Athens vs. Sparta Great Cities at Life and War

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Sparta vs. Athens
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Sparta vs. Athens

• Same country, different worlds.
• A tale of two great cities at war!!!
• The Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

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Athens

• Named for the city's patron goddess, Athena, the
  ancient city developed mainly to the north of
  this hill, around the Agora, or marketplace
• In the eighth century BC, the nobles became very
  wealthy, particularly off of the cash crops of
  wine and olive oil, as their wealth increased,
  the nobles of the Areopagus slowly stripped the
  king of power until Athenian government
  imperceptibly became an oligarchy.

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Sparta

• It is said to have been founded by Lacedaemon,
  the son of Zeus and Taygete, who married Sparta,
  the daughter of Eurotas.
• The Messenean War the Messenians revolted in 640
  BC. This was no ordinary revolt, for not only did
  the Messenians almost win, they almost destroyed
  Sparta itself.
• Almost defeated and controlling the territory of
  a subject population that outnumbered their
  population ten to one, the Spartans turned their
  state into what amounts to a military state.

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Athenian Life

• It is the place that humanism and democracy were
  born.
• It is the place where Socrates was born, Plato,
  Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and many others.

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Spartan Life

• The Spartan government was founded on the
  principle that the life of every individual, from
  the moment of birth, belonged absolutely to the
  state.
• The elders of the city-state inspected the
  newborn infants and ordered the weak and
  unhealthy ones to be carried to a nearby chasm
  and left to die only those who were physically
  fit would survive.
• The children who were allowed to live were
  brought up under a severe discipline. At the age
  of 7, boys were removed from their parents'
  control and organized into small bands.
• The strongest and most courageous youths were
  made captains.

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Persian War

• 8th-century BC a peaceful Athens became the
  artistic centre of Greece.
• Next came a period of social reform, followed by
  unrest and subsequent tyranny.
• Athens didn't shake off oppression until 510 BC,
  when Sparta stepped in to help. Following the
  defeat of the Persian Empire, Athens' power grew
  enormously

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Peloponnesian War

• The Persian wars allowed Athens' golden age
  monuments were built on the Acropolis, and drama
  and literature flourished.
• Threatened by Athens great prosperity Sparta
  attacks!
• The Peloponnesian Wars begin in 431BC.

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The Peloponnesian War

• After 27 years of fighting, Sparta gained the
  upper hand, and Athens slid from its former
  glory.
• During this time Athens still produced Socrates,
  Plato and Aristotle.

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References

• http//www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/at
  hens/history.htm
• http//www.athensguide.org/athens-history.html
• http//www.wsu.edu8080/dee/GREECE/SPARTA.HTM
• http//www.sikyon.com/Sparta/sparta_eg.html
• http//www.sikyon.com/Athens/athens_eg.html
• http//www.greekshops.com/detail.html?CartID66196
  7240156ProdIDThehistorychannel