The Greatest Greek City-States During The Classical Era

Greek culture has been one of the most important cultures that shaped modern world but
Greek culture had to go through many changes throughout the years, going from periods of
extreme poverty to periods of great power and the creation of an empire. The period in which
Greece went through poverty and disruption is known as the Dark Age. During the Dark Age
many major settlements were abandoned and people started moving according to their new
pastoral lifestyle which led them to leave behind their old costumes and way of life. There are no
written records from the Greek Dark Age which means that they were illiterate, their stories were
spread orally. Despite the poverty and difficulties during the Dark Age, Greece actually saw two
major developments: the spread of culture in the Aegean and the development of the city-states,
known as polis. After the Dark Age, and with the development of the polis and spread of Greek
influence, Greece made a transition into what is known as the Classical Era. During the Classical
era Greece achieved its peak in culture, science and philosophy. This was also the time were
Athens and Sparta emerged as the most powerful city-states in Greece. The times in the Classical
era were much better than in the Dark Age, and the city-states saw a development in their social
life. Athens and Sparta had their similarities and differences, they fought together during the
second Persian invasion and then fought each other during the Peloponnesian War. The most
notable differences between Athens and Sparta were their type of government, their social life
and cultural aspects, and their foreign relations with other city-states.
There were two major forms of government in Greece during the Classical Era,
democracy and oligarchy. Democracy means the rule of the citizens and was the type of
government in Athens. In an Athenian democracy, citizenship was limited only to free adult men
who had lived in the polis for a long time. Understanding World Societies says: the democracy

functioned on the idea that all full citizens should play a role in government, yet not all citizens
could take time from work to do this (Understanding World Societies 109). Since not all
citizens could participate in government they decided to nominate other people to represent
them, hence various offices to run the democracy were created. There were two important bodies
in Athenian Democracy: the boule or council, which guided political life in Athens and was in
charge of proposing bills; and the ecclesia, which was the assembly of all citizens and had the
final word in the bill making process by a simple majority vote. On the other hand, oligarchy
means the rule of the few and was the type of government in Sparta. In an oligarchy, citizens
who were able to meet the requirements for money or property could become one of the
oligarchs. Because of this type of government Sparta had two kings, a council of nobles and 5
ephors. Oligarchy was the form of government in other city-states as well, and its interest for
peoples concerns led to its long success.
Besides having two different forms of government, Athenian and Spartan lifestyle and
culture differed in many ways. Athens grew and became a big city-state thanks to its commercial
activity. According to Understanding World Societies, men worked as craftsmen or could with
the polis on public building. On the other hand, women were not considered citizens and had no
rights, their jobs were limited to household chores and only left the house to attend religious
festivals. However, a womans most important job was to bear and raise children. Pericles
turned Athens into the showplace of Greece (Understanding World Societies 111). With
Pericles, Athens reach its peak in arts and culture. Athens was also home to great artists, thinkers,
philosophers, and scientists who contributed to the development of Athens. On the other hand,
Sparta was a military city-state in which every citizen owed allegiance to Sparta, even to the
point where family life was sacrificed. In Sparta, children at the age of seven were taken away

for a long and hard military training. Because of this training Sparta was a state of warriors and
citizens became lifelong soldiers. As a result of men being absent for long periods of time due to
vigorous training, women in citizen families owned land and ran the estates. However, women
were also expected to go through a similar physical training. Little is known about Spartan
culture but individual thinking was rejected as men should focus on their training.
Both Athens and Sparta became powerful states, they contributed to the freeing of much
of Greece from Persian ruling. They fought together against the Persians and defeated them
during the second Persian invasion of Greece, but desire for more power drove Athens to grow
into an empire, usually forcing others to join. The Athenians formed the Delian League where
they collected tribute from other city-states by force and controlled their economic resources,
those who refused to join and obey Athens were put down (Understanding World Societies 110).
For example, in the Melian Dialogue the Melians tell the Athenians that they want to remain
neutral and be friends instead of enemies, to which the Athenians respond that their hostility
injures them less than their friendship, and that shows Athens weakness (Melian Dialogue 2).
The Athenians believed they were the best city state in Greece and wanted to keep expanding
their territory. On the other hand the Spartans created the Peloponnesian League, which was an
alliance between Sparta and most of the Peloponnesian city-states. The alliance provided security
and protections to its members, and Sparta did not collect a tribute except in times of war. The
Peloponnesian league supported oligarchy as a form of government and opposed democracy and
tyranny.
The Athenians and Spartan were very different during the Greek Classical era, they
became the most powerful states in Greece during the era. Despite both being Greek city-states,
their foreign policy was very different. Athens wanted to control more territory and usually

forced others to join Athens. Athens always looked for its own interest and not those of the other
city-states. On the other hand, Sparta formed alliances with the majority of the Peloponnesian
states to provide security and protection. Sparta did not look for its own interest. Athenian and
Spartan lifestyles and cultures were different. Athens had great culture and achieved a cultural
peak during the Classical Era thanks to the many thinkers, philosophers and artists that lived
there. Sparta focused more on its military, men had to start training at the age of seven and
became lifelong soldiers. Individual thinking was rejected in order to keep men focused on their
training. Finally, the form of government Athens and Sparta had played a role in their success as
major city-states. In Athens, the citizens chose people to represent them in the government. In
Sparta, any wealthy citizen who met the requirements for money was allowed into the governing
circle. Greek Classical era is one of the most important eras because of its achievements like the
forms of government and achievement in arts, architecture, and philosophy.