Compare Athens and Sparta

Even though Athens and Sparta are both dominant Greek-city states they share a multitude of differences and similarities in government, military, and social/economic structures.   For example, Athenian’s practiced democratic government principles while Spartans practiced oligarchic government principles.   However, both Athenians and Spartans were highly regarded for their strong military forces.   While, military service was optional for Athenians it was mandatory for Spartans.   One reason Sparta had a primary military focus is because it needed to maintain strict control of the helots, slaves from Messenia Greece.   The Athenian woman had limited freedom and she was expected to be a good wife. Her main obligation was to have children particularly male children and she could not own property beyond personal items.   The Athenian woman was always accompanied by a male guardian.   In contrast, the Spartan woman had more power in her household and she had unrestricted freedom to move about with limited supervision.     Similarly, Athenians and Spartans both depended on agriculture.  
Sparta’s government was a lot different from Athens because Sparta was an oligarchy, meaning it was ruled by a few.   However, Sparta was also influenced by monarchy because the Assembly elected two kings who handed down their reign to their heirs.   Sparta had a Council of Elders and five Ephors which were elected annually.   The Ephors exercised supervisory power over the kings of Sparta.   Athens was a democracy in which the people ruled. Athens had a council of 500 and they were charged with administering admissions charged for the assembly. The assembly consisted of male citizens only and they would gather to elect officials and vote on political concerns.   In Athens, all citizens participated in governmental activities, but this was only for males, because women and slaves weren’t considered citizens. The two Greek city-states were similar in which they both had strong and powerful...