Role of Geography in Politics of Sparta, Athens in Comparison with Egypt and Sumer - Essay Example

The discussion will be conducted in a comparative manner where Sparta and Athens will be compared with Egypt and Sumer. There have been a number of geographical aspects that affected the culture and politics of the regions known as Sparta and Athens. Firstly, every community depends upon its irrigation and cultivation patterns. Talking about Greeks, it was marked that initially, there were many difficulties in undertaking harvesting and cultivation because of the poor state of the soil. It was one of the reasons that the people remains poor. Therefore, labor skills were preferred as a means of making money. It was noted that the weather of Greek suited the population by large as they were less sick and active in their routines.

Furthermore, Greek was surrounded by high ranges and mountains. It was due to this reason that Greek did not have the threat of enemies who wanted to conquer the land through the mountains. At the same time, there was a need for an effective irrigation method for which support of different groups was required. Small groups played their part in such a way that the native people got adherence to the democratic way of control.

Athens is considerably known for its access to the water system including rivers, seas, and islands. It is due to this reason that Athenians were known for trade and exploration. It should be noted that the city-state system of Athens allowed the politics of the region to be relatively stronger and effective. It was because there was equal representation given to the people from each group rather than control of one individual over the masses with no suitable proficiency of governance. On the other hand, Sparta was in the south where it did not get access to the water systems. It was due to this reason that the political connections in Sparta were based upon strict foreign policies. It was in the shape of an authoritative stance on the public policies for which representation was centralized. It meant that the centralized representation had to undertake decisions concerning relations with other communities or the nations. The people of Sparta are well-known in history for being extremely strong soldiers. They provided effective training of fighting and survival to their male members right from the beginning. The cultural contribution was not just expected from boys but also from girls where they had to be loyal to their region and undertake farming, craftwork, and selling goods. It clearly indicates the significance of the role of geography in shaping the politics and cultures in differing societies.

As a matter of fact, it was well-observed that floods in Sumer were very devastating. As a result, religion was created in a very strict manner in Sumer. Floods indicated to them the fact that they were being hated by the Gods. Therefore, increased stress was laid on undertaking religious rituals to make the Gods happier.

The comparative analysis of Athens and Sparta with Egypt and Sumer clearly indicates that geography merely results in the rising and fall of the regions. The aspects discussed above including weather, mountain ranges, rivers, and diseases were all the circumstances in which the respective communities sustained their livelihood. For instance, Egyptian politics were centralized and did not allow the followers to have their say in political decisions. Good – tell me more about this (it’s one of the points I mentioned above) On the other hand, the city-state of Athens was a proud system where the members of the society were equally engaged in political and trade processes Good – tell me more about this (it’s one of the points I mentioned above).

Talking about Egypt, the settlement of the region was not done using the valley system. There were capital boundaries that were created within the region to put it under control. On the other hand, Greek was settled using the valley system. Therefore, there were many political communities in Greek unlike Egypt and Sumer. The concept of central ruler was noted to be the dominant political way in Egypt because of its geography since oppression was easier because of the critical weather conditions for which armies of other nations avoided to conquer Egypt. Secondly, diseases in ancient Egypt were one of the crucial aspects of bad weather. It was due to this reason that the expectancy of life was less in ancient Egypt. More and more conflict was noted for the race of achieving control over the rivers in case-independent political communities were created. Read More