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Athens vs. Sparta

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Danielle Palawasta
Athens vs. Sparta Persuasive Research Paper
Henry/Lih- LA/SS- Per. 3/7
Due: 3/22/13

Envision a world where the people are ravenous and yearning for any remnant of food they could obtain, where the society is overrun and no one has a free say. This is the type of society the ancient Spartans would have lived like unlike the ancient Athenians. The Athenians lived a far more diverse life if compared to Sparta. Ancient Athens was better to live in than ancient Sparta due to its efficient and honorable government and flourishing economy.
Primarily, ancient Athens’s efficient government was better than the ancient Spartan government due to its adroit Council, resourceful Assembly, and its direct democracy. The …show more content…

This proves to show that not only the Athenians had a trade market, but they hard one that was always occupied and in use. In comparison, the ancient Spartan economy was relied on farming and conquering other people. The ancient Spartans stole everything they needed, instead of trading. Given this information, the ancient Athenian economy was much more honest to their people, basing their economy off of trade. In addition, the Ancient Athenians were very successful in making their own currency. According to Bower and Lobdell, “Like most city-states, Athens developed its own coins to made trade easier. Coins were made of such metals as gold, silver, and bronze (Bower, Lobdell 262). The ancient Athenian currency was far more effective than the ancient Spartan currency because it was accessible to carry around. As clearly stated, Bower and Lobdell established that Sparta had “used heavy iron bars as money” (Bower, Lobdell 266). The ancient Athenians had to carry around as many light-weight coins as they wanted, whereas the Spartans had to carry weighty iron bars. Ultimately, due to its light weight capacity, the ancient Athenians’ currency was more successful than the ancient Spartans currency. Furthermore, ancient Athens had an economy that was useful to every social class. When citizens came to the agora, they usually sold and bought goods they needed. Fortunately, in ancient Athens, the agora was accessible to all

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