In Athens, the write to participate in public life meant that you had to be a free adult male citizen that was born to Athenian parents. Woman had no rights to participate in public life. The Boule in Athens had a structure which was determined by how wealthy a citizen was in accordance to how high of a public office that was held. There were three main categories, 500 Bushel men, 300 Bushel men and 200 Bushel men.
In Sparta on the other hand political rights was somewhat opposite. Firstly, only Spartan warriors were allowed political rights. The majority of them made up the general assembly which was relatively weak in political power. Although they could vote on matters such as going to war, it was in actuality down to the will of the elder council which makes up the Gerousia. The Ephors that were selected by the popular
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How were the two city-states similar in their governmental structures?
They are similar in the sense that only males were allowed to be a part of politics and that they both had a hierarchy in place that separated the political powers of each group. In both structures the wealthier aristocrats had the most influence in decision making.
How did they differ?
One major difference is that the Spartan government had two kings that came from separate royal families which tied back to their legendary founders (Agiads and Eurypontids). The government of Athens had no king. It is also worth noting that all Spartan male citizens were soldiers and equally shared right of fighting for Sparta unlike in Athens were there were male citizens who were land owners among other non-military wealthy Athenians. The also differ in that Athens was a very democratic society which also produced a lot of philosophers unlike Sparta that produced well trained soldiers and ruled by military dictatorship as opposed to the popular myth of Spartans being equal (socially and
Athens and China many appear very different, but I think they are more similar than they appear. In China since it there was a lot of power in the hands of the Emperor some people might expect that the citizens in China had little to do with the government. However like Athens the citizens did take part in the government. China still was supported and involved the people in the government like Athens. Document 2 states “Those who ruled are supported by those who are ruled.”
Firstly, only male citizens had equal rights to vote, freedom of speech, and opportunities to participate directly in political arenas, which is only 12% of the population. For example Citizen women, Children of citizens, Metics, and Slaves did not have the right to vote which is the other 68%. This shows the Athenians were not democratic because not the whole population wasn 't a system of government, when not even half of them were. Also in Athen nobody had the freedom of thought and or speech. If someone
Athens vs. Sparta DBQ Athens and Sparta were two of the world's greatest ancient civilizations. Though they were both city-states in Greece they had their differences. Some of the largest contrasts were education, government, and the roles girls and women played in their societies. In Sparta the schools for children were very harsh and military based.
Unlike the Athenian democratic system the Spartans believed in Oligarchy, meaning ruling by a few. Sparta came to reach the height of it power after defeating rival City Sate, Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) (Bailey). The oligarchy was a governmental system composed by a limited number of elite citizens such as: Ephors, five magistrates with executive and judicial privileges, elected by assembly; two kings, army leaders and chief priests; gerousia, council of thirty elders comprise of men at least sixty tears old, twenty-eight of which were elected by assembly and includes two kings; assembly of citizens, men over thirty years old, they do not vote, but shout acclamations supporting the decisions of the oligarchy above (Bailey). The Spartan governing system led to a military based society where male children from the age of seven would start going to a special educational institution, which was military based. This led to Spartans being warrior like people unlike the Athenians.
Understanding Athenian and Spartan Governmental Structures Introduction Though both powerful and influential, the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta had very different governmental institutions. The purpose of this document is to investigate the differences between Athens and Sparta in terms of how people obtained the right to participate in public life, the composition of public office holders, the rules governing their selection, and the similarities and differences in their overall governmental structures. Obtaining the Right to Participate in Public Life and Make Decisions: Athens: The right to participate in public life was extended to adult male citizens of Athenian descent in Athens. Women, slaves, and foreign residents
In this essay, I would like to answer and discuss the following questions: How did the people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? Who held public office? What rules governed the selection of public office holders? How were two city-states similar in their governmental structures and how did they differ with each other? For the Spartans the right to participate and made important decisions from the entire community were only exercised by the adult and legitimate male citizens of Sparta.
The assembly met monthly and gave Spartan men the right to vote for the annual Ephors and members of the Gerousia as seats became available. The popular assembly also made decisions about war and passing laws. In general, however, the power of the assembly was restricted by the Ephors and the Gerousia, which signals this system was far from a true democracy. Sparta’s aristocratic class also played a large role in one’s social and political standing. The Athenian people had
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.
Who was the better Greek city-state? Athens or Sparta? A question asked for quite some time now, probably since they existed. It’s time we get an answer! If you ask me, I think it was Athens that was the better Greek city state.
Even to this day, we still use Athens and Sparta’s societal systems and structures because they were so revolutionary. Athens even introduced the idea of democracy, and Sparta had a strong military culture. Although Athens and Sparta were close together, Athens focused on leadership and education while Sparta focused on the military and war. However, due to their different governments and cultures, each has their strengths and weaknesses. However, because Athens focuses on its future leaders, Athens is the better model for a society.
Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.
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.
The Greeks displayed their humanistic values through government by they utilizing an effective system of self governing. This system was a direct democracy, defined as “government by the people” or “rule of the majority.” In the Athenian Democracy, the Assembly was the regular
For starters, the Spartans lived a frugal, non-luxurious lifestyle, devoting most of their time to the military, while the Athenians lived a more simple, peaceful lifestyle. The second difference between Spartans and Athenians are that Athenians focused on transforming the citizens into educated individuals while the Spartans focused on transforming the citizens into strong, courageous individuals. The third difference is that men only had to serve in the military for 2 years in Athens while men in Sparta basically served in the military for thirty years of their life, training as soldiers before they were even a teenager. The fourth and final difference is all about the rights women had at Sparta and Athens. At Sparta, women were a bit more independent.
Comparatively, Athenian women had less right and freedom. Women were citizens who could participate in most religious cults and festivals but were otherwise excluded from public life. They could not own property beyond personal items and always had a male guardian: If unmarried, a father or male relative; if married, a husband; if widowed, a son or male