Who Is Athens More Powerful Than Sparta

The Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta were two great powers during their time. Athens was a city-state known for its love of art and beauty and rule by democracy while Sparta was well-known for its military power and its rule by oligarchy.
Athens was a city-state that, after many reforms by lawmakers such as Solon and Cleisthenes, became a democracy ruled by the people. The government became a system of different groups that discussed or voted on decisions. The largest of the groups was the Assembly. It consisted of no less than 6,000 Athenian citizens who gathered to vote using a system of black or white rocks. The group that decided what would be discussed in Assembly was the boule. The boule consisted of 500 citizens who were chosen by lot. They could only serve one year and were limited to no more than two non-consecutive years. …show more content…
While Sparta did have two kings, they were responsible for warfare and religious ceremonies rather than the government and the people. The government was mainly ruled by a small council of retired warriors over the age of sixty. This was called the Gerousia. The Gerousia was an elected body, though it was reserved mainly for the elite class. Along with making decisions for the city-state, the group also held the power to judge anyone brought before them, including the two kings. Another powerful group in Spartan society were the Ephors. They were elected by the popular assembly annually and could be any citizen of Sparta. They shared power with the kings and, if they thought a king was abusing their power, they could bring them before the Gerousia to be