Sparta v. Athens Sample Essay
Ancient Greece is a land of many city-states, called poleis. Each polis had its own government, laws, rulers, and customs, although they did have certain things in common such as their language and religion. As a rule, though, the city-states did not get along. Two of the most famous and influential city-states were Sparta and Athens. If anyone today were given the opportunity to travel in time to live in one of those two city-states, Sparta should definitely be the one they chose. Sparta is far superior to Athens because their army was fierce and protective, girls received some education and women had more freedom than in other poleis.
First, the army of Sparta was the strongest fighting force in Greece. Beginning at the age of 7, young boys were sent from their families to live in military barracks (Spielvogel, 2006). They were treated harshly to make them tough so that they would be a fierce fighting force when they turned 20 (Bartel). These soldiers than stayed and fought until they were 60 so the army was always ready to go to war (Spielvogel, 2006). This made Sparta one of the safest cities to live in.
Secondly, in Sparta girls were able to learn a lot more than in other places. Spartan girls were not taught just by their mothers like in Athens. They received training in sports, such as the javelin and running (Spielvogel, 2006). The Spartans believed this made t...
