Why Is Athens Better Than Sparta

“Come back with your shield- or on it”. This quote is said by the Mother's of Sparta when their sons were going to war. It was supposed to be the parting cry of the mothers to their sons. Athens and Sparta were complete opposites. Athens was named after the goddess Athena and was located on the Attic plain on the Greek mainland. It was the largest and most influential polis or Greek city-state. Athens is well known for being the birthplace of democracy and the idea that all citizens should have their voices heard, this is also why it is considered an important polis. Unlike Athens, Sparta was named after an olympian but, by the wife of Lacedaemon. Lacedaemon was the founder of the city and was the son of Zeus. He was the king of the city and

It was the largest and most influential polis or Greek city-state. Athens is well known for being the birthplace of democracy and the idea that all citizens should have their voices heard, this is also why it is considered an important polis. Unlike Athens, Sparta was named after an olympian but by the wife of Lacedaemon. Lacedaemon was the founder of the city and was the son of Zeus. He was the king of the city and named Sparta after the queen, Queen Sparte, in her honor. Sparta was known for its athletic and militaristic values. Because of these values, Sparta was considered an important polis for its military power and loyalty to the state. The civilizations of Athens and Sparta are unique for a variety of reasons. Their government, military, education, and treatment of women developed based on different values and

Education in Athens and Sparta were different since they both felt different things were necessary to be learned. “The ability to read and write was important to all Athenian people-, reading and writing were needed to be a citizen, and to carry out their duty.”, Mass and elite democratic Athens: rhetoric, ideology, and the power of the people Ober, Josiah Princeton University Press, 1990. This quote helps explain the education system in Athens because Athenians were taught how to read and write to become a citizen and to be a member of the government. The boys were sent to private schools from the age of 6-17. Only boys were sent to school as they were the only gender to be considered a citizen of Athens. There they would learn about poetry, mathematics, science, and literature. Girls would learn how to weave and make clothes as well as bear and raise their children. The only time Athenian girls are taught reading and writing is if they’re lucky and their mother’s or an instructor taught them to do so. Athens even had an agora. In modern-day language, it would be called a town square. In the agora, there would be theatrical performances,