Athens vs. Sparta
Was Athens a greater city-state than Sparta? The Athenians had a democracy and the Spartans had an oligarchy. Spartans really cared about the military and the Athenians paid attention to their citizens and provided them with great hospitality. Athens was a greater city-state than Sparta because the Spartans focused more on the state and the Athenians focused more on the citizens.
Athens was a democracy and the geatest city-state in Greece. The Spartans were a monarchy, oligarchy and had a militaristic culture. The Athenian citizens got to choose who led their state and who was in the Council of 400 which was like a congress. Spartans got to choose who was in their council, but not their leader. The population of Athens was 140,000; 40,000 were male citizens, 40,000 were slaves, and 60,000 were foreigners. There were 8,000 Spartans and there were 100,000 enslaved in Sparta. Freedom in Sparta seems few and far between for most people who live there. In Athens democracy, a majority of the people were free.
The Spartans and the Athenians had a very different way of life. In Sparta, if you were the smallest bit deformed, they would throw you in a pit and you would die. They did this because they were a militaristic culture and need perfect soldiers, not soldiers that have a weakness. In Athens you could survive and live a full life no matter how you looked. In Sparta, when boys turn 7 years old, they send them out into the wild with just a spear and barely any clothing. They would sometimes be sent out in winter and it seems incredible how some survived and not get hypothermia. They do this try to teach them survival skills. They basically said come back with your shield or on your shield. In Sparta, if you are a male, you have to go through the brutal training they have and then serve in the military until you are too old and elderly. This never happens in Athens. They could choose if they wanted to be in the military. Athens and the United States of America are democracies because it is better overall for the citizens and much more luxurious. Speaking of luxury, Spartans did not believe in luxury because they believed it showed a sign of weakness. They slept on rocks with maybe a few thin sheets and ate pork, blood, salt, and vinegar. Athenian way of life is much less brutal thus making it a better life.
We in the United States of America believe in the Athenian way of life because it seems more humane than the Spartan way of life. The Spartans were considered barbaric by the Athenians because of the boys being taken at age seven. Americans treasure luxury because we believe it is a way of rewarding ourslves for the hard work we do and that it is really nice to have. That is a main reason why we side with the Athenians over the Spartans. We are also a democracy like Athens and our founding fathers chose a democracy for America because we did not want one person to have all the power. We believe the citizens should have a say on who gets to share the power and we also have many different levels of power like city, county, state, and national. Americans favor Athens' way of life over Sparta's way of life because of the luxurious life most of us get to have.
Athens is an overall better city-state than Sparta because Athens cared more for the citizens than they did the whole state. The Spartans cared more for the state than they did the people. In Athens, they had luxuries and get to eat different and quality food. They also get to sleep on soft, cozy beds unlike the Spartans who slept on rock hard beds. All the Spartan men get to do is prepare their whole life for battle and war. Because of the government, freedoms, and culture in Athens, living in Athens sounds so much nicer than living in Sparta.
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