Learn about the similarities and differences between life in Athens and life in Sparta. The Greeks, especially the Athenians who founded democracy, provided citizenship, public education, and most importantly, freedom of speech. I know two popular city-states of Ancient Greece: Sparta and Athens. Increased economic growth would also help reduce Greeces debt burdennow at about 175 percent of GDP. With the launching of the Global War on Terrorism, the United States found itself militarily engaged with an enemy that harbored a deep hatred of all things American. Just as weaker allies looked to Athens for protection and leadership in the wake of the Persian War, so too did weaker nations look to the United States for protection and leadership in the face of forced Soviet domination in Eastern Europe following the Second World War. The founders of the United States similarly believed that only certain people should be allowed to vote and elect officials. In a democracy, the citizens make decisions. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. First of all, women were given far more rights than in Athens. The United States cannot solve all of the worlds problems and while some nations want the United States to be globally involved, many others are joining together in an effort to curb American influence and ultimately American power. Peasants were used. Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates in its alternative fiscal scenario that U.S. publicly held debt will grow to 180 percent (exceeding the current Greek level) by 2039. Similarities between US and Athens are that US and Athens have a democracy. There are similarities and differences between Athenian democracy and modern democracy. THE COLD WAR Following the Persian War, the Athenians immediately began to build their empire, and continued to expand their dominance until their aggressiveness threatened Sparta and her allies and confrontation was inevitable. Cost of Living Comparison Between Roanoke, VA and Athens, GA . One difference is that US has a representative democracy and Athens has a direct democracy, This site is using cookies under cookie policy . The similarities between these two great civilizations are evident politically, militarily, and culturally. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Yet U.S. debt is already in the danger zone, dragging down present day growth prospects. Sustainable growth is precisely what the doctor ordered for the Greek economys ailment. In United States, 3.9% of adults are unemployed as of 2018. Pros : nice material in an essay. It was not based on the majority of the people's votes, as only a fraction of the population (free adult men with fAthenian parents) had any kind of voting rights, and women, slaves and foreigners had no say in any issue involving the government. But one thing is certain, given the march of time: The people of the United States have lost their moral center and are in danger of falling into a kind of chaos. In contrast, while the Athenian army was almost as large as the Spartan, the Athenian navy was far more advanced and dominated the Mediterranean Sea. And the United States, like Athens, is hated for its power. Registrants of . Chinas Xi Set to Consolidate Control as Legislature Convenes, America Not Past Her Prime, Nikki Haley Tells CPAC, Merrick Garlands Unsatisfactory Answers to Senate Judiciary Committees Legitimate Questions. In both, the government is run directly by the citizens. Direction and preservation of safety is vital to every society. During much of the Cold War, the United States focused on the containment of communism as part of a foreign policy designed to protect nations against domination by the Soviet Union (Alexander, 1995, p.22). With the war in Iraq now over a year old, the United States finds itself facing an Iraqi people who, while grateful to be rid of Hussein, are increasingly resentful of the American occupation. Give at least 3 reasons to support your answer. Martin Luther King is widely known as a figure of justice that fought for the equality of afro americans, he was a radical. There are few reasons why Ancient democracy differs from modern democracy. Ancient Athens was an extreme example of direct democracy, in which every citizen was eligible to vote on nearly every decision made in government, and all officials were decided by random lot. However, waiting too long on reforms diminishes the ability to phase in major changes gradually, in a way that will protect those who rely on benefits the most and leave others time to adjust to new fiscal realities. Also, it is a decentralized structure of government, meaning that many hands or groups of hands have a grasp at the power around them. Athens vs. Sparta | Life Differences Between Athens & Sparta. When it comes to ancient Greece and the U.S.-China relationship, the most prominent comparison is the " Thucydides Trap ," made famous by the political scientist Graham Allison, which uses the. One difference is that US has a representative democracy and Athens has a direct democracy. What are the similarities between ancient Athenian democracy and modern democracy in the United States? One difference is that US has a representative democracy and Athens has a direct democracy. Similarities between US and Athens are that US and Athens have a democracy. Answer: Both governments were a democracy. It is fitting, therefore, that we examine the past, in this case in the form of Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, in an attempt to understand what is happening now and what may happen in the future. