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David Terrell: Thinking about Athens and Sparta

Thinking about the Political Systems of Athens and Sparta

David G Terrell
June, 2009

Both systems attempted to create ideal citizens through the inculcation of virtue in the young, while
disagreeing in the virtues deemed most important. Athens emphasized principles of law rooted in
humanistic philosophical principles, equipping its young men with the skills to understand why
attendance to public duties, order and discipline were needful in an expansive, flexible and adaptable
paradigm that often floundered in its ability to act decisively but preserved diversity of thought. Sparta
sought its patterns in the dictates of the gods, forming a static, unyielding pattern of virtues based on the
survival of the polis in the face of a hostile world. This view was exclusive, yet it produced focused,
dedicated individuals capable of decisive action emboldened by its intensive faith in divine will.

Both systems attempted to place sovereign power in the hands of those best-qualified to wield it, while
disagreeing in the characteristics that constituted best-qualified. Athens looked for individuals who, while
capable of exercising good judgment and cogent analysis of complex political and philosophical issues,
found the exercise of authority distasteful. Sparta relied upon heredity, balanced only by the investiture of
authority in two families and checked by a body of men of demonstrated ability elected by a citizenry
steeped in the overarching value of the martial virtues to the diminishing of many others.

Both systems endorsed involuntary servitude as a means of concentrating human energy for economic
purposes, while differing in the magnitude of the institution and the perceived humanity of those
enslaved. Athens acknowledged the humanity of its slaves and occasionally deplored the condition, while
being slow to shake the essence of the argument that slavery was a natural condition for the defeated
enemy, convicted criminal and hopelessly indebted. Sparta strongly emphasized the militancy of its
economic needs and the subjugated state of the helots, only evolving when there weren't enough Spartans
to answer the military needs of the city.

David G Terrell
Herndon, Virginia

Mostly distilled from Kitto’s The Greeks and Cartledge's The Spartans but, I am currently working
through Freeman's Egypt, Greece and Rome, Martin's Ancient Greece, and Herodotus' Histories, which
also affect my thinking.

© David G. Terrell, 2009-2010, except where otherwise noted, content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. For permission to reprint under terms outside the license, contact
davidterrell80@hotmail.com.