Tyler King
Greece, a country united by its name, but divided by its opinions, was separated into many city-states. The two most authoritative states were the two that were always at war. These very distinct provinces were that of Sparta and Athens. Sparta was focused on having a perfect military, whereas Athens made it a point to have a perfect government for their people. Athenian daily life revolved around learning and knowledge where a Spartan male devoted his time to the army. When Athenian children were being trained for life, Spartan children were being trained for battle. Athens and Sparta were very different, especially in their views of politics, military, and culture.
These two city-states had very different opinions of their military. They were both very powerful and extremely feared. Many Greek cities dreaded facing the Athenian navy where Sparta frightened these city-states on land. The lives of Spartans revolved around military. At age seven, each and every Spartan boy would be required to start his training at the agoge to become an elite fighter. The education given was meant to create Spartans into soldiers. Not only were the Spartans raised to be military-minded, but they were also expected to be a disciplined soldier. The strict rules of the government made it so that every Spartan was to be physically fit and always ready for battle. Once of age and rank, a Spartan warrior would be invited to a mess, this would house a Spartan for the rest of his life. Without belonging to a mess, a Spartan would be nothing. Spartans thrived for battle and this is why they continuously won each battle they entered. The Spartan soldiers remained very close with each other considering most of them are related. They fight in a phalanx formation, which is almost impeccable. Before being defeated at the battle of Epiminondas against Thebes, the Spartan army was triumphant in over 300 continuous battles. The Athenian army, on the