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Greek civilization history
Greek impacts on modern society
Greek influence on the world
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Greek civilization history
Greek impacts on modern society
Greek influence on the world
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Because of this they created a military like society. Everything was controlled by their government. Sparta may have had weaknesses in their education but their were more positive than negative parts. The strengths of Spartan education did outweigh the weaknesses because they trained Spartan boys for war and battle, women were also trained, and Spartan babies, from birth, were expected to be healthy.
Athens used a form of government called a Democracy, ruled by the people. Since the people of Athens may have different opinions, leading to arguments fights and making family go against family in their own homeland. Yet, Sparta was ruled by few people so the Spartans could avoid all the tension. Therefore, oligarchy was the best form of government for the Spartans. Furthermore, Sparta was focused on their military.
To begin with, the Spartans were a society that was completely isolated. “It was not allowed them to go abroad, so they should have nothing to do with foreign ways and undisciplined modes of living.” (Doc D) How could the Spartans learn from others or communicate and appreciate other cultures if they could not visit them? This obviously led to the Spartans
One reason is because Persia had a stronger government structure in the area of their kings. One example would be, as stated, “To maintain order among the populace, Persian kings established courts to resolve legal disputes” (Persia Doc E). In contrast, Athenians were not forward thinkers of the area of their leaders and the laws created by said leaders. For example, as stated, “Anyone whose behavior was believed to be a threat to democracy could be ostracized; they would have to leave Athens for 10 years, within the ten days of the decision being taken” (Greek Doc A). The kings and laws of Persia were stronger than Greece’s laws and leaders because the kings of Persia made legal disputes to create peace and unification.
The Spartans reverence to Lycurgus’s laws help set up a society base on militarism and conservative values. They as a society denying full social and political equality to all men, who allowed females, have social equality. The system in which Lycurgus left the Spartans denied both a democracy and a chance of a tyrant to gain control over the Spartans.
Randolph believed in racial equality in “For The Record” he states: “To American Negroes, it is the denial of jobs in Government defense projects. It is racial discrimination in Government departments. It is widespread Jim-Crowism in the armed forces of the nation.” Randolph and Washington believed in “equality of opportunity in the rapidly expanding defense industries and government agencies”.
Xenophon had written about Lykurgos and how he changed the political ways of Sparta. “ the magistrates and the laws is found in the highest degree and Sparta”(Xenophon’s, Constitution of the Lacedaemonians, 8.1 ). Sparta was one of the most obedient and strong communities in Greece because they have a good and high law. This was imperative that Lykurgos did this because if he did not, Sparta was done and no longer lived because of how chaotic it was there. Lykurgos built such a strong law system because of checks and balances he used with magistrates and senate.
Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. Equally, hard workers have brought Athens power just as much as hereditary leaders. According to Document B all citizens should be allowed to speak their opinion and have a share in election because of the hard work they do to make the city powerful. Athenians allowed poor and common men to win a position in government which was a transition from the wealthy having power to everyone having power.
Pericles argues that Athens has become a model for others, and articulates what it is to be a good citizen. This can be seen when he says, “although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality; trusting less in system and policy than to the native spirit of our citizens; while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness, at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger.” (Thucydides, 2.39) It proves that Ancient Athens’ valued greatness and worked in order to achieve the excellence of the state, by focusing on rebuilding themselves back up after the Persian war. Pericles played a big role in this because he showed his ambitions to rebuild Athens, which lead to the thriving of other subjects such as literature, philosophy, science, art, and religion.
Today, many of the world’s government structures were based on the principle of one of Greece’s city-states. Greece became a country advancing well before its time, strong in both military and brain power. This country was able to produce two city-states that became foundations to advancing the rest of the world. The first city-state, Athens, is thought to be the first to implement a democratic government while Sparta became known for their military power. While Athens and Sparta provide the world with advancements they differ in the ways of government structures, social motivations, and cultural differences.
Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.
The Athenian and the Spartan civilizations were very unique and different but the people shared many similar ideas. The Athenians believed that their government was original and that everyone should participate directly in government. On the other hand, the Spartans believed that every man should train for the military. Both the Spartans and Athenians believed in an equal society where the members were devoted to the polis. During this time, Athens supported a democracy.
There were many cases of bribery in the government that wasn't taken seriously by the court. In Sparta power was given to citizens through the assembly which consisted of all male citizens in Sparta, but in theory anyone could participate. The government had an elaborate system of checks and balances to make sure that no branch had more power than another. Also contrary to popular belief the Spartans treated there slaves bette than the Athenians. The slaves in Sparta were actually known as helots who were lower class citizens.
In comparison to other states of ancient Greece, Spartans were less cultured, due to their nominal interest in material possession. The Spartans while civilized and educated were less intrigued within the buildings of large monuments , than some of their Greek counterparts. Moreover, education was vital to the Spartans. Although their priority relied on military and combat over anything else, in many ways intelligence and knowledge were also important to succeed in war. Spartans’ would teach young children more than just the perplexing theories of war and strength.
Another factor that makes the Athenian society the best is their