Sparta and Athens where both great civilizations, but only one was the greatest of all ancient greece. Sparta was a civilization that innovated and capitalized on its strong values. Athens was a pale imitation to what Sparta had achieved. Sparta had the superior civilization compared to Athens because it had a strong military, far less patriarchal, and had a healthier society.
Sparta had the strongest and most well trained army of ancient greece. Boys were brought up to be the ultimate killing machines. The boys were taken away from their mothers at the age of 7 and were trained to be spartans. They were trained to show bravery even in the face of great danger. They showed their military prowess in their wars with complex strategies, bravery, and their loyalty to their state. The boys wher trained, beaten down, and made into some of the strongest warriors history will ever know. In the Second Messenian War they had established themselves as the decisive military power in Greece. In 480 BC a small group of Spartans and Thespians led by King Leonidas made their legendary stand at the Battle of Thermopylae against the massive Persian Army. All armor and weapons were provided by the state in Sparta. Athens did not have this and often their military suffered because of this. Armor and weapons were expensive and the poor soldiers of Athens could not afford a lot of these items. In Athens the wealth gap made people a lot less patriotic and made them less willing to fight due to this fact. They only wanted to be paid and give the money to their families. In this way Sparta was very honorable opponent in their battles, they didn’t completely destroy cities and desecrate temples like Athens did. Even as Sparta was not as big it had a lasting and powerful military that had controlled greece for many years. Their military strategies and training served them well and made them one of the most powerful greek city-states. Sparta was also known for the steps it took towards women's rights. …show more content…
As boys were taken at age 7 from their mothers so where girls. Girls were provided an education and were given training. Woman could own land which was previously unheard of in other greek city-states. Girls were given and education but also were trained in wrestling, gymnastics, and were taught to fight. They believed that strong woman made strong children. They were closer to the age of their husbands unlike other greek city-states. They were given a husband at the age of 18-20. Woman could own land due to the fact that the men were always away. They needed some way to keep the city running so woman started running Sparta in a way. Athens had a very patriarchal idea of society. Woman had to be role models and always do what their male counterparts asked them to do. They had to be the perfect wife, for this was the acceptable thing in Athens. Woman, slaves, and foreigners had about equivalent rights in Athens. If you were rich however you could do what you wished in Athens, this applied to woman as well. Aspasia a politician and generals wife had great influence on the male society of Athens due to her high ranking husband and her ability to influence his decisions. Women were treated more fairly and were given far more rights than other greek city-states. Overall Sparta had a much healthier society than Athens ever had. There was little to no plague or disease in Sparta due to the small number of people. There was little to no plague or disease in Sparta due to the small number of people. Sparta had no poverty because even slaves or helots had could own land, have families, and had jobs. Sparta also gave all children an education no matter what gender they were. Athens suffered in this way greatly. They had a democracy which has its benefits but it had major disadvantages. Sparta had a small collection of villages that made up a city. Sparta also gave all children an education no matter what gender they were. Athens suffered in this way greatly. Woman were kept uneducated and men took most of