Athens and Sparta
The country of Greece, in 400-500 BCE was led to greatness by two city-states. These city-states, diverse in ideas and actions, were Sparta and Athens. Sparta and Athens were as different as night and day. Sparta glorified military tactics while Athens took relish in art and learning. These city-states served not only as rivals but also allies. Sparta and Athens, two city-states with nothing in common but the desire to make Greece a powerful, omnipotent nation, accomplished their goal through their unity, diverseness, and controversy. To better understand the interaction between Sparta and Athens and their desire for Greece to be a strong nation, it is imperative to know the situation of these two city-states in the early 400's BCE. At this point in time, another city-state of Greece, Ionia was under the control of Persia. The Ionian Greeks were dissatisfied by Persian rule. A Persian tyranny dominated Ionia at this time and Ionians begged Sparta and Athens to relieve them from the burden of Persia. Sparta declined to help but Athens decided their assistance would prevent the Persian tyranny from spreading in the direction of Athens, their home. Athens easily defeated Persia and freed the Ionians in the battle of Marat
The fifth and sixth centuries BCE found both Sparta and Athens in seats of power in Greece. Unified, they defeated Persia and eliminated the threat of becoming part of the Persian Empire. The diverseness of Sparta and Athens allowed Greece to become powerful in two areas; one being military supremacy, the other being intellectual supremacy. Finally, the controversy between Sparta and Athens determined which city-state would have supreme control of Greece, settling the dispute for the last time. The city-states of Sparta and Athens accomplished their goal of making Greece an omnipotent nation through their unity, diverseness and controversy. After the Persian War, Athens, like Sparta, returned to ordinary life a more powerful city-state. The primary reason for Athens' increased influence on Greece was the formation of the League of Cities. Designed by Athens, the League of Cities was, according to Dorothy Mills, "...an establishment whereby members [other Greek city-states] paid to enlarge and strengthen the superior Athenian fleet to protect Greece from the threat of Persia." (Mills 289). While Athens did perform its duties by offering protection to all of Greece, it used its position in the League to force other city-states into agreeing with Athens. In addition, Athens, according to The Book of Ancient Greeks, by laws of Pericles (the leader of Athens at this time) made it possible for every Athenian citizen to take an active part in the government. Thus the government became a democracy, a state ruled by the many (Mills 299). Furthermore, Athens acquired wealth by collecting payment from members of the League of Cities. With this wealth Athens was able to beautify their city and focus their attentions on the cultivation of learning and
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sparta Athens, Asimov Spartans, War Sparta, League Cities, Peloponnesian War, Persia Sparta, Athens Sparta, Margaret Killingray, Persia Mills, Cities Athens, sparta athens, encarta 97 encyclopedia, league cities, encarta 97, 97 encyclopedia, persian tyranny, persian war, war war, peloponnesian war, athens sparta, peloponnesian war war, increased influence greece, control league cities, influence greece, unity diverseness controversy,
Approximate Word count = 1189
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