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. climate Romina Boccia It was established in early 1985. One difference is that US has a representative democracy and Athens has a direct democracy. The Constitutional Republic is also flawed, however, it is better at safeguarding individual rights, when applied correctly. a rising barometer How is Athens and the United States similar? It had created a regional order based on its own rules. Democracy means rule by the people, and the citizens vote to decide the rules of their country. One difference is that US has a representative democracy and Athens has a direct democracy Advertisement Advertisement Athens and Sparta are two prominent Greek rival city-states. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. President Bush has certainly lived up to these views, but he represents most Americans in his belief that, like Thucydides Athenians, ?we consider that we are worthy of our power (Thucydides, p.80). Athens and Sparta are famous as they are two major city-states in ancient Greece. I would also like to keep in mind with my evaluation that it is often easier to criticize than it is to compliment. However, Sparta had only about 8,000 citizens, while Athens had between 40,000 and 100,000. In the case of America, however, the enemy is revolutionary and nihilistic. In Greece, that number is 17.3% as of 2019. be 18.5% more likely to live below the poverty line In United States, 15.1% live below the poverty line as of 2010. In a national referendum shortly thereafter, the Greeks strongly rejected European conditions for receiving yet another bailout. However, Athens moved towards a democracy because of citizens discontent with the current government (Page 10, P. 2). Both firms doing business as Financial Sense Wealth Management. Modern-day democratic governments owe a lot to the democracy of ancient Athens. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Such a large amount of federal debt will reduce the nations output and income below what would occur if the debt was smaller, and it raises the risk of a fiscal crisis (in which the government would lose the ability to borrow money at affordable interest rates).. The two governments might be a little more democratic than the Federal Republic of the United States but its certain that they have been introduced., The first well-known democracy was in Athens. 5a. By 1948, most of the nations of the world had aligned themselves with either the communist ideology championed by the Soviet Union or the capitalist ideology promoted by the United States. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Downloads are for members of Grammarsaurus only. Then get The Morning Bell, an early morning edition of the days most important political news, conservative commentary and original reporting from a team committed to following the truth no matter where it leads. The similarities in the structure of the government in both Athens and Sparta holds that both states ensured that every individual operated within the law. an Athenian leader named Clisthenes introduced political reforms that introduced democracy. As Benjamin Barber, quoted by Paul Pillar, says in Jihad vs. McWorld, Selling American products means selling America: its popular culture, its putative prosperity, its ubiquitous imagery and software, and thus its very soul. In both, everyone is allowed to vote. Ancient Athens was not truly democratic. Amid Big Tech Layoffs, Demand Still High for Foreign Workers With H-1B Visas. For you see, I cannot simply disregard a people that make up the majority of a city and whose role in society can be argued as fundamental in order for democracy to, The will of the people is exactly as it sounds basically meaning that the country is governed by the people. If U.S. policymakers and the public take away only one key lesson from whats happening in Europe right now, it should be to put the budget on a path to balance during good times such as these. And we live not only free in the administration of the state but also one with another void of jealousy touching each others daily course of life, not offended at any man for following his own humor. Therefore I can conclude that, both Martin Luther King and Socrates are similar because of their search for justice and truth, challenging the status quo. Athens saw the beginning of democracy and government like we know it today. Democracy is a flawed government system. These countries witness democracys effects on a country in the modern world, creating the desire for, They posed some very arguments. He argues that the ordinary Athenian citizen is not concerned with being a righteous person, but rather with maintaining society in order. wind The idea of free and fair elections as a democracy is simply giving a voice to everyone and giving them the opportunity to use it to influence government. Each city state had at least a partially elected government and a strong military, and both relied on the labor of slaves. Through trial and error, each civilization ended with the democratic system of government. Carmen M. Reinhart, Vincent R. