Ancient Greece's physical boundaries (mountains) secluded individual cities. This isolation led to the development of city-states. Each city-state was very patriotic. This led to extreme rivalries. The best example of these rivalries is the one between the city-states of Athens and Sparta. Fierce competition paved the way for constant warring between the two states. During times of war the number one priority for the government is to protect its people. Democratic Athens did not provide the basic needs for its people. Athens focused on its arts and entertainment. Spartans oligarchy protected its people by centering their society on military. Sparta was better because it was stable and protected its people. To prove that Sparta was better than Athens this essay will discuss the conflicting focuses of each government and how Sparta met the needs of her people in a time period of war.
The Athenian government did not suit the needs of its people during war-time.
English: Marble statue of a helmed hoplite (5th ce...
English: The Alliances of the Peloponnesian War
Ruins of Ancient Sparta, Greece.In 700bc landowners gained power, increasing the size of peasantry. Athens did not have enough land for the peasants to survive on. So they set up colonies around the Mediterranean. Athenian colonies traded with each other and became exceptionally rich. Instead of infusing the money into their army, it was spent on arts, building projects and athletics. After the Peloponnesian War, Athenian domination was instilled. This bothered the surrounding Greek city-states and Sparta led an attack to end Athenian superiority. In 404bc The Spartan army easily conquered ill equipped Athens. In Athenian democracy 400 nobles proposed laws and an assembly of 500 hundred accepted the laws. This assembly consisted of everyday working class men. The more time these men spent away from their jobs the less money they made. This posed a drag on the economy. Also the assembly of 500 was meaningless...