Essay about Athens and Sparta the Authoritative Cities

Submitted By gators90
Words: 757
Pages: 4

Compare and Contrast the societies of Athens and Sparta

The Athens, the capital and largest city in Greece, and Sparta were very significant in the ancient Greece because both were unique in their own way and extremely determined in being successful. Both Cities became very dominant and powerful in ancient Greece, although they each had their differences and similarities but they wanted to become authoritative cities. Between the two cities, Sparta had the strongest land dominance and the best military force.
Sparta was known and most popular for their military power. The Spartan men became part of the Spartan armed forces at a very young age. The men were taught to fight for their country until they died and never stopped fighting for their state. Starting at the age when the boys were seven and they were let go from their mother, they were learning all the skills and techniques that they needed to fight in the army. The military consumed their life and they became disciplined in the Sparta military. They were very skilled and extremely smart in school and the outside world. Spartan men were trained to fight for their state, for their rights and what their people believed in. When the Spartan men reached the age of twenty, they were forced to become a member of the army. They had to grow up and become very independent at such a young age. The men were allowed to be married but had strict restricts they had to follow. Once they reached the age of sixty, they no longer had to eat all their meals in the barracks even if they married and had a family. The men were required to get married at the age of thirty and that is when they were allowed to live with their wife. The Spartan women controlled their land and properties. The women were allowed to wear short dresses and go out as much as they wanted, as the Athens women were rarely out of their home and were forced to wear heavy clothes that didn’t exposed themselves and show a lot of skin. The land that Athens women inherited by their father were given to their husbands once they got married and were considered their husband’s land. The women were controlled by men at all times, whether it would be their father, male family member in their life or husband. They didn’t have rights and didn’t control anything they had or owned. The wives of the Athens men were in charged of taking care of their family and children. The Athens women serviced no legal rights and were basically owned by the males in their life and had no say in what was wrong and right. They couldn’t leave their home unless they had permission to do so. The Athens men and women were equally educated and very skilled but the women were just in charged of the household, balancing the