Athens vs. Sparta
Athens VS. Sparta Debate Position Paper
In years 415 BCE, Athens and Sparta were arguing over which city-state should hold the seat of power in Ancient Greece which could be referred to the Peloponnesian War. Sparta should hold the seat of power over Athens due to the fact Sparta has a better social structure than Athens. Order is an important criteria for a good and proper society as Sparta proves to value. Sparta values order over freedom or individual rights because protecting the safety of the public is the main priority. This will then support the people of Sparta and allow freedom; without safety, freedom cannot be secured.
In terms of social structure, Sparta was different than Athens because it was much more focused on safeness of the people. Sparta's powerful military supports this and provides the safeness of the people. Without this military, the welfare of the people wouldn’t be protected. For example, Spartans in order to have a military needed strong and fit men to fight in battle. They were trained in many harsh conditions and had tough lifestyles to mold them into shape. Now with this strong protection or defense, rights were given to the people such that the women had more freedom. During this time, many Greek women did not have these rights. However Sparta takes advantage of their women and give them the rights to do things many couldn’t. With the rights, women could defend themselves when they were either mistreated for example when they are sexually harassed. The Spartans in order to have a well made military needed well made soldiers to fight. Males from the start were trained to be ready to suffer any harshness at birth. When the baby was just born, unless the child appeared to be healthy enough, they were allowed to survive. If they were not, they were left to die and same were applied to the weak and sickly. This proves Spartans’ view on survival of the fittest or the strongest, the weak ones will suffer while the stronger ones
In years 415 BCE, Athens and Sparta were arguing over which city-state should hold the seat of power in Ancient Greece which could be referred to the Peloponnesian War. Sparta should hold the seat of power over Athens due to the fact Sparta has a better social structure than Athens. Order is an important criteria for a good and proper society as Sparta proves to value. Sparta values order over freedom or individual rights because protecting the safety of the public is the main priority. This will then support the people of Sparta and allow freedom; without safety, freedom cannot be secured.
In terms of social structure, Sparta was different than Athens because it was much more focused on safeness of the people. Sparta's powerful military supports this and provides the safeness of the people. Without this military, the welfare of the people wouldn’t be protected. For example, Spartans in order to have a military needed strong and fit men to fight in battle. They were trained in many harsh conditions and had tough lifestyles to mold them into shape. Now with this strong protection or defense, rights were given to the people such that the women had more freedom. During this time, many Greek women did not have these rights. However Sparta takes advantage of their women and give them the rights to do things many couldn’t. With the rights, women could defend themselves when they were either mistreated for example when they are sexually harassed. The Spartans in order to have a well made military needed well made soldiers to fight. Males from the start were trained to be ready to suffer any harshness at birth. When the baby was just born, unless the child appeared to be healthy enough, they were allowed to survive. If they were not, they were left to die and same were applied to the weak and sickly. This proves Spartans’ view on survival of the fittest or the strongest, the weak ones will suffer while the stronger ones