Living In Cycladic Culture

Ancient Greece became a very influential civilization. Founded by the Minoans who first moved to the island of Crete in around 2000 B.C and lasted to about 1400 B.C. The Minoans developed an advanced civilization and expressed their culture in their constructed palaces. Great monuments were reached at Greece’s Golden Age from around 500 B.C to 300 B.C. They created long lasting contributions in subjects such as Philosophy, Military, Health, and Government.

In Athen, “Schools taught reading, writing, and mathematics, music, poetry, sport, and gymnastics”. In Sparta, “Boys were taken from parents at age seven and trained in the art of warfare. They were only given a cloak - no shoes or other clothes, and not enough food so they had to steal (to learn survival skills)”. Overall, I think Athens is better and safer to live in then Sparta.

Sparta was known in Greek as Sparti. The city lied at the southern end of the central Laconia plain, on the right bank of the Eurotas River. Its population was about 100,000 and it was located in the Laconia region. It had a fairly temperate but very dry climate. Sparta’s also depended on agriculture for their sustenance. They had a mandatory military service. Their system of leadership was Oligarchic and their descendants were mostly the descendants of the Dorian invaders. Athens, on the other hand, was the largest capital city of Greece. Its citizens were about 140,000. The region in which Athens was situated was Attica. The city of Athens had a Mediterranean climate. Athenians depended on trade and agriculture for survival. They did not have a military based system. They practiced Democracy and their descendants were mostly from Ionian descent. (Diffen, n.d).

During the Fifth century, Greece was controlled by two main powers; Athens and Sparta. These city-states were very different. Sparta was known for their strength, discipline, individuality, beauty, sports, and learning (Beck et al. 131). Athens was known for education, fitness, art, literature, and wealth. Not to overlook the rights of women, which were a little elevated in Sparta, the city that had an overall greater respect for human rights, would be Athens.

During Mycenaean times, when the Trojan War is believed to have taken place, Greece was healthy and prosperous. Economically, Greece was flourishing. In art, gold and other precious metals were very common, unlike in the previous Minoan period. Armor dated from this period is elaborate and seems to have been designed with appearance, not just functionality, in mind. Citizens paid their taxes in agricultural goods to their palace center, with would then use them to trade or redistribute. Not only would a healthy economy have allowed for more social concerns, such as honor,

Civilization flourished during the Neolithic period (7,000-3,000 BCE) (Orfeas Organisation-Greece, n.d.). The Bronze Age (3,000-1,100 BCE.), “saw major advances in social, economic, and technological advances that made Greece the hub of activity in the Mediterranean” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). During this time period, there were three different civilizations that identified people at this time. These three civilizations were called the Cycladic civilization which was developed in the Aegean Islands; the Minoans which occupied Crete; and the Helladic which was the civilization of the Greek midland (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Helladic civilization was also called the “Age of Hero’s”, during the Mycenaean era. The Helladic civilization was the source of the mythological heroes such as Hercules, and epics such as the Odyssey (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The considered first most advanced civilization in Europe was the Minoans (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Mycenaean philosophy (para. 2) “had a great deal of influence with its legends and Greek language on what later became the splendor of Classical Greece” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The culture that outlasted the Cyclades and the Minoans where the Mycenaeans. They had lengthened their impact over the mainland, Aegean Islands, Crete and the shore of Asia Minor by the end of the 10th c.

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.

In, “Athens and Sparta” by Mr.Duckworth the author states “while Spartan had militaristic values athenian where democratic.” Sparta would have been a better place to live because spartan women had more freedom than other greek women,they could own their own property and where free of chores.

Unlike Sparta which was a government only run by few. This led to a lot of corruption causing a not as stable and tranquil society . People would most likely live in an area where their choices mattered than an area where they had no choice and the government took advantage of them. Moreover, people of Athens had more freedom of choice. All Spartan males were constrained to serving in the military, while the women stayed home and did nothing worth mentioning .

Sparta was a military-based city-state, on the other hand, Athens was a generous, art based community. Athens was a greater city to live in because they had education privileges, a strong government, and had characteristics for agriculture. One reason Athens was a greater city to live in is because they had many education priviledges. According to the article, “Athens and Sparta,” by Mr. Duckworth, “Unlike Sparta, in Athens, boys were not forced to join the army. As an Athenian, one could pursue several kinds of arts and sciences.

In my opinion, I believe neither one is better and they are both different. I thinks Athens would be better to inhabit if you were a citizen of it but not if you were a women. In Sparta it would be better to be a women in Sparta rather than Athens. The only downfall for men in Sparta is you have to be in the army but back then in Sparta you wanted to be a great soldier. I would live in Sparta because as a girl, I would have a better life. But I would refuse to own slaves and participate in the wars they fought. In Sparta, women have more rights, therefore I would be able to live a better life. Do you think if you were a women part of Sparta would you do the same thing as I would do? Why? Where would you prefer to live Ancient Mesopotamia,

Athens and Sparta differed in their ideas of getting along with the rest of the Greek empires. I think Athens would be a better place to live because it’s safer and you have a lot more freedom.

One of the main reason why I think that Athens would be a better place to live is because of their education. The boys in Athens do not have any formal education, but they do pick up a trade from their fathers. They are taught gymnastics and wrestling though. This is better than Sparta because they are not taught anything except how to fight. Another reason why Athens would be a better place to live than Sparta is that of their government.

If I had the choice, I would want to be from Sparta. Spartanian girls were allowed an education, unlike girls from Athens. There are some downsides about growing up in Sparta. First of all, Spartanian children were supposed to have perfect bodies. They didn't realize that everyone has different shapes and sizes. Also, Sparta thought that it was more important to learn how to fight instead of reading and writing. Lastly, children had to live in their school instead of home. This might be good for some things, like being more concentrated, but you would also miss your family. Now, listen to some good things about Sparta.

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