Why Is Athens More Powerful Than Sparta

The ancient Greek world was divided into many different city-states. Some were more powerful than others. The two most powerful of the city states were Athens and Sparta. These city-states could not be more different. Athens was a city-state of learning and thinking, while Sparta was a city-state of training and the military. Sparta as a whole was a better city-state because of its military prowess and innovation coupled with the fact that, contrary to popular belief, it was actually the first example of democracy. The Spartan military was a force to be reckoned with. At birth, male babies were inspected for any deformities. If any were found, the baby would either be killed or left to die in the wilderness. For the boys who passed, even before military training started, they were schooled in arts such as dancing, along

Their government was actually the first democracy and was around for over one-hundred years before Athens. The democracy was made up of a council of Spartan citizens. Higher up there was the council of elders and the two kings of equal power from different families. The council checked the two kings’ power and the General Council voted on laws passed by the council of Elders. This essentially means Sparta also created the first system of checks and balances. You also might think of Athens as a center for poetry, but actually Sparta was admired most in their time for their poetry, dance, and music. Home life in Sparta was different from many other civilization in the ancient world because of women’s rights. Girls were allowed to go to school, women competed along side men in Sparta’s Olympics, and they even received military training. They could drink and get drunk openly as well as talk and even argue with men. They could own and manage property and even marry a new man if their husband had died in battle. Spartans believed in simplicity over exorbitance and in general no excess. Everything had a