A Tale of Two Civilizations: Question was to explain the similarities and differences between the two Greek Empires of Athens and Sparta.

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Western Civilization

A Tale of Two Civilizations

Athens and Sparta were two diverse civilizations in Ancient Greece which both left an imprint in the history of western civilization. Athens and Sparta had major differences yet created long lasting, powerful civilizations. Both located in the Mediterranean sea, they existed during similar time periods. The Athenian civilization contained people who believed in a democratic form of government, a free market system of economy, and an optimistic approach on life. The Spartan civilization consisted of people from Sparta, tradesmen and farmers, as well as their Helot subjects from their captured lands. The Spartan government was an autocratic government following a more totalitarian approach towards their cultural, political, and economic management. While Sparta was very successful, Athens was a more robust civilization because most of its citizens had a enhanced quality of life. Even though these were neighbouring city-states they were very different, and the Athenian civilization proved to be a wealthier government because of the custom in which it was ruled under.

Athens was superior to Sparta because of its culture, political structure, and standard of living.

Firstly, in Athens traditions and cultures were very important and taken quite seriously. When Athenian work men came home from work, they enjoyed their time with all types of pleasurable and entertaining activities such as reading or writing poetry. Their leisure time also included watching a play, listening to music, and all sorts of athletic activities. They made very good use of their free time and took advantage of their great city-state with an positive approach. In the Spartan civilization the culture was based on living a life in the military, "No one was permitted to live according to his own pleasure, but they lived in the city as if in a camp, with a fixed...