What is a democracy? There were many factors that made a democracy, according to the Ancient Greeks – political liberty, authority from the people, freedom of speech, and equality were the four handholds to a city-state getting the classification of a democracy. Back then, slaves and metics, non-citizen foreigners, were not given citizenship. Ancient Sparta is a democracy because even though the people did not have the freedom to live as they chose, the citizens all had an equal say in the workings of the government and could elect their own officials.

Ancient Sparta would not be a democracy for the sole reason that the people could not live as they chose. Ancient Sparta was a very militaristic society that concentrated on the art of warfare, training both men and women to fight. According to Xenophon in his Constitution of the Spartans, “He permitted them to relieve their hunger by occasionally stealing… It is clear that anyone who is going to steal must both stay awake at night, and be deceitful and wait in ambush during the day.” Even throughout childhood, the children grew up for war, with no sandals to toughen their feet, thin clothes to give them strength against the cold, and little food so they learned to be sneaky. It is clear that there was no choice when it came to life paths in Ancient Sparta – they were raised as soldiers.

There was no other choice than war – death was preferable to cowardice; according to Plutarch in his Sayings of Spartan Woman, “Another woman, handing her son his shield and encouraging him, said, ‘Son, either with this or on this.’” It was the culture in Ancient Sparta to either return from battle with their shield alive, or return on it, dead. If one was a coward others would shun and push them away. In a poem from Tyrtaeus, An Exhortation to Fight for Your Country, it states, “Young men, remain beside each other and fight, And do not begin shameful flight or fear.” Here came the idea of never fleeing from battle, for cowardice was the worst sin for the Spartans. According to Xenophon on cowardice, “When such dishonor is imposed upon cowards I do not wonder at their preferring death to such an ignominious and shameful life.” It is in this way that Ancient Sparta was not a democracy, because even though the people could elect their own officials, they had no say when it came to the basic workings of their childhood and lives, directly contradicting one of the keystones of democracy – the liberty to live as one pleased.

Sparta was a democracy, however, when it came to government. Elections were held in such a way that the people could choose their officials without any bias from the judges. Again according to Plutarch, “The secluded judges, who had writing-tablets with them, recorded in each case the loudness of the shouting, not knowing for whom it was given, but only that he was introduced first, second, or third, and so on. Whoever was greeted with the most and loudest shouting they declared elected.” It was in this way that Ancient Sparta is a democracy, as the people had freedom of speech, one of the cornerstones of democracy. It held true to the idea of democracy, or authority being derived from the people, and was in fact rather radical in the way that women were able to have an equal say in the government as men, an idea that many ancient city-states did not follow, making Sparta even more democratic.

It is also noted that not only elections were democratic. According to Aristotle, “Of the two most important offices the people choose the members of one and share in the other.” It was quite democratic for the people to have a say in the government, as they did. The upbringing of children was not all militaristic either – according to Aristotle, “For the sons of the rich are brought up in the same way as those of the poor.” There was no difference in class when it came to education in Ancient Sparta – as long as the people were able to fight in a war to the best of their ability the purpose of Sparta was fulfilled. This idea held true to the idea of equality of rights, the fourth piece that lay at the crux of Ancient Greek democracy.

Ancient Sparta can be considered a democracy because even though they did not give any freedom in choosing life paths, the people had an equal say in the workings of the government and the elections of officials.