‘Comparing Athens and Sparta is like comparing Heaven and Hell’

Ancient Greece Essay
Topic One: ‘Comparing Athens and Sparta is like comparing Heaven and Hell’
The two rivals of ancient Greece that made the most noise and gave us the most traditions were Athens and Sparta. They were close together on a map, yet far apart in what they valued and how they lived their lives. Athens and Sparta were different in many different ways and were very much like Heaven and Hell.

One of the main ways they were similar was in their form of government. Both Athens and Sparta had an Assembly, whose members were elected by the people of their city. Sparta was ruled by two kings, who ruled until they died or were forced out by the office. Athens was ruled by archons, who were elected annually. Because both parts of Athens ' government had leaders who were elected, Athens is rumoured to have been the birthplace of democracy. “Athens shaped democracy in Ancient Greece and is said to have been the birthplace of democracy”1

Spartan life was simple. Most of their life was filled with Discipline and war. Slavery made this very possible by freeing the young boy/men from the household and his industrial jobs and allowing them to focus on their military training/duties. Young boys were trained to be warriors; young girls were trained to be mothers of warriors. Athenian life was a creative world. As an Athenian, you could get a good education and have a try at any several kinds of jobs in arts or science. You could serve in the military, but you didn 't have to. (This applied only to boys; Girls were only allowed to do other jobs that did not involve war, business or education.)
“While the Athenian people spent a considerable amount of their time studying literature, art, and music, Spartans were training to be soldiers.”2

Sparta was mainly an agricultural city because of its inland locations. The single most important imported item in Sparta was metals. In Sparta nearly almost all men were warriors: and the remaining were slaves. Their economy was almost entirely based on agriculture. The Athenian economy was almost entirely based on trade. Further on in time Athens had the strongest trading power of the Mediterranean by the 5 century (BC/BCE).
“While Spartans relied on agriculture for maintaining their economy, Athens became the foremost trading power of the Mediterranean by the 5th century BC and was thus considerably richer.”3

The two cities of Athens and Sparta were two very unique, and both played a key role in the world’s history. Many of the things today such as building designs and laws could be lead back to the Greeks, as they had one of the most civilised countries in the world’s history. The bigger contributor of the two was Athens but Sparta still did contribute a lot.

Bibliography:
Athens Greek Guide. (2003-2007). Retrieved from http://www.athensguide.org/athens-history.html
Papakyriakou/Anagnostou, E.P. (2000-2011). Sparta. Retrieved from http://www.sikyon.com/sparta/sparta_eg.html
Solanki, P.S. (2000-2010). Sparta v.s athens . Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sparta-vs-athens.html
Athens v.s sparta. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Athens_vs_Sparta#Economy
B r o w n e N (2011) ' S p a r t a ' T r I n I t y G r a m m a r S c h o o l : U n p u b l I s h e d L e c t u r e.

Bibliography: Athens Greek Guide. (2003-2007). Retrieved from http://www.athensguide.org/athens-history.html Papakyriakou/Anagnostou, E.P. (2000-2011). Sparta. Retrieved from http://www.sikyon.com/sparta/sparta_eg.html Solanki, P.S. (2000-2010). Sparta v.s athens . Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sparta-vs-athens.html Athens v.s sparta. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Athens_vs_Sparta#Economy B r o w n e N (2011) ' S p a r t a ' T r I n I t y G r a m m a r S c h o o l : U n p u b l I s h e d L e c t u r e.