mountains, the Greek mainland was both protected from its enemies, and isolated from its allies,

making communication between the many Greek city-states extremely difficult. Each city-state

and the lands around it were referred to as a polis, and each polis functioned as an independent

country, with its own laws and government. Despite the unwillingness and inability of the Greek

city-states to unite, the Greeks were able to leave a long-lasting mark on western civilization.

The two principle city states in Greece were Athens and Sparta. The two cities had little

in common. Sparta, located on the Peloponnesus was a militaristic society, which prided itself

above all and foremost in its army, while Athens, which lay northeast of the Peloponnesus, was a

center of art, philosophy, architecture, and theater.

The importance of the military was clearly evident in the Spartan society, which believed

that strong men could protect the city just as well if not better than a wall. The government was

founded on the principle that the life of an individual belonged to the state. There were three

distinct classes that inhabited Sparta. Spartan

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Council Elders, Ancient Greece, Olympic Games, Sparta Spartan, Sparta Assembly, Spartan War, Spartans Athenians, Athens Sparta, Pericles Athenians, Athenians Parthenon, male citizens, greek city-states, male citizens age, architecture art, spartans athenians, strived achieve, art philosophy, supreme court, importance military, athenians strived achieve, spectacular architecture, responsible passing laws, owe athenians,