Athens vs Sparta

By Harrison Krauss
Athens and Sparta were both very powerful cities in Ancient Greece. Although Sparta had
a unbeatable army, I think that Athens is better than Sparta because they let people leave the city,
Athens had a democratic government, and men only fought during times of war.
The first reason that Athens is better than Sparta because they let people leave the city.
Athens wanted people to leave their city because they wanted change and they liked new ideas.
In Sparta they werent aloud to leave because they didnt want new ideas and change. On the
other hand, Athens had people leave to learn new ideas and bring them back to Athens. Socrates
was a philosopher who taught in Athens. He wanted people to go out and bring new ideas back to
Athens. This proves why Athens is better than Sparta.
Another reason that Athens is better than Sparta is because Athens had a democratic
government. A democratic government is a government of the people. If you were a free man
over 20 then you had political rights. All of the free men took part in the city-states assembly. If
it was a decision then every man had one vote and it was based on majority rule. This proves
why Athens is better than Sparta.
The last reason that Athens is better than Sparta is because men only fought during war.
Sparta took boys at age seven to train to be in the army. They trained until they were 18 and
served in the army until they were 30. Spartans had a huge military because they didnt want
their slaves to escape and didnt want people to think anywhere else is better. Athens thought that
they only needed a army when they were attacked. That is why Athens is better than Sparta.
I hope that I persuaded you that Athens is better than Sparta. Athens is better than Sparta
because they let people leave the city, Athens had a democratic government, and men only
fought during times of war. Eventually Athens and Sparta both became the most powerful places
in Greece. Both werent satisfied and they went to war. The war was called the Peloponnesian
War. It lasted 27 years. Sparta made Athens surrender in 404 B.C.