"Come back with your shield- or on it," was the parting cry of Ancient Spartan mothers when their sons left for battle. Sparta reached its height after defeating Athens in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. Everything in Sparta revolved around the city-state having the greatest military and best disciplined citizens possible. During the same time however, there was another prominent city-state to the northeast known as Athens, this city-state founded democracy and also made many strides in the fields of literature and mathematics. Although Athens was a very powerful city-state, the unquestionably superior city-state was Sparta due to their geography, quality of daily life, and incomparable government.
The geography of Sparta provided a far greater advantage than that of Athens. Sparta had a tremendous water source as , “The
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A reason why Sparta had a superior government to Athens was that it had a , "Council or Senate (apella) of 28 councilmen (men over 60 and elected for life by the citizens) and the 2 kings. They acted as judges and proposed laws to the citizens' assembly.” This was known as the council of elders, the only people in the council of elders were old men who have gained much experience and wisdom throughout their years. This would improve the government as it would make sure the correct decisions were made as only educated people had a say in the government. A weakness in the Athenian democracy is that ,“Usually around 5,000 citizens met, every 10 days or so on a hill called the Pnyx.” This was a huge inconvenience to the Athenian people due to the fact that transportation was so inefficient back in the 4th century BC. People were spending significant time traveling to the assembly and voting that they were losing chances to boost their economy by working in specialized areas such as farming or craftsmanship. Sparta was certainly the better government of the two powerful Greek
Sparta’s government was said to have a mixture of the major types of government which is oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy. While Athens seems to only have a democracy. In Document 2, an excerpt from “The Spartan Constitution” by Aristotle there’s a quote that states “they praise Lacedaemon because it is made up of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy..” This quote tells exactly what type of government Sparta had. It’s also said that Sparta is the foundation for the governments we now have in the world. Athens on the other hand had a democracy as stated in Document 3, an excerpt from “Funeral Orations” by Pericles a quotes from this excerpt states “it is true that our government is a democracy, because it’s administration is in the hands, not of the few, but of many..” This quote clearly states that the type of government Athens has is a
Athens is more superior than Sparta through, government, economy, and culture. Athens government is a democracy which means all citizens get to take part. In Athens “ all men are on an equality” which means “ Not of the few but of the many” (doc 3 pericles). Every citizen in Athens is allowed to take part in government, even poor citizens. Unlike Sparta, who has an oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy. The Spartan government is made up of kings and elders only. Not everyone gets to participate.
During 750-500 B.C.E, Ancient Greece is a place that is known for some city-states, called poleis. Each polis differ particular on economically, politically, and military, When in doubt, however, the city-states did not get along. Two of the most well known and powerful city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta is far better than Athens on the grounds that their armed force was strong and defensive.
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 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.
Athens was superior to Sparta for two reasons. These two reasons include Athen’s government and their navy.
Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not.
Athenian democracy focuses on economic advancement, while Sparta oligarchy focuses on military force. Democracy is a system of government where the citizens have the right to vote, whereas the oligarchy is when a group of people is in control of the government and it’s only their opinion and decision that are taken to consideration. Implicating the thesis that people are better served by Athenian democracy than the Spartan oligarchy, which is supported by three evidence points. Firstly, the Athenian citizen's participation in government, by voting and taking part in the government position.Secondly, the Athenian men are provided with better education by being taught how to read and write, not only focused on military training. Lastly, the Athens advancement in military protection for the safety of its citizens.
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.
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.
As we look back upon the two significant differences in the governmental systems of Sparta and Athens, there are also many other characteristics that distinguish the differences and similarities of these two city states. The difference in land as well as population perceives a relative historical comparison. Sparta lacked land area and was forced to seek other land in the fertile plain of Messenia. Although, if we look at the Athens, we see that they had no issues with plentiful land, as they possessed large and populous territory.
Athens and Sparta, the two largest and most powerful cities in ancient Greece (between 800 and 323 BCE) were two different models of polis, their social, political and cultural values and ways of life were dramatically different. (Brand, n.d.)
Sparta had the geographic advantage above Athens. Sparta is better because, according to Document G, “The Eurotas River provided much-needed water, while the nearby plains allowed the ancient Spartans to grow all the food they needed.” Sparta was already provided with enough supplies on their own and didn’t have to trade things with other city-states. Having rivers, mountains, and rivers gave the Ancient Spartans the right environments to grow many things such as figs and wheat, the Ancient Spartans also had enough room to raise cows for meat, milk, and cheese. Another reason why Sparta has the geographic advantage is shown in Document F, which states, “Sparta thus came to control some 8,500 km² of territory making it the largest city state
Athens was superior to Sparta because of its beneficial economy, democratic government, and well-rounded education. Economy made Athens superior to Sparta because of its trade and currency. There was not enough land around Athens for all of the citizens to farm, so trade was essential for Athens. Athens was near the sea and had a good harbor, so trade flourished. Trade helped Athens obtain the supplies they did not already have, such as grain and wood (Frey 286).
Though Athens and Sparta were both city-states in Ancient Greece, Athens was the better city-state, because of certain things such as: the quality of a school, how they were treated, and the way they built their city. Athens’ government is superior to that of Sparta. Looking at this feature is important because government was very important to the Athens. Some people disagree; saying that government in Athens was terrible. They say this because they are trying to support Sparta’s side.