Civilization Culture and Values in Ancient Greece

World Civilization to 1500: Comparing Ancient Athens and Ancient Sparta

Introduction

Ancient Athens and Ancient Sparta were both Greek city states—but they were two very different civilizations in spite of the fact that they existed in some proximity to one another. Athens was known as the seat of culture and learning in the ancient world, and Spartan culture was often ridiculed by Athenians because it was much more focused on sports, physicality and brutality. The Spartans and the Athenians were often at war with one another as well, but on some occasions they worked together against a common enemy, as they did against ancient Persia. The Athenian playwright Aristophenes wrote about the differences between the two civilizations in his famous comedy Lysistrata, in which the Spartan women and the Athenian work together to deprive their men of sex so that the men will stop fighting their silly wars with one another. The play was a success because of its social commentary on the times, the fact that these two civilizations were always fighting each other when not fighting the Persians, and the fact that the idea of Athenian women and Spartan women putting their heads together for a common aim was so ludicrous it made Aristophenes’ audience laugh. In reality, the Spartan civilization would eventually conquer the Athenian civilization, which became weak through corruption (after all, its leaders put to death its most famous philosopher and teacher, Socrates, just because he was teaching the youth how to ask questions and think critically—and they viewed that as a threat to their authority). This paper will discuss the differences and similarities of the two civilizations and show why, in spite of their nearness, they were actually much more different than they were similar.

Differences

Although both civilizations owned slaves, slavery in Athens was much less harsh than it was in Sparta (PBS). It was often remarked that one could not even tell much of a difference between who was a slave and who was a free man in Athens. In Sparta, this was not the case at all. There were actually more slaves in Sparta than there were free men, and the slaves were not treated with much respect. As Herodotus points out, in the fifth century BC at the time of the Battle of Plataea, there were seven slaves for every Spartan man. That is why there was a great slave revolt in Sparta and the Spartans were always fearful of losing control of the slaves.

The slaves in Sparta were called helots and it was essentially a population of oppressed people that the Spartans tried to control. The Spartans would abuse them and even wage war on them, slaughter them, and beat them into subjugation routinely. The relationship between the Spartans and the helots was similar to the relationship between modern day Israel and Palestine: the Spartans always carried their spears and never relaxed except when at home for fear they might be attacked by the helots. This was one reason the Spartans placed so much emphasis on physical fitness and conditioning. They were always concerned for their security, even though they ruled over the helots. The fact that the helots outnumbered them considerably and were filled with anger towards the Spartans was the main cause of the Spartans’ unease.

In Athens, there was no such discomfort. The slaves were not mistreated or abused like they were in Sparta. Athens placed more respect on human life. In Sparta, if a child was born with a defect it would be killed as the Spartans despised weakness and felt that any weak individual among them would be a threat to their own civilization. Athens did not boast of such cruelty or barbarity.

The two also had different forms of government. Athens was the seat of democracy. Sparta was an oligarch: ruled by a few powerful families. Athens prided itself on civic duty—on the role of the individual to go vote for its leaders, to sit on juries, and to be part of the governance of society. Sparta had no such type of system. In Sparta, civic duty consisted of training and preparing for military combat, which one had to do from age 7 all the way up to age 60 (Diffen). Spartan was much more focused on brute physicality than it was on education or philosophy. If the most important thing for Athenians was to be intelligent, cultured, artistic, and philosophical, the most important thing for Spartans was to be courageous and brave in battle (Christesen).

Another big difference was the fact that in Athens, women had almost no role in society. They were not educated in schools, and their rarely left the home other than to attend events. Athenian men did everything in society—they voted, received education, ran the government, did the work, trained for their military. The women had an entirely domestic role. In Sparta, it was much different. Sparta was actually led informally by its women, as Redfield points out: women dominated, and men obeyed. Figuiera notes that “Spartan gynecocracy appears most clearly in women’s influence on male upbringing and masculine comportment” (265). Spartan women were very concerned about safety and security, and it was their influence that led to Spartan civilization focusing almost exclusively on battle readiness. Women honored men during their initiation rights and emphasized strength in body more than anything else. Women in Sparta did not nurture their children the way women in Athens did: in Sparta, it was typical for babies to be “without swaddling cloths around their limbs” (Lefkowitz, Fant 87). By practicing a hard life, children were raised to be “not fussy about food, and not scared of the dark or afraid to be left alone, and free of ignoble irritability and whining” (Lefkowitz, Fant 87). Spartan women did not seek comforts and extravagances. They pushed the men to be harder and tougher than all others and thus the women in Sparta had an extremely influential rule in Spartan civilization.

