Who would have thought that one of the greatest rivalries in the ancient world stemmed from a former friendship? The Spartans and Athenians started out as allies fighting against the Persian to becoming fierce rivals fighting in Greece. With the increase in naval power of the Athenians to the jealousy of the Spartans, the two Greek city-states would not have the same military might that they once possessed after the conflict was finally resolved.
Athens began as a small city-state and grew to embody the Greek virtues and prestige (Mark). Rumor is that the city was named after the Greek God Athena. The early Mycenaean period (1550-1100 BCE) gave rise to Athens. The aristocrats were in control of the land and the government of Athens and enslaved the poorer classes and landowners. There were a few issues that were wrong with Athens. The first was the inconsistency of the law. The first set of law was written …show more content…
Sparta, also known as Lacedaemon, was a Greek city-state in the present day region of Southern Greece called Laconia (Sparta). Their life revolved around their military service to the city-state. At the early ages of Spartan hood, the boys entered the Agoge, which was their education system that focused on military training, education, obedience and self-control (Sparta). Spartan girls were freer than most other Greek woman was because they were able to get an education, tend land, etc. This led to the manual labor being done by the slave class called Helots (Sparta). Loyalty was everything to the Spartans. Unlike the Athenians who focused on learning and philosophy, the Spartans instilled warrior ethos in their soldiers. Spartan boys began training around the age of seven and were required to serve until the age of 60. In the eyes of the law, the Spartans were all equals. However, this equality did not make its way into the economic realm of the Spartan city-state (Michell
Athens began as a small city-state and grew to embody the Greek virtues and prestige (Mark). Rumor is that the city was named after the Greek God Athena. The early Mycenaean period (1550-1100 BCE) gave rise to Athens. The aristocrats were in control of the land and the government of Athens and enslaved the poorer classes and landowners. There were a few issues that were wrong with Athens. The first was the inconsistency of the law. The first set of law was written …show more content…
Sparta, also known as Lacedaemon, was a Greek city-state in the present day region of Southern Greece called Laconia (Sparta). Their life revolved around their military service to the city-state. At the early ages of Spartan hood, the boys entered the Agoge, which was their education system that focused on military training, education, obedience and self-control (Sparta). Spartan girls were freer than most other Greek woman was because they were able to get an education, tend land, etc. This led to the manual labor being done by the slave class called Helots (Sparta). Loyalty was everything to the Spartans. Unlike the Athenians who focused on learning and philosophy, the Spartans instilled warrior ethos in their soldiers. Spartan boys began training around the age of seven and were required to serve until the age of 60. In the eyes of the law, the Spartans were all equals. However, this equality did not make its way into the economic realm of the Spartan city-state (Michell