Tyler Coomes

Period 6
9/19/14
CC Essay 1
Sparta and Athens were two Greek societies that lived hand-in-hand, yet diverged in
many ways. Sparta was reliant on land, while Athens relied on the sea. The two were
governed centrally, yet were still entirely different. Between the ages of 2000 BC - 250 AD,
the civilizations Sparta and Athens both had a centralized government, however trade and
the development of visual arts was dissimilar.
Both Sparta and Athens had a centralized government, although they had two
contrary ways of running it. Sparta was a tough, powerful place run through military
oligarchy. They kept control over their citizens with one main ruler. In comparison, Athens
began as an aristocracy. This meant that wealthy men, or aristocrats, would gather at
assemblies in order to vote on what comes next in the government. This system didnt last,
however, and Athens became a democracy later on. This way of government is also ruled
by one main leader, keeping everyone under the same rule. Centralized governing helped
greatly in stabilizing and expanding, causing these two societies to come into power
quickly.
Sparta traded by land while Athens traded by sea. Spartas military was trained on
land, so that was always their strongest leg, as their entire government was centered
around military. This meant that trade came in and out of Sparta by land. Athens, on the
other hand, was a seaport civilization. They relied on the sea for not only their military, but
their trade. Athens worked on building ships frequently, and many citizens became sailors
as well. Trade was easily monitored and kept on track through the sea because it was only
coming from one direction. It was slightly limiting, however, due to land always being there
to trade through.
Sparta didnt develop visual arts in the way that Athens did. Sparta was never
focused on arts due to being a military oligarchy. Spartans were more worried about
obtaining greater strength and building up stamina. Athens is incomparable in this aspect.
Athens cared more about luxury and material wealth. This included theater/drama and art,
as well as architecture that is still used today. They expanded greatly on beautification and
not so much on strength, which in the end bit them. Athens had to ask Sparta for help in
war, but when Sparta was against them, Athens didnt have a chance. Spartas military
was so built up in strength and stamina, that they ultimately won their battles.
While both Sparta and Athens were centralized governments, Sparta was a military
oligarchy unlike Athens democracy. In the end, trade differed in location and visual arts grew
very differently in the two regions. The materialistic thinking of Athens led to their defeat,
while the strength training in Sparta led ultimately to victory.