Why Differences Arose

One reason differences arose between the two civilizations was geographical. Sparta was entirely landlocked and surrounded by hills. It was not easily accessible and therefore was not a place that many people had reason to reach. Sparta had a much smaller population than Athens as a result. Athens on the hand was a major port city, and was located on the Mediterranean coast, so it flourished in terms of having access to water, trade, and visitors. Athens had a population that was almost ten times the size of Sparta’s.

Athens was also focused on freedom more than security. Athens had had great philosophers who laid down the foundations for democracy. This inspired other people in the region to want to go to Sparta to learn and study. Athens had great artists, who created beautiful sculptures for people. It celebrated the dramatic works of poets and playwrights. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were very important to Athenians and were often memorized. Athens was just an all-around attractive place for people interested in culture. Sparta was constantly worried about its own defenses and the helots who outnumbered them. So people had little reason to ever go to Sparta. In fact, everyone else in the region of Greece viewed the Spartans as backwards barbarians. But Sparta just had different priorities than Athens. Athens could afford to focus on the finer things of life, as it had a flourishing economy and strong democratic and philosophical traditions that had developed over the centuries. Sparta’s concerns never changed over the centuries: it was always focused on its own survival and on being the toughest it could be. Again, it was very similar to the way Israel is today in Palestine—always thinking about its own survival and focusing on defenses. Athenians had the luxury of relaxing and contemplating the finer things in life and how to lead a good life. Of course, Athenians were not constantly abusing their slaves, either—so that was another reason they could relax and not worry so much about uprisings in their own civilization. The only time Athenian leaders became worried about an uprising was when a teacher began asking questions about truth—and they made him (Socrates) drink the hemlock juice. So in that way, the Athenians were a little brutish.

Yet Sparta was also supportive of other states in that it would lend its military when needed. It had no real interest in expanding its territory. It did pride itself on having the strongest military—after all, it was their sole aim to be the strongest—but it had no grand ambitions in terms of conquest. Athens on the other hand had become prosperous and was interested in expansion, and this became a problem as it looked for conflicts with other states and became aggressive towards others. So long as Athens had the strongest navy it could manage very well on this front. But when Sparta developed a navy, it removed the main advantage Athens had. Athens’ military was no match for Sparta’s after that.

Similarities

Both civilizations were related to the Greek community of city-states—but that is about the extent of their similarities. Sparta viewed itself as an important protector of the Grecian realm, but so too did Athens. Athens was important because it was the center of trade in the region—and all of its wealth came from trade. Sparta was more agrarian and had a very simple economy when compared to Athens, which was rich and very modern for the times.

The only other similarity of the two civilizations is that they both worshiped the same gods. The stories of Zeus, Athena, Hermes, and all the other mythological deities that existed in the region were celebrated and honored by both civilizations. The religious traditions were similar. The polytheistic religion was part of the Homeric tradition, as described in the Iliad.

One minor similarity in terms of government was the fact that both Sparta and Athens had assemblies to which people were elected. In Athens, democracy was the primary form of government, but in Sparta it was really an oligarchy of a few that ruled over the many in spite of the assemblies that were elected.

Facets of Life in Common

A lot of what the two civilizations had in common had to do with their proximity to one another and the fact of external threats to their existence—such as the threat of Persian invasion. The Greek city-states often warred with Persia, and it was through the combined efforts of these states that they were able to repel the Persians. They may not have had the same views on life, or the same customs and focus, but when it came to fighting the Persians, the civilizations banded together to fight back.

Sparta and Athens also fought one another in the Peloponnesian Wars—so there was some commonality there as well. The people of Athens were sick of these wars, and the fact that Aristophenes would write a play in which the Spartan women and the Athenian women would come together to hatch a plan to end the wars said a lot about their common struggles and causes. The Athenians may have looked down on the Spartans as uncivilized, but Aristophenes saw enough to realize that they should focus more on their common desires for peace and stability rather than on war.

More Similar Than Different?

These two civilizations were very much more different than they were similar. There was really nothing similar between the two other than their geographical proximity and the sharing of religious beliefs. They all worshipped the same gods and goddesses and felt the sting of the same threats from other invading empires like Persia. But in the end, they had such different ways of life that the two had little cause to be friends or to share a life together.

Sparta was warlike and fierce. Athens was soft and philosophical. Sparta lived in fear of uprising from the helots. Athens sought to dominate more and more in order to add to its monopoly on trade and grow in wealth and influence. Sparta did not focus much on education and philosophy—it was primarily interested in physical endurance and training in the martial arts. Athens did not require its boys to engage in military service, and for adults mandatory service was very limited in terms of a couple years—it was nothing like the lifetime of service expected of Spartans.