The two city states of Athens and Sparta were bitter rivals in ancient times in Greece. Geographically they are close in comparison but very different in values, lifestyle and culture. What was the culture of Sparta and Athens? How resilient are their armies? Some say that these two city-states had the greatest rivalry, is that true? Sparta, the brutal all-conquering city-state! That's partly true, but Sparta is just like the Vikings there, ruthless, but when they're at home and not raiding they're quite people. Sparta's culture is fascinating, they were good at art, sports, etc. Sparta was focused on the military aspect. They were highly effective on and off the battlefield. Spartan society was based on the constitution and was governed by a mixed state government. Kings were considered equal in power, and their dual rule was designed to ensure fairness and harmony in the state. The Spartan elders known as Gerousias, consisted of two Spartan kings. Be over sixty years old and the most noble is the family. Gerousias, played an important role in Spartan society. If a slave got out of hand, the Gerousia would have the power to punish. Spartan arts and sports were important to the community of Sparta. The Spartans literally lived for exercise. The Spartans were so intrigued by the Olympics that if you didn't take them seriously you would be punished. The arts were one of the most important categories in Sparta. Sparta was not as interested in fancy buildings as other city-states who built victory arches for their great success. Education was important to the people of Sparta. Let's just say everything matters to Sparta! They valued military and combat excellence above all else. They believed that intelligent government… middle of paper… was democratic. Sparta was actually formed by Dorian invaders and the Athenians are the ancestors of the Ionians. Sparta is located in the Laconia region while Athens is located in the Attica region. In ancient times, Athens had more citizens than Sparta. In ancient times Athens had 140,000 and Sparta only 100,000, but in modern times the population of Athens grows much more and reaches the estimate of 3,760,800 and Sparta in Sparta drops to 18,180 people. The culture in Sparta is really laid back, but in Athens they are very forward thinking. Describing more about the callus and the ruthless Athenian way of doing things, compared to the city state of Sparta or (Sparti), will help to understand more about these two city states. They were the greatest and most powerful of all times in ancient Greece!! They will not be forgotten about the great armies of Greece.