Athens Or Sparta Position Paper

Name Professor Course Date Athens v. Sparta Introduction For the question on which Greek city-state was better, it is very difficult to tell whether Athens was better than Sparta or vice versa. As such, the answer is completely subjective, with respect to what can be judged best. In terms of a military based, regimented, complicated lifestyle then Sparta is better in comparison to Athens (Humble 19). On the other hand, if a lofty, comfortable, and academic life is the measure of comparison then Athens would be preferred best. This paper is going to compare Sparta and Athens with respect to greatness; three aspects of their society that will be used to measure greatness includes military strength; philosophy, education, industrialization, and the arts, and vastness of conquered territory. Sparta Sparta was an authoritative jurisdiction ruled by the military system designed by Lycurgus that required all the boys belonging to the highest caste, the Homoioi, to endure a harsh military training that started at age 7. Considering the harshness of the training many boys died along the course of the Agoge. They were deprived of comfort and luxury and would be given very little to eat. After their training was over it was a requirement that they kill a slave (Helot) to be officially accepted into the Spartan army. At birth ephors judged whether Spartan children would live or not. In the event that they were deformed, seemed weak or did not succeed on a test proposed by the ephors, they would be abandoned to die or killed instantly. This was carried out without respect for the parent’s opinion and was meant to uphold the good of the state (Murcia et al., 55) The Spartans also controlled a tribe of slaves to carry out all their farming tasks, the Helots. They were treated harshly and supervised by the Krypteia, a secret service that would pursue and end the lives of those who seemed capable of rebellion or who seemed very strong. Despite the fact that Sparta was a cruel state by modern humanitarian and ethical standards, it had a positive side such as the fair treatment and freedom of its women, in comparison to Athens (Lockwood 83). Mathematics and philosophy were respected disciplines among those who lived in Sparta. What’s more, they were very pious people that honored noble behavior and virtue. Athens Athens was a meritocratic and democratic state that held science, culture, the arts, philosophy, and mathematics at high regards. A majority of the culture that history associates with Ancient Greece were basically, primordially developed in Athens. This wa...