Athens.
Sparta had the largest area after it conquered the southern Peloponnese, while Athens had limited land in Attica, until it created an empire for 50 years of the GREEK cities in the eastern Aegean Sea littoral.
Both, but very heavily by land and minimally by sea due to its' weak navy.
When Athens used its navy to good effect during the 27-year Peloponnesian War, Sparta realised that it had to get the Peloponnesian league an equally strong nave to succeed. They took money from Persia to build a fleet which finally destroyed the Athenian navy and led to Athens' surrender.
Athens was the maritime power and Sparta was the continental power. The war slogged on and off for over thirty years until Sparta finally gained superiority at sea, and a plague brought in form the Pontic grain ships killed possibly as many as one-third of the population of Athens, leaving it, almost literally, too weak to fight.
Usually they hated each other... but in times when invaders attacked Greece, they became allies and fought the invaders. Athens and Sparta would have HUGE wars between themselves when outsiders weren't attacking. They were bitter enemies as well as strong allies.
athens because they were protected by Poseidon god of the seas
athens because they were protected by Poseidon god of the seas
That would be Athens
the Mediterranean
Sparta used a phalanx and Athens transported lots of troops over sea to Peloponnesus
Persians
* The Sea South of Athens is the Aegean Sea. Athens is located at the Argosaronikos Gulf. The ancient port of Athens is Pireaus, which today is a modern district of Athens an a big commercial habour.* Sparta on the other hand has got no sea at all. The nearest and most used in Antiquity is at the centre of Peloponissos and at southest point, and is the nowadays the city of Kalamata. The Greek town of Gytheio, often called sea port of Sparta, is located towards north western area of Gulf of Laconia, in Peloponnese. The sea in Gulf of Laconia, south of Sparta, is the Meditteranean Sea
A navy is not on land, so neither had the best navy.
The Peloponnesian war was Between Athens and Sparta. Sparta was jealous of Athens and hated their idea of democracy. Sparta was strong on land, Athens at sea. But in the end, Sparta won and established an Oligarchy called the 30 tyrants. But 50 years later when Sparta was still weak from fighting Athens, a kingdom to the north called Macedonia, led by Alexander the Great, conquered Sparta.
Athens is on the coast and has easy access to harbors. It is also a part of a peninsula so there were several port cities surrounding them. Sparta is further inland and is surrounded by mountains. Sparta and Athens are separated by the Aegean sea and the Gulf of Corinth.
Sparta had the largest area after it conquered the southern Peloponnese, while Athens had limited land in Attica, until it created an empire for 50 years of the GREEK cities in the eastern Aegean Sea littoral.
Sparta and Athens