The Ancient Greece Sparta life was extremely simple with the main focus being on obedience and war. Slavery made this possible by freeing the young men from household and industrial duties and allowing them to focus on their military duties. Young boys were trained to be warriors; young girls were trained to be mothers of warriors.
Ancient Greece Sparta
Athens, on the other hand, was the capital as well as the largest city in Greece. This city-state was one of the world’s oldest cities and as per records has had a history spanning around for 3,400 years. Athens is spread across the central plain of Attica, often referred to as the Attica or Athens Basin. This basin is bound by four large Ancient Greek mountains with Mount Aegaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Penteli to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east of the Athens. The Saronic Gulf lies to the southwest.
Classical Athens
Athens was a typical cosmopolitan metropolis and the economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural hub of Greece. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. This place was a center of arts, learning and philosophy and also the birthplace of Plato’s Academy as well as Aristotle’s Lyceum.
Because of all these reasons, Athens was widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the cradle of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.
The rich heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city which can be represented by virtue of a number of ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of them all being the Parthenon which is widely considered a key landmark of early Western civilization.
Apart from this, the city also retains a vast variety of Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of remaining Ottoman monuments thereby projecting the city’s long history across the centuries.
Athens vs Sparta Education
Athenian life, indeed, was a creative wonderland. As an Athenian, one could get a good education and pursue any kind of arts or sciences from a wide variety of subjects so available. An individual could also serve in the army or navy by choice and not by compulsion though such liberty was not available to girls.
In spite of being two entirely different kinds of states, these two city-states enjoyed certain similarities as well. One of the principal similarities was in their form of government. Both Athens and Sparta had an Assembly, whose members were elected by the people. Ancient Greece Sparta was ruled by two kings, who ruled until they died or were forced out of office.On the other hand, Athens was ruled by archons, who were elected every year.