Cleisthenes, Ephialtes, Pericles.
Democracy in Athens was an evolving experiment which lasted on and off for a bit over a century. The US is not a democracy - it is a republic which as a form of democratic government which has been going for over two hundred years and counting.
Republic and democracy are two different things. A Republic can be a democracy, just as a constitutional monarchy today can be a democracy. Democracy existed in the Roman Republic, as it had three different assemblies of the citizens (Centuriate, Tribal, Plebeian). Athens went through phases - monarchy, oligarchy, limited democracy, radical democracy.
Capitalism and Democracy
Two differences between Athens and Sparta are their forms of government (Athens had a democracy while Sparta had an oligarchy) and their focus on military training (Sparta emphasized military training from a young age while Athens did not). Two similarities are their use of slaves for labor and their belief in the importance of physical fitness.
Throughout the Peloponnesian War the city - states of Athens and Sparta were the two leaders.
Sparta was cool. they killed people. Athens was a bunch of panzies. While they did kill people, they also were the first direct democracy. ^^ Not entirely helpful, but sadly true. In Sparta they had what we'd call a Constitutional Monarchy. This means that the King of Sparta would basically be a figure-head for the people to rally around; he didn't have any real power (except in wars I think). Athens however was the origins of Democracy. In Athens though they practised Direct Democracy, which is the citizens of Athens going and voting on particular issues themselves instead of having MPs, or Senators doing it for them. In most countries that have a Democracy, there is a Representative Democracy which involves voting a person to represent you in the government/parliament/senate. So... Sparta = Constitutional Monarchy Athens = Direct Democracy
There's direct democracy, which is a political system in which citizens participate directly in government decision making; then there's representative democracy, in which the citizens elect others to represent them In government
Sparta and Athens
In Sparta you had to join the army or navy when you were 7 years old! But in Athens you had to go when you were 16. Another difference is that if you where a girl in Sparta you had rights. But in Athens you barley have any rights.
Athens took on too much and became too adventurous. It was early weakened by plague, then became too ambitious in over-extending itself trying to take Syracuse in Siily. It had various forms of government as its fortunes rose and fell under both democratic and broad-based oligarchic governments. Pericles' guidance was lost when he died two years into the war, and a succession of stable and unstable leaders ensured that the Periclean objective of defence-offence was not adhered to. Democracy was just a part of the problems which brought Athens down.
Two very important leaders that contributed On the war were Andrew Jackson and Tecumseh.
The government in Sparta was that unhealthy babies were to be killed and young boys were sent to the army. In athens they created a democracy. In Sparta they were ruled by two kings until they died and in athen they were ruled by archons