Ancient Greece was once the most powerful force in the world. The two driving forces that led Greece to this height was Athens and Sparta. Although they were both Greek city states their ideas conflicted with one another and led to strife between the two civilizations. Furthermore, this conflict led to the Peloponnesian War which would determine which Greek city state was stronger. The war dragged on for many years but eventually the Spartans won. The reasoning for the Spartans victory had a lot to do with the lifestyle they practiced. This lifestyle, mentally and physically prepared them for victory. This proves that that the lifestyle of the Spartans greatly outmatched the practices of the Athenians. The lifestyle of the Spartans was a harsh …show more content…
They practiced a lot of the same traits that modern day Americans practice. With a high value on education, the Athenians valued science and different arts more than military power. This lifestyle is the biggest reason why the Athenians lost the Peloponnesian War. The young Athenian generations were encouraged to explore these cultural aids rather than become highly trained warriors. Although war was costly for both civilizations, the Spartans only needed to chip away at their soldiers. The spartans could lose soldiers because they had young trained killers to call to if needed. The Athenians were limited to the soldiers that voluntarily enlisted into the military. Although the Athenians were winning a cultural victory, it was ultimately the lack of trained warriors that would prove to be their undoing. The people of Athens could only watch as their powerful opponent slimmed down their military. The only solution that could of changed the outcome would be if the Athenians could discover a new technology that would slide the odds in their favor. Although the life of a Spartan wasn’t glamorous or fun, it would ensure the preservation of their society. A life in Athens was surely more enjoyable, but in a time of brutality and war, the comfortable life of the Athenians would be their
This assessment is accurate however there are other causes which led to conflict between Athens and the Spartans, which many historians have discussed the different causes of the Peloponnesian War, the two equal but different powers in control of Greece and the surrounding area. Athens with a democratic rule expanded by using the surrounding waterways for trade and developing a great navy. Sparta with an oligarchic rule settled in by developing a thriving agriculture community and a land based army. The balance of power leans towards Sparta and her allies. Sparta already feared
Imagine being taken away from your family at the age of seven and was forced to fight someone that was older than you and was trained and skilled in fighting, and they didn’t go easy. That would not be fun. The Spartans were known for their army but the army wasn’t very big. It wasn’t very big because they were very cruel during their training and some people died from it. They also didn’t have a good mental education system. Some things that they did for fun was senseless murdering. With this evidence of senseless murder, lack of mental education,and their cruelness, I think that the weaknesses beat the strengths.
Eventually the Spartans defeated the Athenians, but what if the ancient Spartans had never won the Peloponnesian War? Although Athens's potential win in the Peloponnesian War could offer benefits to Ancient Greece, Sparta's victory in the Peloponnesian War is the best decision
Ancient Greece consisted of many competing city-states; the most powerful consisted of democratic Athens and authoritarian Sparta. Each power made strategic decisions in different ways. The Athenians set and adjusted the course of the war through open debate and voting while the Spartan oligarchy under a king cast the final decisions. Additionally, each state’s economic nature affected their military character. The agrarian Sparta formed a dominant landpower while the seafaring Athenians cultivated a powerful navy. Further, though a small theater of operations compared to modern standards, time and space affected the course and nature of the war. Wind speed and sea conditions limited throughput along lines of communication. Rigid Hellenic phalanxes encouraged set-piece battles. Annual growing seasons restricted when soldiers were able to fight and how far they could
One of the reasons why Sparta was a success was because of its way of life, even for children of a young age. Sparta was a military state in Greece and was known as one of strongest of the city-states. Although ruled by 2 kings and a council of elders, the Spartans were not well fed and they left home at a very young age, usually around 7, to be trained to one day be a part of the Spartan army (Spartan Life, 2016). Despite the Spartans having an extremely demanding education and training program, especially physical fitness, they also produced very good art and literature. The Spartans intense training was
The Greeks were much better fighters, they were warriors. The Persians constantly got defeated by the smaller Greek army and pushed back because they were weak and
This war was connected to those city-states that were controlled by Sparta, and they both had struggle about the eastern of Mediterranean area. Before fourth century, Greece consisted of many various city-states leaders whom they function and work to gether for growing their countries, but during this era, the alliances between those leaders were so difficult to understand, and they always had problem with each other because of their power and land. Athenians has a strong navy and they were open society to other people. Also, Athens was a trading city and they had their own empire. Furthermore, the Athenians were rich and wealthy, so they were prepared financially than their enemies
In Ancient Greece the Spartans were known for their courage and military skill in battle, so much so that they were nicknamed the ‘Warrior’ State. Based in the South-East of Greece, the Spartans took over ‘two-fifths’ of the Peloponnesian area just by using a combination of brute force and diplomatic tactics. Also known as the Lacedaemonians after they region they inhabit, the Spartans lived in a manner that resembled a military camp and all men were considered to be equal to one another. These features set the Spartan nation apart from the other Greek City States. However, these are not the only features that made the Spartan nation unique.
In a way Spartans and the Athenians obtained the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community through the same means. The Athenians needed to be Free, native-born, men (Brand, p. 29) and the Spartans needed to be men in military service (Brand, p. 9). However, to be eligible for military service you needed to be a free, native born, male of Sparta. In Sparta, the Military service was until age 60.
Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.
Sparta had a powerful army and Athens army was
To conclude this segment, the Athenians and Spartans pursued different ways of making an empire, the Athenians did it through forced tribute, repression, and forced joining. Yet the Spartans did so by aiding her neighbours in a way that forced them to join, and through the fear of the Spartan army. Whilst they were different, they essentially achieved the same goal, control of their respective domains through diplomacy and the use or
The Spartan and Athenian societies were vastly different in many of their cultural and political aspects despite the geographic location and small section of land that separated them. However, at the same time, the duel shared a myriad of common characteristics that contrasted with their differences. Aside from their common aspects, their differences were what set them apart from each other and brought about numerous conflicts, whereas, their shared similarities were what united them as strong, influential, city-states of ancient Greece. These differences and similarities varied between their systems of government, judgment and sanctioned views on women, and militaristic focuses. In addition to these shared qualities, in situations that involved
In several lands and cultures have many pros and cons but the Spartans were known for being a perfectionist society, but as you may not know, as the Spartans had multiple amounts of strengths as they also did with weaknesses. During the time of 5th century in Sparta emerged a tiny powerhouse in the eastern Mediterranean, rivaled against Athens. As so for the educational system performed a major factor between both civilizations taking over each other. And both had their very own benefits and unbeneficial side, but for Sparta, did the strengths outweigh their own weaknesses? Yes, strength did outweigh their weakness because them being well structured to having the utmost of military power and also including their own emphasis on teamwork/
The Spartans lived and breathed war. They learned to fight when they were children, and trained hard for it when they were adults.