Sparta and Athens

A detailed Summary of Sparta and Athens

The Similarities and Diffrences in the Social and Political Evolution of

Sparta and Athens had serious social and political problems before being reformed. Each city-state, or polis, made changes to address these problems in different ways. This made Sparta and Athens opposite poles of social and political developments of the Greek city-states.

Sparta was a very militaristic polis. The military was present in every aspect of life. Family life was a sacrifice for the better of the polis. Men in combat placed themselves in jeopardy, since they were expected to stand and die rather than retreat. Citizens were required to dedicate all their time solely to physical and military training.

Sparta Aristocrats revised the polis in a style known as The Lycurgan Regimen. The Regimen had notions that citizens owed primary loyalty to Sparta. The state came before the individual. The Lycurgan Regimen also helped to implant the civic virtues of allegiance to the state and a code of ethical demeanor in society.

All young men at the age of twelve were assigned to companies. There they endured severe physical and military training till the age of twenty-four. At that age they became fron

During the Classic period, 500 to 338 B.C., Athens had attained its highest point in politics, thought, and art. One Athenian leader, Pericles, transformed Athens into the showplace of Greece by changing the Acropolis, a temple built to honor the victory over the Persians, into a monument for all time. The Athenian Acropolis has all the characteristic of Greek art and spirit. Although the buildings were dedicated to the gods and most of the sculptures portrayed gods, these works nonetheless expressed the Greek fascination with the human and the rational. The Greek gods were anthropomorphic, and the artists portrayed them as human beings. Also they illustrated activity in a poised, hesitant, and sometimes even serene manner, achieving the admirable aspects of human beings, their purpose, importance, and assurance.

Sparta was ruled by two kings. They were assisted by a council of nobles. The Executive power however, was in the hands of the five overseers that were elected. The helots, or state serfs, did all the work of the polis so the citizens could dedicate all their time solely to military training.

t line soldiers. The soldiers spent the remainder of their life preparing for combat. The older men were expected to be an image of endurance, durability, frugality, determination, and sturdiness.

A notable feature in Athenian life was the acceptance of homosexuality. Both homosexual and heterosexual practices were normal parts of life. People assume that homosexuality was more common in the higher aristocracy. Most people viewed homosexual love affairs among the young as a stage in the growth of a mature heterosexual life. Warrior aristocracies generally articulated the physical side of the homosexual relationships in the belief that warriors who were also lovers would fight harder to amaze and to protect each other.

Sparta and Athens seemed to have more diffrences than similarities. This is visible from the number, and length of wars of these two city-states. Sparta was more militaristic society. Athens, however, was a more open creative society. There were two opposite types of government, Athens a democracy and Sparta ruled by a duel monarchy. The men in Sparta were always in training for combat, where in Athens all the men were running the government. Athens had more time to develop art, philosophy, drama, and Architecture. Sparta was very strict and had a no losing attitude.

The Athenian dramatists were the first artists in Western society to examine such fundamental questions as the rights of the individual, the deman

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Category: History