Sparta Vs Athens Research Paper

Sparta and Athens were two of the most advanced, strongest, and popular polis’ of the 800-500 B.C.E. period. Although Sparta lasted longer and was stronger, Athens was more smarter. Both were great and known city states, but Sparta and Athens were mostly different with some notable similarities. One difference is education because Spartan education was more strict. Another difference is social classes as women were treated fairer in Sparta. The last difference is government and politics. Finally, A similarity is religion because religion was the exact same throughout all of Greece. One major difference between Sparta and Athens is education. Spartan education is more militaristic while Athenian education is more general. Spartan boys are educated

Spartan women were treated better than Athenian women. Spartan women were definitely respected and given rights in their society. They were allowed to own property, get an education, and could learn to fight and defend themselves. Women were very important roles in society. Without them, they couldn’t give birth to strong warriors. Women of Sparta were only respected because they are a key role in giving birth to a strong baby that will soon become a warrior to Sparta. Athens did not believe that women deserve respect and rights. They were not allowed to own property, be seen in public alone without a male guardian, have an education, and have political rights. They were believed to be “ infertile men” according to Aristotle. They were not allowed all these rights because a woman's place is to be at home. Society expected women to be a good wife, bear and raise children, and to not be seen or heard in presence of men. Women were even given a different category in the social order. Spartan women were definitely treated better than Athenian women. Another social class difference between Sparta and Athens is Sparta had helots and Athens had slaves. Spartan Helots are captured people and are the slaves of Sparta with no rights. Helots had marked areas in which they could not leave and come in contact with the Spartans. Helots are the biggest portion of Sparta’s population and Spartans feared that one day they would

Sparta differed from Athens because Sparta had an Oligarchy while Athens mainly had a Direct Democracy. In Sparta, Lycurgus created an Oligarchy, which means “rule by the few”. In this type of government, a selected few were only allowed to make decisions for the entire city state. The most important people of Sparta were the Gerousia. The Gerousia were a group of 28 citizens over the age of 60 who was responsible for making proposals and two kings who were in charge of managing the military. This group was Sparta’s most important group because all men over the age of 60 were highly respected after they have served in the military their entire life and survived, which is really rare. The next group are the Ephors, they were responsible for education and conduct of citizens. Monitoring the education system was important because Sparta viewed their education key in order to create strong soldiers. The final group of Sparta is the Apella. They were a group of all male citizens who voted an proposals made from Gerousia and they chose the members of Gerousia and Ephors. These three groups were what made up the Spartan Oligarchy. In Athens, the government was mainly a Direct Democracy, which was created by Cleisthenes. A direct democracy means “rule of the people” and the people were in charge of making decisions for Athens. In Athens, the people were the ones who held political power. This group was called