Author Description

*Explains how Athens and Sparta mastered warfare on land and sea, including the use of hoplites and triremes. *Discusses the lives and legacies of famous Athenians and Spartans, including Leonidas, Lycurgus, Plato, Pericles, and more. *Includes Pericles' Funeral Oration from the Peloponnesian War. *Explains the political systems used by Athens and Sparta and their unique cultures. *Includes pictures of Athens and Sparta, as well as depictions of important people, places, and events. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. "What I would prefer is that you should fix your eyes every day on the greatness of Athens as she really is, and should fall in love with her. When you realize her greatness, then reflect that what made her great was men with a spirit of adventure, men who knew their duty, men who were ashamed to fall below a certain standard." - The Funeral Oration of Pericles, quoted by Thucydides "The walls of Sparta were its young men, and its borders the points of their spears." - attributed to King Agesilaos For 2500 years, the Ancient Greeks have fascinated the West, who look to Greece as the creators of Western culture. Indeed, the Greeks revolutionized warfare, art, architecture, government, philosophy, and more. Of all the Greeks' accomplishments, many can be credited to the two most famous city-states of all: Athens and Sparta. The most unique city-state in Ancient Greece was Sparta, which continues to fascinate contemporaneous society. It is not entirely clear why Sparta placed such a great emphasis on having a militaristic society, but the result was that military fitness was a preoccupation from birth. If a Spartan baby did not appear physically fit at birth, it was left to die. Spartan children underwent military training around the age of 7 years old, and every male had to join the army around the age of 18. The Spartans, whose carefully constructed approach to warfare and - there is no other word for it - S