The rivalry between Athens and Sparta

The rivalry between Athens and Sparta

Why were Athens and Sparta somehow unfit or unable to lead a united Greece?

Coexistence between two or more parties that possess different ways of life and cultural believes can be hard, especially when the parties cannot agree to a consensus, as was the case between Sparta and Athens. Both had different ways of life. The Sparta, who were descendants of the Dorians, was made up of two tribes that unified into one. The leadership here consisted of two kings from the two tribes. This is opposed to the Athens who descendent from Lonian, having a democratic administration. Sparta society treated women as equals in the community without discrimination. Athens, on the other side, had a bias. Women were treated differently; that is, they received an inferior treatment.

Sparta valued fighting than formal education. They send their male population through fighting training that lasted for 23 years. Based on this, anyone was treated as lesser if they did not attend this training. This could be one of the reasons Sparta had no formal records of their history then. This was contrary to that of Athens as their population would go for mathematics and language training which represents the formal education. The above differences in the ways of life of the two groups made it difficult for the two to unite. Sparta’s ways were the exact opposite of the Athenians.

Why were the Macedonians able to succeed in uniting Greece?

Macedonia began as a small state but started to rise in the leadership of King Phillip II. This king was the father of Alexander the Great, and he reigned for 20 years. During his administration, this king sought to unify ancient Greece. His primary strategy was forcefully subduing the other states into one. He set the foundation for His goal before he met his death, which was forceful removal via assassination. His son, Alexander, rose to leadership to replace his father as alexander III. His main objective was to finish the work his father had started. Being knowledgeable of fighting strategies, he first eliminated his rivals before embarking on this mission. Later on, he began the unifying mission in which he would forcefully subdue the states and including them to the Macedonia kingdom, one after the other. He led by example as he joined the rest of the Macedonians in the mission, leaving his general in office. Greece has a peaceful and prosperous time during his leadership.

Was Greece ever really united before this?

Long into the past, two city-states existed a tense relationship, not just between the two but also among other states in the history of Greece. Series of waring occurred. The above two states went through cycles of power and greatness. For instance, a vast empire, the Athens before the Peloponnesian war, ended up defeated and also enslaved. However, it managed to recover through the years by engaging in state wars after that. The two had never been on the same lane in wars and always involved in fights with each other. Such wars include the Athens war against the Megara and Corinth, who were allied to Sparta in 456BC, which ended with Athens surrendering all the lands they had grabbed from Sparta and many other states back. Upon the end of this conflict, a peace agreement, named’ thirty years’ peace. This treaty did not last for long, though, as it was tested in 440 BC by Samos rebellion. These kinds of conflicts continued throughout history until 371 BC when the Thebes humbled sparta during the battle of Leuctra.