Smart Athens or Strong Sparta?

             Which would you believe to be more civilized for a city-state, to be extremely smart or extremely strong? Before answering, one would have to define the word "civilized". For a society to become civilized, it has to have a type of government, protection, communication, economy, shelter, water source, "an equilibrium with the surrounding environment" (Agent Smith, Matrix), advancement in education, and morals (religion). Athens was more civilized than Sparta by their strong economy, adaptation, and education.
             Athens economy was much stronger and more advanced than the economy of Sparta. Both Athens and Sparta had a monetary currency; what makes Athens' so much stronger and advanced was that the money was open to everyone, not just the middle class like Sparta. In addition, Athens had an open trade with other city-states and territories whereas Sparta only traded with themselves and a few territories very close to theirs. The proof of Athens' effectiveness in economy is that most of the world today uses a monetary currency and trades with other countries and regions. Athens had a more civilized economy than that of Sparta.
             For a society to be civilized, the people have to adapt with the environment in which they live. The Athenians acclimatized with the area they lived in much quicker than the Spartans. Both city-states were on islands, but the Athenians realized this and became master fishermen whereas the Spartans may have had some fishermen but were not near as great as the people of Athens. The Athenians also showed their adaptation by using their knowledge of the island in Salamis when the Athenians hold off 200,000 Persians by leading them into the narrow valley between two mountains and eventually destroy the Persian fleet at Salamis. Athens adapted to their surrounding environment making them more civilized that Sparta.
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Smart Athens or Strong Sparta?. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 17:01, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/3301.html