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff, as well as Manmohan S. Kumar, Jaejoon Woo, Stephen Cecchetti, Madhusudan Mohanty and Fabrizio Zampolli, report that advanced economies with high levels of debt (85-90 percent of GDP and higher) grow more slowly annually than their lower-debt counterparts. In both the US democracy and the Greeks democracy, political privilege can be use by citizens. President Bush outlined in the national security strategy of the United States a policy of preemption that put the other nations in the world on notice: the United States would protect itself and its interests, with or without support from other nations, and without being attacked first. Donate now. Explanation: They both allow men to vote. During the 17th century England was stirred by talk of democracy and republicanism, learned from the study of Greek and Roman history. However, it is important to note that . cold air below warm air Diverse academic research showsthat economic growth slows significantly at high levels of public debt. It is debatable whether the Americans have acted as unjustly and brutally as the Athenians. The similarities do not end with the structure but also there are similarities how citizens view democracy and who should lead. Financial Sense Securities, Inc. Though these are not very far away from each other, there are many differences between these two states. At some point in time, most likely the past, when the population In a democracy, the citizens are their own form of government, all having equal say. Its main allies are the United States, France, Italy, Bulgaria, the other NATO countries, Cyprus and the rest of the European Union. Athenian society, which was based on trade, valued art and culture and was ruled under a form of democracy. In Athens, it was a noble named Solon who laid the foundations for democracy, and introduced a new constitution based on the ownership of property. Join the millions of people who benefit from The Daily Signals fair, accurate, trustworthy reporting with direct access to: Dont have time to read the Washington Post or New York Times? Ancient Athens defined their citizens as any male who is 18 years old or older, and has citizen parents. A famous 17th century English political thinker, Thomas Hobbes, translated Thucydides history and offered the following words of praise. Pericles, an Athenian statesman, makes it clear when he says that "each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well" (p.147 Thucydides). This is called an attic, which is a form of Roman architecture. The United States believed in having people control the power between their lives and the lives of "higher ups" along with Aristotle's The Constitution of the Athenians and any laws that followed sed constitution. Both governments have left a mark on history and in fact, they even are partially emulated by our very own, the United States of America. In many state and local elections, there are ballot questions in. Sparta is better then Athens because of its respect of women, more equal school system, integrity of government, treatment of slaves, and superior military. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. In addition to their governments, the two cities had a democratically elected assembly whose members people elected. The major powers, on the other hand, would prefer a multipolar system in which they could pursue their interests, unilaterally and collectively, without being subject to constraints, coercion, and pressure by the stronger superpower (Huntington, 1999). Can wars of this kind happen again? Growing spending on public benefits threatens to overwhelm the U.S. economy in the long term. Updated: 02/10/2022 In many respects, both Ancient Athenian and modern American democracy contain a shared . Just because you were poor or not extremely rich didnt mean that you could not have a job. What are some examples of how providers can receive incentives? This calculation uses our Cost of Living Plus Rent . Today the word has come to mean exactly that, ruled by the people. It is debatable whether the Americans have acted as unjustly and brutally as the Athenians. In ancient Athens, only free males of Athenian descent were considered citizens. And they will have weapons of mass destruction to do the job. In Athenian direct democracy all citizens voted and in an American representative democracy citizens vote for representatives to vote for them. A balance of power in which the two world leaders fought each other off and on is reminiscent of the struggles between Athens and Sparta in the years between the Persian War and the Peloponnesian War. Cons : 1 = one. The United States has enjoyed ascendancy for about the same length of time that Athens enjoyed its ascendency. Greek leaders capitulated to the Europeans. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. What remains to be seen is whether the United States will be able to continue in its role as the most dominant power in the world, or if smaller, weaker nations will be able to join together to limit the power, influence, and global reach of the American empire they relied on for their survival just two decades ago. This means that ancient Greeks could enjoy exotic foods, good music, and read literature, just as we do today. Similarities between US and Athens are that US and Athens have a democracy. Because each city-state in ancient Greece possessed its own government, some of these types existed other than democracy, namely monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy. Sparta was ruled by two kings, who ruled until they died or were forced out of office. But inside of Greece there had been certain types of decisions. What are two Greek city-states that you know? The government of the United States is a Constitutional Republic (Every). Athens was ruled by archons, who were elected annually. Athens and America are not the same. Previously, in a bipolar world dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union, many countries looked to the United States for security and guidance. The system of Athens was called a Democracy. New York: Random House. Everything is changed forever, and much is lost. One of the main similarity between USA and Canada is that the two countries use English as their official language despite having other sub-languages in their respective countries. On the attic are carvings of the states in the union at the time of Lincoln's death. 