societies of athens and sparta
Athens and Sparta, both important cities in ancient Greece, were very different and unique in their own way. While Athens focused more on farming and their status in society, Sparta was a military city, teaching every boy from a young age to become a soldier. Everybody has different opinions about which is better, but I believe Sparta would have been the city for me. It has many qualities that the city of Athens lacks, and also is fairer, especially to women. Athens first started out as a city-state ruled by a basileus, or king (Columbia encyclopedia). Unlike Sparta, Athens was not taken over by a neighbor city. This was because Athens was a very agriculturally rich city, which also had a harbor so trading was always an option. As the council of nobles, also called Areopagus from the name of the hill they met on, became more wealthy, the power of the basileus slowly faded. In eighth century BC, the nobles became unbelievable wealthy, mostly by growing cash crops which included wine and olive oil. They both require great wealth to get started (Cohen 49). Sl
The women also had a lot of freedom, which was very rare in Greece. They lived in barracks with other soldiers, and didn't get to live in his own house until he was thirty (Jones). Soon after the society itself changed. Messenians were used as slaves called helots, and they worked small plots of land on estates owned by Spartans. This was unfair, because ultimately, that means the Areopagus ruled the country. However, the Messenians were angry, and with the help of a neighboring city-state called Argos, they revolted. Although they have some harsh rules, like killing off children if they are too weak, they are an organized society. However, I do not like the fact that after you are married you do not get to live with your family until you are thirty and have served the military for ten years. When they turn twenty, they became solders. To solve this problem, the Spartans marched over the Taygetus mountains and invaded all of Messenia. In my opinion, I think the Spartans had a better civilization. Nonetheless, I would still choose to live in Sparta rather than Athens. This meant that women had played major role in Sparta. It comes across as more fair and also more organized than Athens.
Common topics in this essay:
Sparta Athens,
Jones Obviously,
Athens Sparta,
Greece Spartans,
Sparta Messenians,
Messenia Messenians,
BC Sparta,
Columbia Encyclopedia,
sparta athens,
married live,
century bc,
eighth century,
athens sparta,
columbia encyclopedia,
eighth century bc,
city athens,
|
Acceptance Essays
