The comparison between Athens and Sparta only makes sense when considered based on the dispensation when the two nations were the epitome of civilization in the world. This period lies over three millennia ago, at the time that Greece was the cradle of modernity and Athens and Sparta were the most civilized cities on the earth. The two cities formed city-states, meaning that they had full autonomy in their affairs. They also ruled the lands surrounding them. The first principle difference between Athens and Sparta was in governance, with Athens being a democracy while Sparta an Oligarchy (Robertson, 2018). The primary form of education also varied exponentially between the two nations. Economic activities and social life were also the major sources of difference between Sparta and Athens. Finally, gender affairs in the two city-states differed exponentially. The major differences between Athens and Sparta point to the fact that Athens valued citizens mostly more than the state, while Sparta placed the state above their citizens .
In the canvassed period, how a nation was governed was one of the most important characteristics, and the governance of Athens and Sparta respectively differed exponentially. Athens has been considered the birthplace of democracy as it is the first place in the world that a government by ‘the people and for the people’ can be found (Lanni, 2016). It is, however, important to clarify that in actual sense the Athenian government was a government for ‘men and by men.’ In a carefully organized system, elections would be held every year, and all free men would be allowed to vote (Robertson, 2018). Free men, in this case, meant men who had Athenian citizenship as opposed to slaves who did not. The men would vote for a leader, akin to the modern president. A parliament would also exist’ but as opposed to the modern representative format, most free men would be allowed to participate in parliamentary proceedings. Most laws would be passed through a combination of strong debate and voting, a manner similar to the modern democratic legislation (Robertson, 2018). As opposed to democratic Athens, Sparta was an oligarchy, which means a government made up of a few, ruling of the many. For a start, Sparta had a form of a monarchy led by two hereditary kings. The position of the king would be passed on from father to son in perpetuity. A parallel system from that of the kings was made up of an elected parliament led by five elected officials. The five officials and parliament could have the power to overrule the kings but mainly limited themselves to matters of state religion and military issues (Roberts, 2017). A careful balance would thus be maintained between the kings and elected officials, mainly through negotiation and even manipulation. Sparta also recognized the ‘nobility’ who owned land and ruled over some peasantry. It is also important to note that as opposed to Athens that focused on individual rights for citizens, Sparta focused on the obedience of citizens to the leadership. Through military education, the men would be taught to obey the state even if obedience meant death.
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The second major area of difference between Athens and Sparta was in the form of education that was practiced in the two city-states. Both states had an elaborate system of education predicated on firmly set rules and regulation (Roberts, 2017). The respective governments were in charge of who would get an education, the nature of education and also the extent of that education. In Athens, men could choose what kind of education they wanted and pursue it to the extent that they aspired to. Military training was optional and made available to those who wanted to serve in the army. Others could learn literacy, numeracy, art and creativity-based studies or philosophy, an important discipline in Athens (Robertson, 2018). At the time, STEM courses had not been developed, and science was mainly an area of philosophy. Most women would get no education at all. However, women from wealthy families could get limited and informal education. On the other hand, the primary form of education in Sparta was military training. From a very tender age, all men would be trained rigorously and formally in military studies through a formal setup. So rigorous was the studies that men who were not up to it would die in the course of the training (Roberts, 2017). Those who succeeded in the training courses would end up becoming some of the best soldiers in the world at the time. Women were also allowed to study, although not military affairs. Women would study literacy and also the arts.
Another important difference between Athens and Sparta was how the citizens of the two city-states made money and also lived their lives on a day to day basis. In this regard, Athens can be considered a pioneer of a trade-based economic system while Sparta was mainly agrarian, although it also undertook some form of trading (Roberts, 2017). Athenians had a powerful merchant fleet that would travel long distances for trade. The merchants would make money trading products from different areas, forming some trade-based economy where people could make money without necessarily developing their products. For example, the merchants could procure goods only available to one locality and take them to another locality where they would exchange them for good available there at a profit. In so doing, Athenians would earn good merely through the trade without having to produce goods on their own (Roberts, 2017). While making money from trade is relatively easy compared to, for example, farming, Athenian men had an easy life and also a limited number were enrolled as slaves. It is no wonder that most men could find the time to participate in the legislative process. Conversely, Spartans had an agrarian system with the primary economic activity being farming. Most Spartan men would own several slaves who would till the land for their masters. The farm produce would then be used for trade, including with Athenians for the other goods and services that would be needed. Due to a large number of slaves, Spartans also lived a relatively easy life (Roberts, 2017). Most men would focus on military training while women did almost nothing and were perhaps the segment of the populace with the best lives. It is also important to note that military life and discipline were a primary focus in Sparta; hence fun was frowned upon.
In an interesting twist, when it comes to gender affairs, the seemingly progressive Athens lagged behind Sparta, which is otherwise a conservative city-state (Roberts, 2017). In Sparta, women were generally treated as equals by their men and played an active role in society. Most women were also allowed to have an education. Further, when men went to military duty, it was their wives who would take over the affairs of their homes. The only definitive obligation left for Athenian women was making babies for the state, an obligation that was a treasured by the state as military service by the men was. Indeed, according to Robertson, (2018), a woman who died in childbirth had the rare honour of having a tombstone. In Athens, however, women were considered the property of their husbands or fathers. Women could be taught simple courses like weaving, cooking or making home art mainly for the benefit of the men in their lives. Women, as a general rule, had no say or influence on their homes or in the state.
The primary inference that can be made from the differences between the Athens and Sparta is that in Athens, the citizens, mainly men were highly valued while in Sparta, it is the State itself that was highly valued (Robertson, 2018). Having a democracy where citizens could determine who would lead then and under what laws that leadership would operate shows that the citizens were more important than the state. Indeed, it can be said that the city-state itself existed for the benefit of the citizenry. However, Athens did not value its women and focused all benefits on its men. On the other hand, Sparta’s characteristics as outlined above reflect a society where the populace lived for the state and was willing to die for it (Robertson, 2018). Men would spend most of their lives either training for war or fighting it. Women were treasured in Sparta but mainly because the state needed them. The state needed women so that they can give birth to soldiers and also take care of the men’s affairs as they go off to battle. The state and its success was the focal point of Spartan life; hence it was the most valued.
It is definitive from the totality of the above than Athens and Sparta were different and these differences can be traced to what the two respective city-states valued the most. Athens valued its male citizens the most, hence created a society where the men would be mainly in charge. The men elected government made laws and also chose their careers and academic pursuits. Unfortunately, such courtesies were not extended to the women, as the men owned them. Sparta, on the other hand, valued the state over its people. Hence it developed a system that forced the men to serve the state as military officers for most of their lives. To its credit, however, Sparta treated women as quasi-equals, a rarity even in very recent history. The differences between Sparta and Athens were thus in what the two respective city-states valued.
References
Lanni, A. (2016). Law and order in ancient Athens . Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Roberts, J. T. (2017). The Plague of War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Ancient Greece . Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Robertson, E. A. (2018). Growing up Greek: The differing journeys through childhood in ancient Athens and Sparta (Doctoral dissertation, Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University)
