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Sparta and Athens
The two most well-documented and famous cities in ancient Greece were Sparta and
Athens. These two cities were often fighting each other for dominance of the mainland. They led
quite different ways of life. Though both communities excelled in many areas, Sparta is most
well-known for its prowess in warfare, while Athens is considered to be the home of art and
philosophy.
One area in which Sparta and Athens differed quite drastically was in their social
organization. Sparta consisted of true-Spartan citizens and a group of people referred to as helots
who worked the land to support the citizens. This allowed the Spartan men to concentrate on
rigorous training in warfare for the majority of their lives. The fact that Sparta constantly feared
the uprising of the helots, who greatly outnumbered them, also helped to drive their intense
training. Athens, on the other hand, went to great lengths to reorganize its political structure to
ensure that democracy ruled the day, and that even the lowliest citizen could have a say in the
Assembly, though they still had many slaves to take on a great deal of their hardships. Women in
Sparta lived separately from the men, and gained quite a bit of freedom and many rights that the
Athenian women, who lived under the protection and dominance of their fathers and husbands,
were not given.
According to Plutarch, in Sparta, boys stayed at home until they were seven, at which
time they were placed in barracks to be raised and trained in warfare. They were said to be taught
to steal and fight for the right to be fed and survive, though how much of this is true, and to what
extent, cannot be known. At around age 18 or 20, the boys could become Eirens, who were given
command of a group of the boys. At age 60, the men could be elected to the council of Elders
that settled lawsuits and disputes and decided which issues to bring to the attention of the
Assembly. The Assembly included all male citizens over the age of 30. Sparta did not have a
written set of laws, so it was largely the Elders’ decision as to what issue was serious and should
be discussed or not. There were also Ephors, who oversaw the king and Elders, and two kings of
ruling families. This system of control meant that about five percent of the Spartan population
made most of the decisions for the rest. Women and girls were not given the vote, and their
education consisted of more physical pursuits. The Spartans believed that women of physical
strength would also produce strong men.
In Athens, oligarchies, systems of power where small groups of people rule for the rest,
were replaced with demokratia, a form of democracy much more complete than that of today
(see background brief: Demokratia). In this system, every man was given the opportunity to vote
on every decision. In Athens, too, the women were not allowed to vote or run for office.
Education for boys in Athens was in the arts. Until age six or seven, they lived at home and were
taught by their parents. They then could go to elementary school, where they learned the epic
poems of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, that were a standard tool for learning to read, write
and gain an appreciation for literature. They also partook in physical activities (e.g., wrestling,
running) and other sports. They would also usually learn to play an instrument, most commonly
the lyre. At age 13 or 14, boys could either start an apprenticeship, which was almost certainly
the fate of poorer children, but if they could afford it, their parents would hire a tutor to teach
them more about philosophy, mathematics, literature, law and other such pursuits. Girls generally
did not go to school, but were taught at home. Their lessons usually included domestic activities,
but there were no rules against teaching girls to read, write and study whatever other subjects
their parents thought important.