Why are Athens and Sparta the only Greek city-states that ever get mentioned?

Why are Athens and Sparta the only Greek city-states that ever get mentioned?

Can Veeky Forums tell me more about their peers and rivals?

Bumping for a potentially interesting thread

I hear a bunch of faggots had their own unit.

Also I want the Spartan fucking shits to leave.

Two other polis that that I learned about in the history books was Corinth and Thebes

Thebes naturally are famous for Oedipus, the Sacred band, and kicking Sparta's ass (Only for other Poli to band together and kicked their asses after they remembered Thebes sided with Persia during the Greco-Persian war).

Corinth was the richest of the Greek Poli, but it's mostly known for its colony Syracuse.

In what period?

OP mentions Sparta, so....

>athens
"muh philosophers!"

>sparta
"muh homosexual fascists!"

In Argos they had the Argive thousand.

Also Phocis fought everyone at once and only lost when they ran out of the money they stole from Delphi.

Corinth was the one of the richest cities in the Near East and easily the 3rd most powerful poli. After a few years of the Peloponnesian war it got turned into the Greek Detroit by Athenian blockade.

Agros was pretty metal. Aegina was to Athens what Agros was to Sparta, that annoying little poli that they couldn't crush despite being a "superpower"

Syracuse faced off against Carthage and Rome without being beaten, and famously crippled Athens by capturing the army the Athenians sent to conquer them during the Peloponesian Wars. It was also home to Archimedes, he of the "Eureka!" fame, one of the greatest geniuses of his age who devised all manner of wonder-weapons to defend his home city, including parabolic mirrors to focus sunlight on enemy ships to cause them to burn.

>After a few years of the Peloponnesian war it got turned into the Greek Detroit by Athenian blockade.

damn

at least its colony Syracuse paid them back by fucking over their navy

Peloponesian war pretty much ruined everything for everyone (kinda like a miniature WWI)

Sicily had some based as fuck poleis. Gela, Syrakousai, Himera etc.

So what?

There was more than one period in ancient Greece

Not without Sparta existing as a city-state there weren't.

Because Veeky Forums is pop history mixed with edgy memes, you don't expect much actual in depth historical discussion did you?
Anyway Syracuse best city, patrician tier or die.

Yes there was?

Dark Age
Archaic Period
Classical Period
Hellenistic Period

Not him but I believe Sparta existed in all of those periods in some shape or form, even in the Geometric Period.

So?

They has different peers and rivals during the different periods, and the Sparta under Cleomenes was much different to the Sparta under Leonidas.

Each polis would have been different through the periods also, what one tells you about Syracuse in the Peloponessian War would be different to what they tell you about Syracuse in the first Punic War.

Corinth was the ally of Sparta that helped spark the Peloponnesian war. They had a colony in Corfu, which was having political tensions and they sent war prisoners to turn Corfu into an oligarchic state instead of democratic.

The Oligarchs attempted a coup, and after they failed a war sparked out in Corfu with the oligarchs and democrats, which the latter one and helped ignite the bigger war on itself.

The Corinthians and Thebians were much bigger dickheads than the Spartans, when negotiating for peace after a 10 year long siege of Athens, the Thebeans and Corinthians suggested all Athenians to be enslaved and Athens to be burned to the ground, while the Spartans insisted on putting an oligarchic government at charge (which was taken down after) and breaking down the walls.

Thebes was the last Greek city-state (after Macedon) to be in charge, they were really angry at Sparta for not letting them annex cities that they desired to after the war, and so went against them.

The Thebeans promoted democracy in Athens just to go against Sparta, and formed a league against them (encouraged by the persian gold). After lengthy battles and conflicts, they came on top and were crowned champions of the ""opressed"". Though that lasted shortly because Phillip united Greece (except for Sparta).

Megara was an interesting one, a secondary power near Athens, but they controlled Black Sea trade and founded Byzantium (Constantinople)

The Achean League was cool as fuck

>including parabolic mirrors to focus sunlight on enemy ships to cause them to burn.
Archimedes is great, but this story is bullshit.

For the same Reason that when people talk of the Axis they only mention Japan Italy and German

Because they're written about the most. That's literally the main reason why.

Magna Graecia in general was truly great.
If I were a rich as fuck Greek I would have moved there immediately, before the Romans started getting hostile at least.

Turned out pretty well for Boetia

yeah but were they called Sparta before the classical period.

They became the fuckers they were in reaction to popular uprisings.

>Why are Athens and Sparta the only Greek city-states that ever get mentioned?
Hegemony and all the fighting over it.

Athens, Sparta, Corinth and Thebes were the big four to emerge from the rubble of the Mycenaean collapse.

They've pretty much always been.

>Why are Athens and Sparta the only Greek city-states that ever get mentioned?

They aren't.

>Can Veeky Forums tell me more about their peers and rivals?

read a book

sage

lmao at greek detriot.

>yeah but were they called Sparta before the classical period.

Yeah, they were. There was even a form of Sparta in c. 1200 BCE that existed alongside Tiryns, Argos, Mycenae etc.

Greek "democracy"

Magna Graecia is in Italy, m8

Magna Graecia is definitely the southern part of the boot but the extended definition includes the colonies in Sicily.