XENOPHON: Athens vs. Sparta - Why Sparta's Laws are Superior

The Polity of the Lacedaemonians talks about the laws and institutions created by Lycurgus, which train and develop Spartan citizens from birth to old age. It only because of Xenophon that we have most of our knowledge about the Spartans. Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens which may explain why he is so negative and sarcastic when describing the Athenian democracy. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C..

"But having realised at one time that Sparta, although one of the most sparsely populated of cities, proved to be the most powerful and most renowned city in Greece, I wondered how could this possibly have happened. However, when I perceived the practices of the Spartans, I wondered no longer". This .is a treatise by the ancient Greek historian Xenophon, describing the institutions, customs, and practices of the ancient Spartans. The work examines the reasons for Sparta's power and renown, despite the city state's sparse population. There are fifteen chapters: the first thirteen enumerate the practices and institutions that made Sparta great; the last two describe Sparta's decline and the survival of its monarchy. The Polity dates to the period between 387 and 375 BC, and is the only contemporary account of the Spartan political system which survives. Together with Plutarch's "Life of Lycurgus", it provides the most detailed surviving description of the Spartan state, and is considered the best source of information about Spartan women during classical antiquity.

Xenophon then describes the laws and customs of the city state Athens in the Polity of the Athenians.

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