Athens and Sparta

[soonny]

Was Sparta established before Athens or was it the other way around? Why were they always fighting?

[tartanwiz]

Sparta came first (around 1180 BC).  Athens rose to prominence in the 6th century BC.  The Greek city states, although they shared a common language, were divided by geographical location and lack of communication, but most importantly by politics.  Athens was essentially the world's first democracy (they had slavery but all free citizens were entitled to partake in government), whereas Sparta was  very much a military state, where all citizens were effectively members of the army and families lived in barracks.  There were other differences too, such as cultural and diplomatic, but I hope that gives you something to be going on with.