What Are The Similarities Between Athens And Sparta

The city-states Athens and Sparta were rivals in ancient Greece. Geographically the two were very close to each other, but they had a very different economy, cultural values, and way of governing. Both city-states had two very different ways of doing things. I will be highlighting the major differences.

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.

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).

Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and well known cities among all the Greek nations. Most would find it easier to find more similarities among these two groups of mighty people. But there are some differences between these two power houses. For instance the way that these cities were governed and their political procedures and functions were quite different from each other.

     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, two rivals of ancient Greece that made the most noise and gave us the most traditions. Though they were close together on a map, they were far apart in what they valued and also how they lived their lives. Spartan and Athenian society were very different in many parts. The differences are what set these two apart, and the things they shared in common are what unified them as Greek city-states. Sparta and Athens shared similarities and differences in their systems of government, military, judgment and views of their women. In addition to this, the social gatherings of Athenians and Spartans that were also similar and different.

Athens and Sparta are two rivals of ancient Greece. Athenians and Spartans lived their lives different, and they valued different things. Athenians and Spartans had an Assembly, whose members were elected by the people. Sparta were ruled by two kings, those two kings either ruled until they were died or forced out of office. Athens were ruled by archons, they were elected annually. Athens in the birthplace of democracy. Spartans focused on war and obedience. Young boys were trained to be warriors. Young women were trained to be mothers and warriors. Athenians could get good education and could pursue several kinds of arts or sciences. For many years Spartan armies provided much defense of the Greek lands. The Spartans bravery and courage at the “Battle of Thermopylae” during the Persians Wars, inspired all of Greece to fight back with all their might against the invading Persians. Athenians and Spartans fought side by side in the “Battle of Platea”, which ended the Persians invasions of Greece. Spartans provided assistance for Greece when necessary. Athenians wanted to control land around them. That led to war between all the Greeks, this was the “Peloponnesian War”. After many years of fighting the Spartans won. In Greek spirit Sparta refused to burn the city of Athens. The culture and spirit of Athens was allowed to live on, as long as Athenians no longer desired to rule Greek. Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Sparta is known as Sparti in Greek. Sparta is

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.

Politically these areas share hardly anything in common from the way each ran their governments: Athens that which ran a Democracy, Sparta ran an Oligarchy and The Persians ran a Monarchy. Economically Persia sought more wealth and power through the threats of other areas that includes both Athens and Sparta who refused in the end to submit. Both Sparta and Athens treated their women differently as Sparta exercised and trained, keeping their breasts in shape, unlike the Athenians. During this time all had their own city-states or polis in their control, some will create walls and others will make ports. In the day to day life of Athenians, Spartans or Persians, they hold festivals or contests for their people.

So between Athens and Sparta both forms of Government were similar in ways but as time passed Sparta countered with the thought of two kings on the throne and letting one person gain absolute control. This is where the two separated until later. Even with similarities there were also difference between the two city's. Sparta was one to be ruled by few and Athens was all men are given the opportunity to vote and participate. Over time in Athens you seem to have a better chance of becoming somebody where in Sparta most people were slaves and under the control of the Aristocrats in the

Athens had a greater amount of power. Equally important, the amount of freedom Spartan’s had was not comparable to the freedom Athenian’s had. Lastly, Athens had world changing achievements.

Athens and Sparta were both city-states in Ancient Greece. A city-state is a small independent country with its own laws and government. Although they were only 150 miles apart, they were very different from one another. They each have their own values, geography, government, economy, education and how they treated women and slaves. If given the chance to go back in time, I would suggest that Greeks settled in Sparta because of their better education, better treatment of women and slaves and better geography.

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.

Although Sparta and Athens were close on the map, they were far apart in many aspects of their civilizations. While having some similarities, the military powerhouse and the intellectual center of Greece had major differences in governments, societies, and cultural developments.

The ancient civilization of Greece contained many different city-states; two of these city-states were Sparta and Athens. Sparta and Athens were different in their values, politics, and societies. Sparta was focused on their military, discipline, and to have a strong state. Athens was a democratic state that was peaceful and where women were open to culture and democracy. How do these two city-states differ?