The city state of Sparta, in many respects, was different from Athens. Geographically it was situated in a mountainous area which isolated it from other cities. The state was founded in 10th century BC and within 200 years it became so powerful that it defeated its neighbours and assumed the role of supreme power in Greece.

The conquests helped Sparta to become more resourceful because, on the one hand, it possessed the fertile land of the conquered territories which was distributed among the Spartan citizens and, on the other hand, it brought a large number of war prisoners who became slaves. As Sparta became a wealthy state, it patronised art and craft, music and poetry. However, the cultural activities were discontinued because of constant wars with its neighbours. To face the challenges, Sparta devoted all its resources to strengthen its military.

In order to make Sparta a garrison state, one of its lawmakers, Lycurgus played an important role. It is assumed that he lived either in 900BC or 700BC. According to his laws, every Spartan had to serve in the army. To make the citizen hardcore soldiers, it was customary to take away boys at the age of seven from their families and keep them in training camps where they underwent tough military training. This made the Spartan the best fighters in Greece.

Sparta's political system constituted an assembly where all the male citizens of the state were members. However, the real authority was enjoyed by the senate which consisted of 28 members, including two kings whose families belonged to military commanders.

Slaves had to do everything. They remained engaged in domestic work and also worked as farmers in the fields. As they were exploited and treated badly, they revolted frequently against the state. The revolts subsequently caused the destabilisation of state. The non-natives were not allowed to do business in Sparta. This discrimination further damaged the economy of the state.

When Persia invaded Greece, Sparta fought bravely to defend it. Until 404BC Sparta retained its military power but during 362BC and 371BC, the army of Sparta lost its strength and it was easily defeated by its neighbours.

As Sparta devoted all its resources to its military, it could not contribute towards a good education system. Sparta authorities were afraid of new ideas and innovative thoughts, therefore they did not allow their citizens to travel to other parts of the country so as not to get influenced by other cultures. There was no freedom of thought and people were compelled to obey the state without raising any voice.

Majority of the male citizens used to spend their time in camps, so there was no family life. However, it gave some freedom to women to manage the family affairs in the absence of male members.

The history of Sparta has a very important lesson for everyone. When compared with Athens, Sparta did not produce any great philosopher or literary figure because it spent all its resources just to strengthen its army. This made Sparta intellectually barren and absence of educated officials resulted in the collapse of its military power.