Athens V Sparta Geography

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.

The establishments of cleruchies had cause much resentment from other Greek states towards Athens. According to Plutarch, this system had relieve “the city of a large number of idlers and agitators and raise the standards of the poorest classes”, but at the same time it implanted amongst the allies “a healthy fear of rebellion”. It also allowed Athens to gain more numbers of hoplites, as only Athenian men with money can become a hoplite soldier. This had increased the military force in Athens and had strengthened Athensʼ hold on her empire, as they were located at strategic points in the Aegean. The worsening relationship between Athensʼ and her allies in the League is due to Athensʼ selfish self interest in developing her imperial power, and this had allow Athens to gradually grow into an empire. This selfish self interest can be seen after the Peace of Callias. At first the aim of the League was, according to Thucydides, ʻto compensate themselves for their losses by ravaging the territory of the King of Persiaʼ, but in 449 BC Persian lost the battle against Cimon in Cyprus and signed a peace treaty called ʻPeace of Calliasʼ. Although this meant that the Leagueʼs aim had been fulfilled, the Athenians argued that the Persians would strike again if the Greeks appeared weak. This argument from Athens had an underlying aim, that was so the Greeks states would not leave

Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. The Athens lived by the Sea which was an advantage because they had an excellent trading system. Even though the mountains protected Sparta it also caused trading problems, the Spartans had no way to get around the massive mountains to trade with people. Athens was located on the coast and included a harbor. The Athenians had an advantage and a disadvantage for them because they had easy water access but during the time of

The different geographic location of Athens and Sparta had a great impact on their military strategy and technologies. Athens was close to the sea, therefore it expanded by conquering nearby islands. This necessitated the construction of ships, which was expensive and required a lot of wood material and cheap labor. Both of those were supplied by Athens' allies; wood was purchased with paid tributes and labor came from conquered slaves (Pomeroy, p.22). Sparta was situated far inland on the Laconian plain and had no access to sea. It directed its military expansion towards the neighboring poleis and relied mostly on its standing army. In return, its allies were expected to provide military support to the Spartan army in an effort to appropriate even more land on the Peloponnesian peninsula.

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.

After the onset of the Persian War most Greek city states chose to submit to Persia save for a few including Athens and Sparta. The city-states that did choose to agree to a Persian rule did so because of the damage they faced during the first Persian invasion. The other city-states that chose to resist joined Athens in 478 B.C. and formed what is known as the Delian League. The purpose of the Delian League was to defend city-states from invasions and to get revenge against Persia. City-states could gain membership to this league by means of paying a tax or offering its military to fight for the League. The leader of this group of city-states quickly became Athens due to the money it was receiving in the form of a tax from the other city-states to build its already massive navy.

In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings

Sparta was ruled by a king or at some point two kings. These two kings were from two separate families of royalty and neither of them had absolute power. The king or kings had to be consulted by the Ephors. The Ephors had a lot of power and authority in the Spartan government. They were a group of five elders, men over the age of 30 who would serve in this position for a year. They had the power to bring up charges against anyone in Sparta, including the king. Unlike Athens who was set on trying to establish a peaceful democratic atmosphere; Sparta was a lot more militaristic and strict. One of the Spartan government’s main priorities was the strength of the Spartan army. They believed that strength, endurance and numbers were a key part in a successful and powerful army. Therefore every Spartan boy at the age of seven would be taken away from their mothers and put into training for the next 13 years.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new,” said Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher. Athens was one of many city-states in Ancient Greece. This city-state had a form of government that was for the people to have a say. Athens had great geography that was advantageous for them. Athens also had many achievements culturally such as architecture and philosophy.

     Another characteristic that set the differences between Sparta and the Athens were their societies. Although

The geography of Greece prompted the distinguishment of the independent city-states. This altered the political development of Greece because the different states had separate forms of government. For example, the state of Athens had a direct form of democracy as a government. Whereas, Sparta was an isolated military state. The mountains also posed as natural barriers for these states, unlike the mountains of Italy which were low and rugged and caused the people to unite. The mountains also obstructed the states of Greece to be culturally diffused. Although they practiced similar religious beliefs, Greeks were prevented from trading with each other. The mountains helped some states as a barrier from invasions. The terrain also assisted the independent Pious to practice their own culture. Sparta is one of these independent culture states. The state prevented trading and other “outside” communication in order to rid of cultural diffusion. The mountains helped them to begin their own particular society and to be unaffected by other external

If you ask any person, they would probably say that Athens and Sparta are among the best-known city states in ancient Greece. Whether through high school textbooks or Hollywood screens these two cultures have contributed to our modern understanding of the Grecian people. Each culture has a unique worldview that helped shaped who the people were, and how others in their society were treated. For instance, Athens was known for its work in the arts focusing on literature and architecture, and valued intelligence over strength. Sparta was different, it was a military state focusing on warfare and athletics, valuing loyalty and power.

The ancient civilization of Greece contained many different city-states; two of these city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta and Athens were different in their values, politics, and societies. Sparta was focused on their military, discipline, and to have a strong state. Athens was a democratic state that was peaceful and where women were open to culture and democracy. How do these two city-states differ?

Two geographical features of Ancient Greece had a deep consequence on how Greeks lived. The Mediterranean Sea and mountains. Both were vital geographical factors and had a momentous role on the social and political development of Greece. The mountains worked as barriers to isolate different areas. Cities established individually of one another, with its own unique social structures and governments. City-states grew separately and created their own identities. An example is the city-states of Sparta and Athens, both were very different. These differences would later cause wars, the First Peloponnesian War and Second Peloponnesian War. The rocky soil in Greece allowed them to grow olives and grapes. However, they needed to trade for wheat

In class we learned about both Athens and Sparta. Athens and Sparta were perhaps the two famous and powerful cities in the Ancient Greece time. Athens and Sparta both had their differences with getting along with the rest of the Country. Athens was more of a symbol for freedom, art, and democracy in the conscience of the civilized world. Sparta was more of the Dorian Greek military state; it was considered as the protector of Greece it provided large numbers of soldiers to Greece for many years