Sparta Strengths And Weaknesses

Athens and Sparta both had very different economies. Their economies were both based around different things. Athens economy was based around trade. A quote that reinforces this statement is found in Document 9, excerpt from “The History of the Peloponnesian War” by Thucydides a quote from that excerpt states “He made a law that no son was obligated to support his father unless he had been taught trade..” this quote show how greatly trade influences the Athenian economy. On the other hand Sparta was completely different. Sparta mostly depended on farming and strengthening their military A paragraph from Document 8, an excerpt from “ Parallel Lines: Lycurgus” by Plutarch reinforces this by stating “Each man’s

Ancient education was filled with a lot of harsh and rough training, but it was necessary. Spartan education was very tough for This is because they were an extremely militaristic community that focused on physical training rather than reading and writing. They were training them in such a way that would bring upon them unbearable pain and agony. The strengths of Spartan education far outweigh the weaknesses, this is because women were equal to men, Spartans were vigorously trained to be strong, and that everyone was taught to be respectful and obedient.

To begin with, The Spartans lacked education. In document D the text states, “[The Spartans] learned to read and write for purely practical reasons: but all other forms of education they banned from the country,” Spartans were not allowed to read books or treatises. They could not perform in plays or criticize the government. They could not form their own opinion.

After an embarrassing defeat at the battle of Hysiai Sparta went through great military change, these changes dramatically changed all other areas of Spartan life, turning Sparta into a military focused state. This militaristic influence impacted greatly on Spartan education, essentially aiming to mass produce the perfect solider. The education and training of Spartan boys aged as young as 7 in the agoge became the crucial

Sparta was a small culture both in size and number that eventually revolutionized into a powerful city-state. It is located on a small peninsula in Southern Greece called the Peloponnese. Sparta was based on its strong military that helped it continue to be dominate even with a small population. The education in Sparta helped develop this culture to its dominant state. Did the education system serve the overall best interest of the Spartan people? The education in Sparta did serve the best interest of the Spartan people because their education prepared them for their future, the rigorous military training taught the boys how to adapt to limited resources, and their education also helped them defeat the helots.

The government in Sparta followed a very different coarse than that of the Athenians. It was controlled by an oligarchy in which the power was held by a group of five men called ephors. Working below the ephors was the Council of Elders and an Assembly. Male citizens over age sixty could serve on the Council while anyone, male or female, over the age of twenty could be a member of the Assembly. Though the citizens had little say in the decisions made by the government, the system worked effectively. Over the years, the Spartan's brutal reputation in war grew so great that other nations and city-states were too frightened to attack Sparta even though the Spartan army was no larger then eight thousand men. The Spartan Constitution called for all men to begin their military education at the age of seven, where they were trained to be tough and self-sufficient. Every man in the army fought with a great deal of passion for his country. Life in Sparta may have been rough, but the rest of the Greeks envied the Spartans for their simplicity, straight forwardness, and fanatical dedication. The beliefs of Sparta were oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. The combination of this philosophy, the education of Spartan males, and the discipline of their army gave the Spartans the stability needed to survive in Ancient Greece.

In Athen, “Schools taught reading, writing, and mathematics, music, poetry, sport, and gymnastics”. In Sparta, “Boys were taken from parents at age seven and trained in the art of warfare. They were only given a cloak - no shoes or other clothes, and not enough food so they had to steal (to learn survival skills)”. Overall, I think Athens is better and safer to live in then Sparta.

Many of the arguments against Sparta reason that government officials did not grant enough power to the people of the city-state, and therefore favor Athens. This is not the case. The kings, elders, and rulers of the Spartan government knew what was best for the citizens of Sparta, and, as a consequence, created strictly regimented rules that shaped Spartan lives for the better. Although Sparta did not have a significant amount of participation in law by common people, it was able to create and sustain an advanced city-state through discipline and a form of government that placed stress on health and military supremacy.

To begin with Spartans lacked formal education.In Document D the text states,” [The Spartans] learned to read and write for purely practical: but all forms of education they banned from the country,”.Spartans were not aloud to read books or treatises. They could not travel outside of Sparta or have foreign teachers. They could not write, watch, or perform in plays. They never taught to have an opinion or think for themselves. Spartan’s only focus was on the military education which did not help their society survive.

Sparta was ruled by a king or at some point two kings. These two kings were from two separate families of royalty and neither of them had absolute power. The king or kings had to be consulted by the Ephors. The Ephors had a lot of power and authority in the Spartan government. They were a group of five elders, men over the age of 30 who would serve in this position for a year. They had the power to bring up charges against anyone in Sparta, including the king. Unlike Athens who was set on trying to establish a peaceful democratic atmosphere; Sparta was a lot more militaristic and strict. One of the Spartan government’s main priorities was the strength of the Spartan army. They believed that strength, endurance and numbers were a key part in a successful and powerful army. Therefore every Spartan boy at the age of seven would be taken away from their mothers and put into training for the next 13 years.

To begin with, Spartans lacked formal education.In document D, the text states “[The Spartans]learned to read and write for purely practical reasons:but all other forms of education they banned from the country,”Spartans were not allowed to read books or treatises.They could not travel to outside of Sparta or have foreign teachers.They could not write,watch or perform plays.They were never

The progressing city-state of Sparta was infamous for many things. Sparta was known for its powerful army, strict guidelines, and eccentric values. Due to these unique characteristics, residents of Sparta had to keep up to continue its legacy. Being a resident of Sparta meant taking numerous risks yet for reasonable causes. These risks were taken for the progression of the city state. Risks included krypteia mindlessly killing Helots to prevent them from rebelling. Despite this lack of respect for human life, Sparta had atoned for this by providing relevant teachings for women and lessons on survival. Sparta, being a city state with a small population , was primarily focused on winning battles. Thus they perpetrated many feats that were meant to benefit this major cause. Although there was a lack of respect for human life in Sparta, the strengths of a Spartan education are clearly greater than its weaknesses because of the education provided for women and teachings on survival.

Sparta’s strong education helped their city-state but it hurt Sparta in more ways. The Spartan education had some good ideas but there were more bad ideas about it. It was a risk to use that way of education because they would get strong but they could die in the process. That’s a weakness. People have been wondering did the strengths outweigh the weaknesses in the spartan education. I think no because there are way more weaknesses than strengths. Their education killed many Spartans over the years.

The history of Sparta was the great exception to the political evolution of the city-states. Despite the fact that Spartans in the end were all Greek, Sparta failed to ever move in the direction of democratic rule. Instead, its government evolved into something more closely resembling a modern day dictatorship. If the Spartans had followed the other Greek city-states in their political practices they might have been able to avoid their own downfall and could have even become stronger.

Many people in athens got a good education and got to do many different things that sparta didn't do. In the passage it explicitly states “ As an athenian, one could get a good education and pursue several kinds of arts and sciences. Instead of fighting and working all day children and adults good learn and become very intelligent. They could also learn other things like science and arts. People and sparta would never be able to do