Athenian and Spartan Government
Uploaded by Poloshoppr on Dec 30, 2000
In Ancient Greece there were four forms of government that were practiced Monarchy’s, Aristocracy, Oligarchy and Direct Democracy. In Ancient Athens they had a direct democracy which allowed the citizens to participate in political decision making. In Ancient Sparta they had an oligarchy form of government in which the state was ruled by a small group of citizens who also controlled the military.
The political system of ancient Athens was a democracy, which involved all of its citizens by giving them daily access to civic affairs and political power. Both decision-making and decision-enforcing were the duty of every free adult male citizen, and not just of those elected by them or by their leaders. The free adult male citizens of Athens were directly involved not only in government matters but also in matters of justice, as there was no separation of powers in ancient Athens.
Unlike the Athenian government the Spartans didn’t use tyranny or any form Athenian democracy. Sparta did not like the way tyranny worked so they produced a different form of government. The Spartans formed a very complex government mixing democracy and oligarchy, and this form of government was a model for other poleis. The government was made up of three parts ruling class, the council of elders, the Ephorate, and the Assembly.
For this specific time period the oligarchy government used in Sparta was better for the Ancient Greeks than the democratic government in Athens. The government in Athens worried more about the citizens of its city-state then its own well-being. The Spartan oligarchy may not have given its citizens a lot of freedom but it was successful in gaining attention and respect from the other Greeks and their rival nations.