What made Athens and Sparta two different yet unique city states?

          Just like the warring present day countries, Greek civilization too witnessed two warring city states. They were Athens and Sparta; both of them were powerful in their own areas yet were great rivals. There were many differences between these cities in terms of lifestyle and value system.

          Athens was the capital city of Greece, and was the largest and the wealthiest city in Greece. Its citizens included astronomers, mathematicians, thinkers, writers and artists.

          This was a society with slaves, but its finest rulers, such as Pericles had vision. Its government was the first real democracy. People came to Athens from all over the Greece and across, to study and trade. The city’s famous building was the temple called Parthenon. This was dedicated to the goddess Athena, protector of the city.

  

        Life in Sparta was totally different from that of Athens. They were a military centred society. Spartan men were trained to be fearless warriors.

          There was no democracy in Sparta. Sport was encouraged. Both boys and girls were encouraged to be fit. Boys as young as seven were taken from home and trained to be soldiers.