the Gerousia were the only ones who have the right to make decisions and interfere the public life. Yet, the assembly, which is formed by Free Spartan men, has the rights to elect the Gerousia and the Ephors. In Athens we have different stages for governing.

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HIST 1421 Greek and Roman Civilization Unit 1 Written Assignment Instructor - Jennifer Musgrave 12th April, 2023 Introduction I have learned about the Greek civilization in details from this week's reading materials, and there are so many interesting things, such as governmental processes and democratic systems of ancient Greek civilization. Now, I am going to mention them according to the given prompt questions from different scenarios by reflecting on the knowledge I have gained and the differences and similarities between the governmental structures of Athens and Sparta. How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community?

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Sparta vs. Athens To begin with, Athens and Sparta were both famous in antiquity for their legend, cultures and the character of the people. On the one hand, the two poleis share certain obvious affinities, such as language, geographical scope, a common Greek ancestry etc. On the other hand, they were polar opposites in many aspects, from social spheres, political structures, to military might, which I believe there are some hidden depths in these city-states. Hence, let’s look at how did their people obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community, and who held public office first.

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