Athens vs. Sparta

Sparta And Athens 2

To the south, the mighty Spartans, tough like nails and strong like oxen. To the north, the wise Athenians, blessed with the intellect of Athena herself. This was the world of ancient Greece, mighty city states each unique in its own way struggling to prove their way of life. Similar only in tongue, the Greek states of Athens and Sparta were bitter rivals, with civilizations as different as night and day. Everything from education and occupation to foreign affairs were polar opposites, it is hard to believe that these two cites were but a few hundred kilometres away from each other.

According to Will Durant (1939) little is known of early Spartan history except that of legend and conquest. The Dorians conquered the kingdom which would be know as Sparta and claimed themselves to be the direct descendents of Hercules. These Dorians would eventually become the Spartans we know today. The state of Sparta however was not patient however and in short time, conquer their neighbours and annex them to their kingdom and create hoplites of their people. Lykurgos was a Spartan king and traveling philosopher, after spending many years on the road and observing the cultures and governments of many foreign lands he would return with the Spartan Code. This would transform Sparta into the harden state they were know for (Durant, 1939).

Athens was a city which was to be given a gift from the Gods Athena and Poseidon. The others Gods would judge and whoever gave the better gift would have the city named after them. Poseidon gave them a well to help when under siege to supply them with nourishment; Athena gave an olive branch for agriculture and trade. The gods chose Athena for the peacefulness of her gift and the city was thus named Athens. So when I cunning merchant came to the town city of Attica and claimed his girlfriend was the town goddess Athena. This led to him becoming the leader of Attica and the growing state of Athens. While he would continue on to become a fair and noble leader his sons would not as recorded in www.athensinfoguide.com/history.htm.

Sparta And Athens 3

So where the Spartans were fair conquers they came to favour muscle. As seen it was the physical/military prowess which brought the Dorian conquers to power. This would come to show throughout their history. On the other side of Greece Athens was a city which excelled in trade and the arts. There leader came to power through cunning and maintain his rank through pure brilliance. During the Peloponnesian Wars, Sparta relied on its brute force and discipline of soldier to fight their battles as researched from ancienthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/theunmovablespartans – 34k -. However the Athenians relied on picking their fights and using their strengths and Sparta’s weakness’s to equal in battle. However in some cases the book is not always mightier than the sword.