5a. One fair thing is that all men were treated equally in some way. New York: Penguin Books (1972). The Council of 500 helped carry out the everyday work of the assembly. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained . First, in the US we have a representative democracy which means that people vote on representatives who create the laws. It was an idea contributed by Cleisthenes. Up In an effort to maintain its dominance, the United States continued to stress the promotion of democracy as a primary focus of American foreign policy. America could be seen as more similar to Sparta, attempting to stop the inane rule of an all-powerful city-state that is holding the rest of the world hostage. Though other Greek cities set up democracies none were as powerful, stable or as well documented as Athens. How are Athenian direct democracy and US representative democracy similar? C. Clockwise Caleb Carr asserts that, Epochal moments belong rightly to history, and it is history that holds the only hope of providing an understanding of the twisted road that has brought us to this frightening pass (Carr, p.5). November 30, 2017, Jecinta Morgan, Leave a comment. He also contributed greatly by promoting the idea of a direct democracy. Pericles, an influential statesman, contributed a lot to the history and legacy of Ancient Athens. In todays world, dominated by an American superpower, the United States is naturally thought of as an immediate threat to all other major nation-states. Originally published in The National Interest, The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. In Athens only men that owned property are allowed to vote. The Athenian democracy and the Roman republic were two very different governments in practice, but also maintained similar characteristics in both systems of government. B. The people of other cities, of other nations, might enjoy this better way of life. The foundation of the United States is built on three unelidable rights. 33-37). Why is direct democracy important? The Best Benefits of HughesNet for the Home Internet User, How to Maximize Your HughesNet Internet Services, Get the Best AT&T Phone Plan for Your Family, Floor & Decor: How to Choose the Right Flooring for Your Budget, Choose the Perfect Floor & Decor Stone Flooring for Your Home, How to Find Athleta Clothing That Fits You, How to Dress for Maximum Comfort in Athleta Clothing, Update Your Homes Interior Design With Raymour and Flanigan, How to Find Raymour and Flanigan Home Office Furniture. Even in small Athens, with only about 30,000 citizens, this was not easy to administer. (Doc.3). Structure of Government Slaves were used. Earthquakes occurred, together with an unusual number of eclipses; and there were horrible outbreaks of plague. Sparta was focused on having a perfect military, whereas Athenian daily life revolved learning and knowledge. The similarities do not end with the structure but also there are similarities how citizens view democracy and who should lead. And we have lost our common sense in matters of family and personal behavior. The predicament of the United States in the years since the end of the Cold War is similar to that expressed by Athenian businessmen speaking in Sparta in Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, It was the actual course of events which first compelled us to increase our power to its present extent: fear of Persia was our chief motive, though afterwards we thought, too, of our own honour and our own interest. between the two types of governments. What is the similarities and differences between Athens and the United States? In addition to a policy of preemption being exercised as part of the Global War on Terrorism, the United continues to intervene militarily in regions of the world where it feels its promotion of peace or human rights is more important than national sovereignty. They chose to structure the United States as a representative democracy. Athens had become the most powerful city in the Greek world, energized by a new form of liberty. It's not clear, as it isn't clear in the United States, how much coordination there was between the booted thugs and their ringleaders, who did the rioting on Sunday, and the suit-wearing . Both Sparta and Athens were militarily strong, though in different ways. Sparta and Athens had similar forms of government; both city states were in part governed by elected assemblies. Of course, it led to a devastating civil war that claimed more than 100,000 lives. pressure Some nations in the world want the United States to expand its role as the worlds policeman, while other nations want the United States to stop meddling in affairs that do not directly affect Americas security. The United States differs from Greece in important ways. Down As Samuel Huntington states, The United States would clearly prefer a unipolar system in which it would be the hegemon and often acts as if such a system existed. Even though democracy disappeared from history after the fall of Athens until the 1700s in America, its concept still hasnt changed from time and it became Greeces most enduring contributions to the world., The word democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, which means people, and kratos, which means rule.