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Athen And Sparta Compare And Contrast

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Ofir A #3 Mrs. Mead
Athen and Sparta: A Greek City State Comparison
Athena and Sparta, the two Greek superpowers and bitter rivals battle over supremacy, similar to each other in some ways but an ocean apart in others. Athens and Sparta are Greek city states, Athens at the tip of mainland Greece and Sparta in the peloponnesus. Athens has a democracy as its government, a three tiered social hierarchy pyramid, a military that forces citizens to serve during war, a huge and widespread …show more content…

Sparta started receiving tributes between the third and fourth century BC from other city states in the Peloponnesian league. The Peloponnesian league was a sort of mass alliance between various city states. Every city state was allied to every other city state in the league. Those city states would give a large sum of money to the leader and founder of the league, Sparta, as a sort of thank you in exchange for being allied with an ancient Greece superpower and part of the league. “The main economic sector of the Spartan economy was agriculture. Sparta itself is located in a valley with three entrances; two in the north and one in the south. From the mountains two rivers run through Sparta. The land was rich in nutrients and had plenty of nearby water” (“The Ancient Spartan Economy: The 3 Sectors Of Ancient Sparta”). Sparta took over nearby city states and turned the residents into slaves or Helots. These Helots got some land and a home for themselves and in return the slaves would give a portion of their food. The Spartans would provide “protection” for the Helots because of the food they get from those slaves. This system worked well for the Spartans and they soon became one of the most prominent agricultural producers in ancient Greece. Spartan citizens were not allowed to leave the city without written permission from the king. On the other hand, the Perioeci were not just allowed to go out of the city borders relatively freely, but they also traded a lot. The Spartan citizens were completely provided for by the government. As a result, they rarely needed to buy or do business, and even if they wanted to, the Spartan government disallowed Spartan citizens to own a business or conduct trade. The Perioeci had complete monopoly over the trade and production economy of Sparta. The Perioeci's control over the market would lead to Sparta becoming one of the most wealthy city states in

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