Question

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPARTA AND ATHENS AND HOW THEY ENDED UP.

Answer 1

Answer- Sparta and Athens were two cities of Greece. They were very similar from geographical point of view but different in cultures and lifestyles. We can differentiate between Sparta and Athens with the help of the following points-

• Athens is the capital of Greece. It is also the largest city of ancient Greece. On the other hand Sparta is town which is located in the Southern Greece.
• Athens was known as the hub for economical, financial and cultural lifestyles while Sparta provided the greatest army to Greece and protected the country for many years.
• The people of Sparta lived a simple and easy life. Normally, the young men were encouraged to join the military and to serve the country. On the other hand, Athens provided a good life to people. Individuals had the opportunities to pursue education or any other creative work in Athens.
• Both cities had different types of Governments. Athens practiced democracy while Sparta chose Oligarchy which means that the town was ruled by a few number of people. In Athens, annual elections were held for selecting rulers but Sparta had two rulers at one time who ruled until they died.
• Sparta had the largest army and provided its help according to the demands of other cities or states. But Athens wanted to control the land around it and this lead to conflicts among Greeks.
• At Sparta, most of the people worked as warriors. The economy was mainly based on agriculture. On the other hand, the economy of Athens was dependent on trades and businesses.

So it is clear that Athens and Sparta had many differences among them. The conflicts among both cities gave rise to a war known as Peloponnesian war. Sparta was victorious and Athens lose in it. Athens was completely bankrupt and demoralized after the war. It never get the same strength again, at the same time, Sparta was also not in the condition to rule the country effectively. Powerful political groups and leaders tried to set up a new capital but the cities were lost completely after the war. The other major reason that ended up Sparta was an earthquake which destroyed the city by killing a large number of people. The Peloponnesian war was the main reason for the decline of both cities.