Worldviews And Civilizations: Sparta And Athens

Worldviews and Civilizations

17 March 2016

Sparta and Athens Sparta and Athens were both exceptionally powerful and influential city states in Ancient Greece and were bitter rivals during the Peloponnesian War. Although Sparta and Athens were geographically close to one another other, they evidently shared major different lifestyles, cultural values, and systems of government. Spartan life was focused mainly on war, and their ultixsmate goal was to create a strong military. Their culture really focused on militaristic values. In Sparta, military training was required for all males, and Spartan boys trained rigorously from a young age. Young Spartan boys were taken from their mothers at the age of seven and put under the control of the state.

Although Athens was the first “true” democracy, “their definition of the ‘people’ was far narrower than ours today, excluding everyone but free adult women” (Athenian Democracy at Work, 29). In Athens, women lived in a male-dominated society and were considered to be unimportant, thus women and slaves were not Athenian citizens. Women were kept under strict control and were expected to take care of the family and to do household work. Athenian women could not own property beyond their personal items and always had a male guardian. Women were expected to remain at home out of sight unless attending funerals or festivals (113). Only free Athenian men could have political rights in Athens, and women were not allowed to vote. The Athenian Assembly was open to all free Athenian males over the age of 18. The Council of 500, who prepared the schedule for the meeting of the Assembly, consisted of fifty men (Athenian Democracy at Work, 29). Both Athens’ and Sparta’s government had an assembly. However, Sparta’s government was an oligarchy in which the two kings and the council of elders made the decisions. Spartan women lived at home, but had a greater freedom of movement and power in the household than women in Athens. Spartan girls were well-educated, and women in Sparta could even own their own property (118). Sparta “encouraged simple habits and an enthusiasm for physical

Athens and Sparta both felt very strongly that their city state was more superior, and there was always some tension or level of distrust between the two city states. This eventually led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.E), and Athens’ navy lost toward Sparta’s army. Spartan life was mainly focused on obedience and war, while Athens focused on participating in their democracy. Spartan women were more independent and had greater power in the household, unlike Athenian women. Finally, Athens was a “democracy,” while Sparta was an oligarchy. In conclusion, Athens and Sparta were geographically close together, but they were far apart in terms of their government, what they valued, the status of women, and how they went about living their