Classical Athens Vs Sparta Research Paper

Comparing and Contrasting Classical Athens and Sparta The classical Greek civilizations of Athens and Sparta showed some similarities, yet also showed a large number of differences. For example, these city-states had completely different views about women and their rules on female freedoms show this. Athenian women, like most of the women in other Greek city-states, were considered to be useful only for child-bearing and domestic jobs. Sparta, however, was the oddball out, giving the women of their civilization many more rights and freedoms. “Teaching a woman to read and write? What a terrible thing to do! Like feeding a vile snake on more poison.” (“Contrasting Patriarchies in Athens and Sparta”). Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and recognizable ancient city-states in Greek history. These two civilizations showed a majority of differences over similarities, although some similarities showed such as gender relations and slavery. Athenian women had little to no rights in the society, staying mostly indoors and only being referred to as someone’s
wife or someone’s mother. Sparta, while still having many more freedoms for women than Athens, also considered women to be only useful for childbearing. Both Athens and Sparta had slaves, and treated them well compared to slaves in the United States. They also both trained their boys for war, although Sparta started the training at a much earlier age. The magnificent city-states of Sparta and Athens, being similar in not many ways, showed boundless differences in areas such as technology, architecture, labor systems, government, and gender relations. The high points of Spartan technology were their military

inventions including spears, short swords, and bronze armor. They also created a three-decked sailing vessel called the trireme which could ram other fleets and deliver soldiers to the battle. Athenians, however, were mainly known for their excellence in architectural innovations. The Athenian Acropolis was a wonder to anybody who came to Athens, a citadel consisting of many historical buildings, the most famous being the Parthenon. The Athens was also known for having very complex aqueduct systems to bring water from Mt. Pentelikos to various spots in the city. Erechtheum was a temple in the Acropolis built in honor of Zeus, the god of the sky; “[Erechtheum] needed to enclose the mark of Poseidon 's trident on Athenian soil, and a salt well on the northern side; to shelter Athena 's original olive tree that stood nearby on the west and to include her shrine in the eastern section; to cover the tomb of Athens ' first king Cecrops under the southwest corner; and to house other venerable cult objects” (“Stancheva”). Athens and Sparta were both civilizations that relied on slavery for a majority of their income, although their slavery methods were very different.
Sparta obtained most if not all of their slaves from conquered city-states. These “helots” often outnumbered the pure-born Spartans by a ratio of 7:1, and they usually got very out of hand and had to be “disciplined” during an annual beating. The slaves of Athens, or metics, were in far fewer numbers, as Athenians did not conquer as much land as the Spartans. Because Athenians took pride in farming land, the metics were more commonly used as craftsmen. The metics were used to build the buildings in the acropolis, usually keeping them busy. The Athenians had a very well-known government; Athenian democracy, one of the first democracies in the world. Sparta, however, went through many stages of government including; Monarchial, Oligarchical, and
Democratic. Greece had some of the most diverse civilizations on Earth and Sparta and Athens are a great example of diversity inside Greece. In fact, these civilizations had more differences than

they had have similarities. Both of these states had good militaries and even had battles against each other; “The period after this, which ends with the surrender of Athens to Sparta in 404 C.E., shows new phases both in national temper and in strategy” (Bowra 4). Athens and Sparta were two civilizations that left a mark on history and they will be remembered for as long as humans exist.

The Acropolis in Athens. The focal point of Athens, the Acropolis had many significant historical buildings, including the Parthenon, and was an important meeting place for the citizens of Athens. (“Acropolis of Athens”)

Sparta. This is a view of the modern ruins of classical Sparta. It was built on the banks of the Evrotas River and the mountains in the background of the pictures are called the Taygetus Mountains. (“Spartan Ruins”)

Works Cited/Consulted
“Acropolis of Athens.” Google Image Search. Web. 28 Sep. 2013
I got a picture of the Acropolis to use in my visuals section.
“Athens.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2009. Print. I got a couple basic facts about both civilizations from here.
Bowra, C.M. Periclean Athens. New York: The Dial Press, 1971. Print. I got a quote about war between Athens and Sparta from here.
“Spartan Ruins.” Google Image Search. Web. 28 Sep. 2013 This Search gave me a picture of what Sparta looks like today.
Stancheva, Tina. Culture and Technology in Athens and Sparta. Feb. 2003. Web. < http://fubini.swarthmore.edu> I used this website for the majority of my information.
Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. Print. I got information about the civilization’s gender relations from here.