I wanted to see the ancient city of Sparta, so I traveled to the Peloponnesus.
Well first the Athens government is a direct government. Sparta isn't. Athens ruled Ancient Greece for many years and were the most powerful group. Then during the Peloponnesian war, which was Sparta v.s the powerful Athens (in the 400's B.C) at the end, we ended with a new powerful group called Sparta. The Spartanians were so releaved and excited and Athenians so depressed. That is a big difference in Greek City-States government. Some similarities is that they both had citizens that had to be males, but a big difference between that is to be a citizen in Athenia, you had to be a male, but you had to have family in that city-state for 3 generations. In Sparta and other city-states you had to be also a male, but had to be born in that city-state which made a lot of Citizens. Thanks! AncientGreekGirl :)
Athens and Sparta were both culturally Greek so there is no point in saying they were culturally diverse and there was a geographic reason for difference.
All Greek city-states required their citizens to be trained in warfare and attend monthly drills as a means of survival.in an environment of ongoing fighting between the cities. As Sparta had a serf population which provided for the citizens, they did not have to work the land for subsistence and so could afford to do the training continuously.
Philip II during his campaign to be the leading state of Greece sent a message to Sparta saying "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city.." Sparta sent back a reply "If". Alexander and Philip stayed clear of Sparta. With much of Greece already united under his hegemony, Sparta could be left alone while he concentrated on his campaign against the Persians who had subjugated the Greek states in Asia Minor.
I wanted to see the ancient city of Sparta, so I traveled to the Peloponnesus.
It was a leading city-state in the Greek world. Today it is is interesting as a historical participator in the ancient world.
Well first the Athens government is a direct government. Sparta isn't. Athens ruled Ancient Greece for many years and were the most powerful group. Then during the Peloponnesian war, which was Sparta v.s the powerful Athens (in the 400's B.C) at the end, we ended with a new powerful group called Sparta. The Spartanians were so releaved and excited and Athenians so depressed. That is a big difference in Greek City-States government. Some similarities is that they both had citizens that had to be males, but a big difference between that is to be a citizen in Athenia, you had to be a male, but you had to have family in that city-state for 3 generations. In Sparta and other city-states you had to be also a male, but had to be born in that city-state which made a lot of Citizens. Thanks! AncientGreekGirl :)
A Polis was a term to define a city-state in ancient Greece so like Sparta, Athens, Trojan etc.
The Spartans were the military of the city-state of Sparta.They were the citizens of the city-state of Ancient Greece called Sparta in the region of Laconia. They were known in ancient times as Lakedaimonians,which is broad term for the city that consisted of five villages,and neighboring populated areas.
Both city-states of ancient Greece bought goods for their own needs. But Athens was a sea-going trading nation and Sparta was not, so Athens was by far the biggest buyer and seller of goods of the two.
Sparta was weakened because at Sparta there were only woman who could not fend for themselves against rivals close to Sparta and so their city fell horribly. At one time they were the most powerful city-state in Greece.
It looks like Sparta was a city from around 900 BC or so until 192 BC.
Ancient Greece was not one large country as it is today. It was made up of a number of city states, such as Sparta and Athens. So there was no set political capital, rather political power shifted to what ever city had most control over the others at a specific time.
A city of great fame located on the peninsula portion (called the Peloponnesus) of mainland Greece was Sparta. Known for its highly stratified society and, even more, the excellence of its soldiers in battle, Sparta was one of the most powerful Greek societies in ancient times.
All did, for survival. Sparta was exclusively devoted to it.
The Ancient period is generally held to transition into Mediaeval (Dark Age) in 500 CE, so Ancient doesn't apply. However in 1000 CE, Sparta, as with the rest of the Peloponnese, was depopulated and a rural village of no importance, certainly not militarily.