Sparta Strengths And Weaknesses

Not so much for the girls, but for the boys they actually had a good education in Athens. They taught all the boys many different subjects like reading, writing, speaking, music, citizenship, and P.E..Now for the girls in Athens, they were educated, just not exactly the same way that the boys were educated. What I mean is that ALL of the girls in Athens were educated by their mothers. The education in Sparta is completely different, for the boys all of their education was training to be a soldier and in athletics for the wars that they have.It was hard for the boys/men because they could only basically “retire” from being a soldier until they are 60.For the girls living in Sparta, they were educated in athletics, like the boys were.They were also taught to raise children or to run a household like their

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.

Sparta was a very unique society which could be defined as Utopian Militaristic State. Spartan boys all were devoted their entire lives from an early age to the Spartan army. This heavily militarist society was also unique in terms of women's position in society. They had much more rights and freedoms than other Greek women, but in terms of family life they were not so lucky. Women were living separately from spouse during their whole lives. Their husbands were only coming to home at night, they were secretly removed after a short time. And also they were separated from their sons for military training. Women had to be strong in family and social life. Spartan lawgivers wanted girls to receive a good education in order to prepare them to their womanhood duties.

In no other city-state did women enjoy the same freedom and status as Spartan women. As a military-driven society, the Spartans realized that “regardless of gender all Spartiates had an obligation to serve the militaristic end of Sparta.” With this focus in mind, women were allowed more freedom, rights, and independence. Spartan women were

Since Sparta was small, their main way to remain powerful was military strength therefore, their education was based on military disciplines. “A Spartiate’s son was nurtured by his parents only until he was seven years old. At that age he was removed from his family and, from his eighth to his twenty-first year, he was educated by the state according to rigorous [military-like]

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.

Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. Sparta apparently didn’t agree with this statement. Sparta had many weaknesses compared to strengths. To begin with they lacked education in many ways, they had slavery and killed many slaves that could have retaliated ,and their children were very abused and taken from their families at young age to go to training camp for the Army.

This tradition allowed for a city-state with an exceptional army, women with a substantial amount of liberties, and a gene pool that was superior to those around it. The Spartan way of life was one that focused itself on the importance of a physically strong society, and the people of this city-state went to great lengths to ensure that they maintained this tradition. As a result of this mentality, the authoritative figures of Sparta gave women more freedoms, as society did not see them as inadequate versions of men, but more as the mothers of society, whose job was to be the backbone of the strong Spartan army by birthing and raising robust young men. In fact, this lifestyle was so prevalent and noticeable that soldiers and writers from Athens and other outside lands took notice. Many documents from almost all areas around the Mediterranean Sea demonstrate this, especially in Xenophon’s “The Constitution of Sparta”, which describes the importance of physical ability in Sparta, as written by an Athenian soldier. The people of Sparta preserved this physical superiority in many ways. Boys moved into barracks at the young age of seven to train and become a part of the renowned Spartan army, and mothers abandoned babies with medical issues as soon as possible. This not only ensured that all citizens were able-bodied and working to improve the city-state at all times, but improved the gene pool of the civilization by eliminating any possible genetic disorders with visible phenotypes within the society. All these factors contributed to the health, wellness, and overall success of the Spartan

On the contrary to life of women in Athens, the women of Sparta had considerable freedom. They were allowed to leave their houses when ever they pleased. They were required per the state policy to have education both from physical and educational perspective. The reason for physical education was because they could make and nourish babies that would be healthy for the children to be capable of being good warriors and if the baby was not fit as they would be judged by the elders, as mentioned before they would be left to die outside the city.

Any society that abuses their children deserve to crumble. Sparta was a city- state in ancient Greece that was focused on military training.They didn’t focus on the children but too much on military training. The weaknesses of Sparta outweigh the strengths because they lack education, boys are taken away from their families at a young age, and they are abused.

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.

In Sparta, war was daily. The Spartans are ranked number two, on the most terrifying civilizations (Nicholson). This is because, the Spartan society revolved almost entirely around its military. In an effort to ensure the maximum possible strength of its army, the Spartan government required male children to begin military training at seven years old (Child Soldiers in History). If a baby or child happened to be weak, the Spartans left the child on a hillside or the child was made a slave. Infanticide (killing of infants) was a common in the ancient world, but in Sparta this practice was organized and managed by the state (Children of Sparta).

Imagine you are seven years old, living a normal life until, you are forced and taken out of your home, to be brutally beaten, and worked to your limit with no food. Would you want to be that seven year old? Located at the bottom of the Peloponnese is the living hell that is called Sparta. Yet they were named the greatest of all the Greek city-states for winning every battle. Were they really the greatest? No. Sparta’s weaknesses overpowered the few strengths.

The Rise and Fall of Sparta Throughout the Archaic and Classical periods, the Spartan Empire was primarily defined by strength and power. With strong values of self-discipline and frugality, the Spartan civilization was able to stand high above the rest of the Greek city states. Though Sparta was small in size, she was able to compete with cities like Athens due to her well organized and structured government as well as her powerful and austere military. Dating back to 1150 BC, Sparta was theoretically founded on violence and conquest. Greek legend proclaimed that the decedents of Hercules invaded southward from the north in order to reclaim what they believed to be their ancestral land.

In Athens, the woman’s education was mainly focused around the arts. Girls were sometimes taught how to play instruments, gymnastics, and dancing. Girls in ancient Greece were educated at home. Their mothers taught them how to cook, sew, and do household chores. Their fathers, brothers, or husbands sometimes taught them how to read and write. In Sparta, their education was different. Spartan girls would go to military school and learn not just how to read and write, but also physical activities.