Athens Vs. sparta essays

Athens Vs. sparta essays There were two major polises in Ancient Greece. These polises were very different form each other and are thought to be the two most different polises in Greece. Both of these polises had advantages and disadvantages for there citizens. Both polises had different forms of government, Athens was democratic and Sparta was totalitarian. Both of the city states had different cultures, lifestyles, and laws. Athens has some good advantages that you wont find in Sparta. First they are a democratic society where the people can propose laws, debate openly on political issues and are allowed to criticize elected officials. This is an important fact to consider because if someone was open minded, opinionated, and liked to be heard then they would fit in great. Next Athens was very prosperous and even though they were not very focused on military power they still was able to deal with any crisis or types of chaos they encountered. This showed that the Athenian people were able to maintain control and order in there city without revoking freedom and independence. Third lastly they believed in the balance between a sound mind and a sound body which means that it was not all about being strong and a powerful fighter but intelligence was also valued. Lastly they educated there people which gave them the opportunity to learn about arts and literature. Athens also had some disadvantages because some of there rules and polisies were not to the advantages of all the people. To begin only male citizens at least 30 years old were allowed to vote. People were not considered a citizen unless they were upper class so the slaves, servants and merchants had no say. Lastly only the upper class was allowed to go to school and the poor and lower classed were not educated. On the other hand there is Sparta which has advantages different to Athens. Sparta always looked out for the common good of its people and there num ...