What differentiates the poleis of Athens, Sparta, and Miletus?

Politics and Government

Fifth-century Athens has become famous for its adoption of direct democracy. In this system, land-owning men voted directly on laws and state-actions. They also served on juries and were selected to serve in public office by a lottery. Prior to this system, Athens was ruled by tyrants who exercised near-total control. In good times, these tyrants were actually supported by the general populace.

The government of the Spartans was based on a system of kings ruling with the help of an oligarchy. Uniquely, Sparta always had two concurrent kings from two hereditary dynasties. Decisions were made only when these two kings were in agreement. The kings ruled alongside a council of elders known as the Gerousia. These elders were elected by other elderly Spartan champions and served as advisors to the kings as well as providing some limited legislative functions. The Spartans also had a national assembly (apella) that could accept or reject the passage of laws.

At first, Miletus was ruled by kings. This did not last long and the kings were overthrown around the year 630 BCE. What followed was a series of tyrants who ruled alongside the elected oligarchic assembly chief magistrate known as the prytaneia.

Economy

The Athenian economy was largely based on trade. Since the land surrounding Athens was not suitable for farming, the Athenians developed a sophisticated trade-network that allowed them to import enough food for their population. Silver, olive-oil, pottery, and honey from Athens found its way to ports all over the eastern and central Mediterranean. In return, the Athenians were able to import grain and other natural products to support themselves.

Sparta's economy relied on food grown on conquered lands. The Spartans did not trade much at all with their neighbors, and therefore all their food had to come from within their dominion. This led to a rather insular economy. Since it was considered beneath Spartan men to farm, most of the labor was done by enslaved and subjugated peoples.

Being located at the nexus of the Greek and West Asian worlds, Miletus was well-positioned as a commercial center. It was an important trading hub from its earliest days and grew wealthy as a result. Miletus also had many colonies that were rich in natural resources. This allowed it to prosper by exporting goods and materials throughout the region and beyond. Wool from Miletus was of extremely good quality and was coveted throughout the Greek world. They also produced large quantities of oil and wine from export.

It's important to keep in mind that the Greek polities were organized as city states with their own separate traditions and histories. Thus, the divergences between each of these three city-states will tend to be dramatic.

Geographically, it's important to recognize that Ancient Greek civilization extended well beyond the confines of the modern Greek mainland, a fact which is reflected in Miletus, located as it is in what is nowadays the country of Turkey. When it comes to philosophy and intellectual achievement, Miletus was the earliest center of Greek philosophical inquiry. In addition, its location would bring it into the sphere of Achaemenid Persia.

Athens and Sparta, on the other hand, are both located in modern-day Greece. Athens is famous for its importance in the history of democracy and Western philosophy. It was also a major center of artistic achievement, thanks in no small part to the exploitation of its empire.

Sparta, on the other hand, while the most radically militarized of the Greek city-states, was far less aggressively expansionist than the Athenians were. Instead, it primarily focused its efforts on maintaining hegemony in the Peloponnese, and keeping its large population of helots in a condition of brutal suppression. Athens and Sparta would famously clash in the Peloponnesian War, which ended in an Athenian defeat.

Name two characteristics among the poleis of Athens, Sparta, and Miletus.

These three Greek city-states each had characteristics of their own while sharing certain similar traits. The economies of Athens and Miletus were heavily based on trade and commerce. Neither were located in a place well suited for large-scale farming. Therefore, these cities imported much of their food. Both produced olive oil and pottery for export. Miletus was particularly famed for its high-quality wool.

Sparta had a whole different sort of economy. This city-state conducted very little trade. Instead, Spartans relied on food grown by conquered people on conquered lands. It was considered un-Spartan to do the actual farming. Therefore, agricultural work was done by slaves and other subjugated peoples. This led Sparta to develop a much more insular economy than Athens or Miletus.

Culturally, they all shared certain Greek characteristics. For the most part, they all worshipped the gods of the Greek pantheon. They all spoke a dialect of Greek. However, they also had distinct differences. In the fifth century BCE, Athens put a lot of value on citizen participation in politics. Adult male citizens voted on laws, served on juries, and were selected for public office. The study of philosophy was an important part of Athenian culture.

Miletus also valued its thinkers and, after Athens, produced some of Greece's most well-known philosophers. Being at the edge of the Greek and Persian worlds, as well as a major trading hub, Miletus had a more cosmopolitan culture. Cross-cultural influences defined much of the social and cultural identity of this city-state. As far as the government is concerned, Miletus was ruled for a period by kings. Later, it was governed by a series of tyrants who ruled alongside an elected council of magistrates.

Sparta differs the most from these other city-states. They cultivated a warrior class in which boys and men strived for little more than to be soldiers for Sparta. Like Athenians, Spartans placed value on the duties of a citizen. In Athens, civic participation involved casting ballots. In Sparta, it meant donning armor and going to war. Spartans were also much more wary of outside cultural influences than most other Greeks. Their government was composed of two concurrent kings from two different dynasties who ruled alongside a council of elders and an elected assembly. In this sense, they practiced separation of political power, though in different forms than Athens and Miletus.

It's important to recognize that Classical Greece comprises a much larger geographic expanse than the modern nation of Greece. Note that Athens and Sparta are located in the modern country of Greece, with Sparta situated in the Peloponnese and Athens situated in Attica, as compared to Miletus, which is located in Asia Minor.

I would note that both Athens and Sparta shared in a great hatred of tyranny. By this, I mean tyranny within the Greek context, in which Greek aristocratic politics would fall under the control of a single dominant personality (For more information, see Ian Morris & Barry B. Powell, The Greeks: History, Culture and Society: Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2006, chapter 8). In both Athens and Sparta, political structures evolved to limit the concentration of power. In the Athenian case, there was ostracism and the use of sortition (by which offices are chosen by random selection). Both served as means to prevent individuals from building too much influence (see Morris & Powell, chapter 10). Meanwhile, one can look at Sparta, with its divided Kingship (there were always two Kings) and the supervisory powers of the Ephors. Indeed, there is an argument that, in the case of Sparta, "different institutions exercised checks and balances on each other. The kings controlled war and religion, the Elders controlled law, and the Ephors fair play." (Morris & Powell, 293)

Additionally, it's worth noting that while Sparta was the most militarized state in Greece, its militarism was largely defensive in purpose, and historically, it's foreign policy was focused largely around the Peloponnese. The Athenians, on the other hand, would become far more ambitious and aggressive, taking a leadership role in Delian League (an alliance aimed against Persia), which it would later convert into empire. This empire would, in turn, fuel the Athenian Golden Age.

Finally, to turn towards Miletus, it's worth noting that Miletus, for part of its history, fell under the control of the Persian Empire. In addition, Miletus was one of the earliest centers of Greek philosophy and was home to critical thinkers such as Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes. This was a key intellectual center during the early history of Greek philosophy, and Athens would emerge as a key intellectual center much later within that history.