Compare and contrast the values, institutions and actions of the Essay

Compare and contrast the values, institutions and actions of the city-states of Sparta and Athens - Essay Example Athenian citizens had enjoyed strong constitutional rights in political and legal aspects. This made them strong, materially and psychologically, which was envied by many non-citizens and these aspects were not compromised upon for anything else. At the Funeral Oration of Pericles, it was declared that the Greek Constitution was unique in its laws and is an example for others. It is meant for all people of the State and hence is democracy. The laws provide equal justice to all in their private differences; no form of discrimination is allowed based on social status or race and creed and not even by economic status. Any citizen serving the State will not be hindered by the obscurity of his position. This freedom extends from government to ordinary life (Butler, K; 18). Political organizations in Athens and the surrounding cities differed in specific instance conflict, as well as cooperation among groups. Athens was always in a better position than other States and tend to dictate to t he smaller states with which it was in league. Failure to meet Athenian expectations, whether reasonable or unreasonable, sometimes resulted in harsh treatment and other sorts of vindications announced. The impact of Greek concepts spread extensively through the Roman jurisprudence and philosophy, particularly the idea of ‘rights’ that the Greek government had announced. On the other side, Sparta was also admired by the Ancient World for different reasons. It was a military prowess and had a stable political system. Military, in Sparta, was different in that it was strengthened to cause repression of the majority of the internal population instead of defense against external aggression. This is treated as an early example of the conscious creation of state institutions for massive, ongoing repression of the kind Hobbes’ absolutist governor would have to have. Contrast to the Athenian ideology,