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Similarities And Differences Between Sparta And Athens

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It was said the hostility between Sparta and Athens began high anticipation towards the nearly inevitable battle of these city-states, thus it began with the declaration of war with Sparta in 431 B.C.. Subsequent to ten years of the Peloponnesian War, the two populations decided upon a truce. However, the peace did not survive long, for in 415 B.C., the Athenians decided to attack a major Sparta ally; their plan was to demolish the city-state of Syracuse. This scheme resulted in a harsh loss taken by the Athenians. Apart from their complex relationship, the two civilizations had their share of similarities, as well as differences. When comparing them, Athens was stronger because of their intense impact on the modern world.
Initially, …show more content…

An Oligarchy consists of a few powerful rulers, in Sparta it was ruled by two kings, and a democracy is ruled by the people. Additionally, there was a huge contrast in the rights of women. As also stated earlier, Sparta had an increased amount of rights for women when compared to Athens. The Athenian women were not expected to appear outside of their homes, out of sight and mind to the rest of the civilization. On the other hand, women were respected in Sparta because they were the ones left to manage their households if their husbands were out fighting wars. They were also trained to fight due to the Spartan mindset, which was that strong women produced strong offsprings that would develop into strong warriors. Finally, the civilizations greatly differed in their education systems. The Athenians believed in good educations for wealthy boys and joining the military was optional, while boys in Sparta were forced to become warriors, starting their training by the young age of seven and did not deem education or work necessary.
If their strength was not measured by their success in wars, but instead in their impact on the modern-day society, Athens would be seen as the stronger civilization. The power of their influences can be explained by describing their goals; the Spartan’s main objective was to focus on wars and obedience, while the Athenians,

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