Athens and Sparta Comparison

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Compare the governments of Sparta and Athens Athens’s government was a democracy, while Sparta’s government was an oligarchy. A democracy is a form of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of all the people. Democracy comes from the root words demos (people) and kratos (power). Athenian citizens were able to vote and use their voices to help change things and better the community. An oligarchy is a form of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of a few leaders. Oligarchy comes from the root words oligos (few) and arkhein (rule). In Sparta the ruling power was in the hands of a few wealthy people. In Sparta, boys started training to become a soldier at the age of seven while in Athens boys were not forced to join the army. Athens focused on education and the arts, but Sparta concentrated on military strength. Sparta mostly kept to itself and helped other states with army and assistance when needed, but Athens wanted to conquer more land which led to the conflict between the two states. In Sparta women had more rights than women is Athens. Spartan women were allowed to own property but Athenian women could not own property. In Athens women mostly stayed home. There they spent time weaving and cooking for their family. Spartan women were free of doing chores. Sparta mostly imported metal and Athens depended on trade. Athens had an Ionian descent and Sparta had a Dorian descent. Athens was the capital and largest city of Greece. Sparta was located in the center of Peloponnese, which was in Southern Greece. Athens had a Mediterranean climate and Sparta’s climate was quite dry. Athens’s population was approximately 140,000 and Sparta’s population was approximately

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