In Athens, to be eligible to participate in government, one had to be a free male citizen of the polis1. In Sparta, the right to participate in public life was limited to free adult males who were citizens of Sparta. In both city-states, public office was held by citizens. In Athens, public office holders were chosen by lot1. In Sparta, public office holders were elected by the Assembly2.
The two city-states were similar in that they both had an Assembly that was responsible for making decisions affecting the community. However, Athens was a democracy where all citizens had equal rights and could participate in government1, while Sparta was an oligarchy where only a few people held power.
According to Bartleby, the right to participate in public life for
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• Athenians descended from lonian bloodlines while Spartans came from Dorian Invaders. This is probably the reason why Spartans were so military-based.
• Athens was much larger in size than Sparta.
• Athenian society, which was based on trade, valued art and culture and was ruled under a form of democracy.
• Spartan society, on the other hand, was a militant society whose economy was based on farming and conquering. There was no democracy in Sparta. Instead, there was an oligarchy where two kings ruled over the city-state.
• Democracy is a system of government in which laws, policies, leadership, and major undertakings of a state or other polity are directly or indirectly decided by the “people,” a group historically constituted by only a minority of the population.
Reference
ThoughtCo. (2019). Judicial Review: Definition, Examples, and Cases. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/judicial-review-definition-4175247
USA.gov. (n.d.). How a Bill Becomes a Law. Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/how-laws-are-made
PapersOwl. (n.d.). Democracy in Ancient Greece - Free Essay Example. Retrieved from