Comparison and Contrast Paragraph. Maria Pozniakova

In the 5th century B. C., two main political forces arose: Athens and Sparta. Both Athens and Sparta were equal in financial and military might, but at the same time those two polises differed in several ways. Athenian polis was the most important centre of democracy in ancient world; the population of this polis formed a special civil community that payed a lot of attention to market relations; Athens are also famous for the special system of civic education, the base of the whole political organization of the polis. In contrast, Spartians didn't pay any special attention to education, as the member of this polis was regarded firstly as a soldier and only then as a citizen. Just as in Athens, Spartians formed a special civic community, but market relationships were totally unacceptable here; this community was to preserve tradions of archaic equality of citizens. Speaking of political system, Sparta is probably the most famous ancient oligarchical polis. The confrontation between Sparta and Athens, as a result of all these factors, created  great political tension in the region in the 5th century B. C.