Lacedaemonians Vs Athens

Constitutions and laws have made up the political and social organization of civilizations since the beginning of time. During the time of Ancient Greece two constitutions stuck out as prominent and created successful civilizations. The Constitution of Athens and the Constitution of the Lacedaemonians were grotesquely different in their ideas of social and economic classes, education, and fitness; whereas, the civilizations were the same in the idea of punishment for breaking the laws. The Constitution of Athens was more of a story of how life was during the time that Athens was a leading city in the world. The story states that the Athenian government held a strong position on social and economic classes based on money and whether the
These classes that the people were placed in accounted for every aspect of their lives including: who they could talk to, who they could associate themselves with business wise, who they could marry, the land they could or could not own, whether or not they held a position in the local government or voting rights, the number of slaves and horses a man could have, and even where they could live. These strict guidelines were not part of the laws of the Constitution of the Lacedaemonians because the Athenian civilization was much stricter when it came to how one was allowed to live rather than how they were expected to live. Over and over the constitution brings up points about the classes the men and families were placed in and what was expected of each of the classes. The government of Athens seemed to become more and more strict as time went on and leaders passed on the torch of power, specifically, the transition from Peisistratus to Hippias because of Hippias’ search for revenge of family deaths and taking the anger out on the people of
Athens as a city would exile people left and right for minor offenses such as being poor or not being able to sustain a horse. Major offenses such as theft, mingling between social classes, and any ill will toward the current leader were punishable by exile or death. Some of the leaders had a soft spot for those that were exiled for minor offenses and let them come back to the city to live out their lives. However, they were just to be exiled again during the period of power of another leader or tyrant. The constitution states, “they recalled all those who had been ostracised; for the future they decreed that those who had been ostracised should not live nearer to Athens than Geraestus or Scyllaeum under penalty of losing their citizenship for good” (Aristotle, 227). In the Constitution of the Lacedaemonians punishment was severe for those that were caught in the act of theft even though theft was very much supported and even promoted. The young men who were taught to steal were also severly punished for doing anything wrong, for example, “He made the man their master, had him bring them together, watch them, and if anyone did anything wrong, punish him severely” (Xenophon, 15). The master was to carry a whip and punish the young men accordingly to create respect and obedience. Punishments for fighting without cause with other men in the civilization were severely punishable because they