In Ancient Greece, there were two main city-states, Sparta and Athens. While both belonged to Greece, each city-state had their own form of government and culture. Thus, making the social order of the two city-states very different. Both city-states have a certain value in history for Greece and the world. The topic of which city-state was more suitable to live in is an ongoing debate that is being argued from many different perspectives. Spartan culture revolved around their military and were known to be the protectors of Greece. Athenian culture on the other hand was one which valued philosophy, equality, and the arts. Sparta may sound like a safe and appealing place to live on the surface, but after a closer look it caused many injustices …show more content…
Supporters of Spartan culture point out that it was necessary for Greek survival that they needed a strong militaristic state. The Greeks were invaded by many super powers, but one of the most noted of the invaders were the Persians. The Spartans were heavily outnumbered, but due to their way of life—they were able to defend themselves and hold them back. Due to the militaristic skills that the Spartan army possessed, the Persian army failed time after time: “After this beaten force withdrew, Xerxes (Persian King) sent an elite unit called the ‘Immortals’ after the Spartan-led force but they too failed” (Jarus 3). Sparta contributes to the greater safety of Greece due to their way of life. City-states such as Athens were unable to measure up to the standards of Spartans in war and would have lost in the battle with Persia and possibly have been conquered if it was not for the Spartans. Spartans within the army can be applauded for enduring harsh conditions to protect their city-state. Women in Athens could not own property. In Sparta, women had many right that many Green women did not possess. Women in Sparta were able to own their own
Did you know if a baby was born in Sparta and they were disabled they would be left on a hillside to die? Sparta was the best war state and most feared in Greece. Sparta had many great tactics in war such as flanking and round shields to protect themselves from arrows. Sparta was not just a war state, they had pottery, poetry, and architecture to do on the side of war. One of Sparta’s famous artists was Leonidas.
The city-states Athens and Sparta were rivals in ancient Greece. Geographically the two were very close to each other, but they had a very different economy, cultural values, and way of governing. Both city-states had two very different ways of doing things. I will be highlighting the major differences.
Many of the arguments against Sparta reason that government officials did not grant enough power to the people of the city-state, and therefore favor Athens. This is not the case. The kings, elders, and rulers of the Spartan government knew what was best for the citizens of Sparta, and, as a consequence, created strictly regimented rules that shaped Spartan lives for the better. Although Sparta did not have a significant amount of participation in law by common people, it was able to create and sustain an advanced city-state through discipline and a form of government that placed stress on health and military supremacy.
Another characteristic that set the differences between Sparta and the Athens were their societies. Although
Athens and Sparta are the two famous city-states in Ancient Greece. The Athens was more superior then Sparta. The Athenians were stronger because they had a better geography, government, cultural achievements, and I would rather live in the Athens.
During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. The city-states of Athens and Sparta are the best representatives of democracy and oligarchy, respectively. The focus of the times was directed towards military capabilities, while the Athenians were more interested in comfort and culture. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Other contrasting issues included women’s rights, social classes, and value of human life.
“Athens Vs Sparta” by Mr.Duckworth states, “Where they differed was that while the spartans had militaristic values, Athenians were democratic. Sparta was an militaristic state. Sparta had an oligarchy government. Spartan women had more freedom and rights than any other greek city-state. Sparta would be a better place to live because, the spartans had a very simple lifestyle, sparta used their army to protect others, and sparta women had more freedom than other greek city-state.
During the 800s and 700s the Greeks formed a number of independent city-states. The city-states were usually developed around a fort. Overtime, the city-states came to represent the center of Greek identity and its citizens were intensely loyal to it. Eventually there was over 1,000 poleis in the Greek world. Although, there were some economic and political differences between the city-states, they were alike in many ways.
Sparta is going to last longer than the Athens because Sparta has a better army. The reasons I say this is because they were trained young, everyone was able to get into the army, strict laws.
Ancient Greece was comprised of small city-states, of which Sparta and Athens were two. Athens was renowned as a center of wisdom and learning. The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits. Sparta, on the other hand, was recognized for its military strength. A Spartan's life was centered on the state, because he lived and died to serve the state. Although the competing city-states of Sparta and Athens were individually different as well as governmentally diverse, they both managed to become dominating powers in Ancient Greece.
In the modern era we are living in, when people refer to powerful nations, they think of China, the United States, Germany, and Russia. In contrast to nowadays, at the early ages Athenians, Persians, and Spartans was considered one of the strongest civilizations. The preceded three nations were all strong and unique on their own ways, but there was a keen goal to Spartans they focused on becoming a perfect nation. Their military forces were one of the most powerful among the great nations existed at the time. Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars Between 431 and 404 BC, About 650 BC Sparta rose to become the dominant military power in ancient Greece.
Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and well known cities among all the Greek nations. Most would find it easier to find more similarities among these two groups of mighty people. But there are some differences between these two power houses. For instance the way that these cities were governed and their political procedures and functions were quite different from each other.
The progressing city-state of Sparta was infamous for many things. Sparta was known for its powerful army, strict guidelines, and eccentric values. Due to these unique characteristics, residents of Sparta had to keep up to continue its legacy. Being a resident of Sparta meant taking numerous risks yet for reasonable causes. These risks were taken for the progression of the city state. Risks included krypteia mindlessly killing Helots to prevent them from rebelling. Despite this lack of respect for human life, Sparta had atoned for this by providing relevant teachings for women and lessons on survival. Sparta, being a city state with a small population , was primarily focused on winning battles. Thus they perpetrated many feats that were meant to benefit this major cause. Although there was a lack of respect for human life in Sparta, the strengths of a Spartan education are clearly greater than its weaknesses because of the education provided for women and teachings on survival.
Athens and Sparta are two powerful city-states, different from each other in such way that
Sparta and Athens societies and values were different as well. As stated in Document E Lycurgus, lawgiver of Sparta, did not allow Spartans to leave the city. This was done because he did not want them to adapt to foreign influences. All of these values/beliefs were based on one thing, to keep the Spartan soldiers strong and disciplined. In Athens Pericles boasts about how Athens is open to all which results in cultural diffusion (Document F). When Athens had festivals everyone except for slaves