When discussing ancient civilizations, one of the most prominent has to be the Greek civilization. Under the rule of various rulers, Greece saw a change from a pagan worshiping society that was almost abolished, to an enduring civilization that strived on philosophy, and intellectual thought. As the Greeks dispensed the gods in political life, they based government on human intelligence. The evolution of the Greek polis, or city-state, from a tribal-religious institution to a secular rational institution, which is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of mankind, was only a part of the general transition of the Greek mind from myth to reason.
             What separated the Greeks from other Near Eastern civilizations, as well as gave it enduring significance, was the Greeks' gradual realization that political problems are caused by man and require earthly solutions. The Greeks also had a strong belief in their system of the city-state but it eventually would contribute to their demise. These city-states allowed for much separation within their political life, and thus was the cause for much suffering. Greece would endure two major wars, which would shape their civilization, and have a lasting effect. First was the Persian Wars with Sparta. Because Sparta was a walled city, and couldn't compete with the Athenian culture, Athens eventually triumphed. One of the most fascinating contrasts in this war is how different the two city-states could be.
             Athens was located on the peninsula of Attica, near the coast, possessed a great navy, and was a commercial leader for the Greeks. Sparta was a land power and was exclusively agricultural. Sparta's leaders pursued an isolationist foreign policy and believed in keeping their freedom in the homeland. The Athenians had such things as democracy and extended their hegemony over the Greeks. Unfortunately, after the long battles between Athens and Sparta were finally laid to rest, the Greeks woul...