History Main / AthensAndSparta

** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' you have Damascus as the Athens to Acre's Sparta during the third Crusade. Despite the warfare and violence surrounding it, the latter is a bustling, colorful MerchantCity, filled with amazing and lively souks, ornate palaces and drenched by the sun, while Acre is a cold, grey, bleak coastal town. The portcullis of Damascus has merchant stands, while that of Acre has plague victims laid out. Likewise, each city has Rich, Poor and Middle District, but even the poor district of Damascus looks a lot more alive than the rich district of Acre.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has [[TheKingdom Gondor]], a human kingdom that is noble and heir to a powerful and advanced civilization, but on its final legs by the time of the book. Sadly, it's right next door to {{Mordor}}.

* Creator/JosephLMankiewicz's ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}'' contrasts Ptolemaic Alexandria with Late-Republican Rome. The former is a bustling, advanced city of knowledge, sexuality, and antique glories, while Rome is a kind of boring dilapidated area filled with conservative, boring senators. UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar's attraction and romance with UsefulNotes/CleopatraVII and later hers and Mark Antony's is framed in the film as stuffy Romans enjoying and preferring Hellenistic sophistication (or decadence in the eyes of Roman senators), while the conservative Octavian scapegoats Cleopatra as a slutty vamp, and proceeds to (ahistorically) murder a wise Egyptian astronomer in Rome, to prove who's the better civilization.

* Also from DC, Creator/JackKirby's ''ComicBook/NewGods'' is almost certainly modeled on the classical examples, with Apokolips being {{Mordor}} led by a militaristic tyrant Darkseid, and New Genesis being represented as CrystalSpiresAndTogas, benevolent verdant and hilly area ruled by benign gods.

* Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/AnnieHall'' famously features Alvy Singer upset about coming to LA, hating the architecture, the advertising, the lack of cultural refinement and poor West Coast fashions, while he prefers New York, the land of the MeltingPot, true culture and cosmopolitan sophistication.

* In DC Comics you have [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]] and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. The former is a ShiningCity, the latter is a SoiledCityOnAHill. One is seen as a futuristic "city of tomorrow" and is usually shown in broad daylight and bright colours, while the other is a Gothic post-industrial wasteland with UrbanSegregation and Gothic architecture and is usually shown at night. Incidentally, both cities are FantasyCounterpartCulture of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, but taking on different aspects of the city to better convey the dichotomy.

There's a city, and it's [[ShiningCity a shining example of achievement]]. It's populated by scholars, artists, dancers and scientists. The streets and air are clean, the buildings sparkle, there's a big city park with trees, grass, a playground and bike trail. If there's a religion practiced here, expect it to be centered around a [[GodOfGood deity of goodness]]. Outside the city are [[GhibliHills magnificent forests]] and {{Arcadia}}. The city's ruler is most likely a [[TheGoodKing king]], or [[TheHighQueen queen]] or a [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]]. But most importantly, the people here are friendly and peaceful. Oh, they can defend themselves if needed and have a [[EliteArmy small, but powerful military]], but they prefer to use diplomacy. In hindsight, this place seems perfect. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What could possibly go wrong?]]

Well... not far away, there's another city, and [[CityNoir it's the exact opposite]]. It's populated by [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warriors]] who most likely give the city its economy via [[HiredGuns mercenary work]]. Anyone who isn't a warrior is most likely a [[RetiredBadass retired soldier]] or a slave. The streets and air are [[AFoggyDayInLondonTown polluted and foul]], the buildings are [[WrongSideOfTheTracks misshapen]] and [[DeliberatelyMonochrome ill-colored]]. Instead of a park, expect a training ground where instead of play, children engage in [[TheSpartanWay warrior training worse than hell]]. The people most likely worship a [[GodOfEvil deity of evil]] or a [[WarGod god of war]]. Outside the city is a PollutedWasteland and [=Mordor=] hellhole where little to nothing lives or grows. The ruler is most likely an [[TheEmperor emperor]] or [[WarriorPrince warrior monarch]] and the people are probably [[ApatheticCitizens not very nice.]]

Needless to say, these two cities probably don't get along and might even wage wars on each other. And seeing as they are right next door to each other, violence and espionage are probably common. At best the two cities are rivals, at worst their sworn enemies. Named after the real life [[AncientGreece Greek]] cities, a work's conflict centers on two cities with opposing culture. Expect the one that focuses more on peace to be the protagonist faction 100% of the time. In fiction, this is a good justification for a [[BlackAndWhiteMorality black and white conflict]] and a way to find the heroes likeable, and the villains despicable.

* In DC Comics you have [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]] and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]]. The former is a ShiningCity, the latter is a SoiledCityOnAHill. One is seen as a futuristic "city of tomorrow" and is usually shown in broad daylight and bright colours, while the other is a Gothic post-industrial wasteland with UrbanSegregation and Gothic architecture and is usually shown at night. Incidentally, both cities are FantasyCounterpartCulture of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, but taking on different aspects of the city to better convey the dichotomy.

*** To be fair, though, Athens did build an impressive legacy of art, science and philosophy for the ages, and their 'democracy', flawed as it was, went on to set the basis for modern democratic systems. Sparta... not so much.

* A major source of conflict in "VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}''. Every empire has an ideology of 2-3 ethics which are the basis of their government. Each ethos has a polar opposite, so one can be sure that at least one neighbouring country has opposite ethics to yours, at least partially. Playing as an authoritarian empire, expect to have an egalitarian neighbour. Same goes for xenophiles and xenophobes, militarists and pacifists, spiritualists and materialists. These empires will usually have very bad diplomatic relations and will try to subjugate, "liberate", or straight up eradicate their rival.

* Phillip M Jackson's fantasy-adventure webcomic "Battle Bunnies" has the world's eastern continent divided between the dragonlike Khans and the tigerlike Raji. The two cultures are stated in the opening pages to have been in various degrees of conflict for ages, over everything from trade to religion. There is one other group: the rabbitlike Westlanders that inhabit the western continent. They purport to be Lawful Neutral, but the mercenary protagonist and her comrades are solidly Chaotic Neutral.

* "WesternAnimation/VeggieTales": In "The Tale of Flibber-o-loo" (their adaptation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, renamed "A Tale of Two Cities" in reissues) there are two cities atop neighboring mountains. In Flibber-o-loo, the citizens all wear shoes on their heads. In Flibber-dee-lot, the citizens all wear pots. This headwear disagreement is the cause of an ongoing war, which mostly consists of the two cities catapulting shoes and pots at each other, all day and night.

* UsefulNotes/{{North Korea}} and UsefulNotes/{{South Korea}}. South Korea is a wealthy, technologically advanced and respected democracy with fast internet connection, and ''Franchise/{{Starcraft}}'' tournaments. However, North Korea is poor, has scarce food, a HUGE military and is a communist dictatorship. Spying and espionage are common among the two Koreas and both want to reunify the country, but under their own ideals.

** In actual practice, both cities were built on slavery and both were militarily expansionist great powers who thought nothing of sacking weaker nations (like the Island of Melos). Athens' idea of democracy was restricted to men from property owning native born families, who were expected to lead the armies (aristoi) and said to possess "the best qualities"/arete (from which we get the word [[AristocratsAreEvil aristokratia]] -- [[TheSocialDarwinist Power of the Best]]). Later authors and historians noted that, on some level, the Spartans are more admirable because [[AtLeastIAdmitIt they didn't pretend]] they weren't a brutal slave-driven society, unlike the Athenians who saw themselves as promoting freedom (yet Athenians were the ones who actually called a slave a slave). Spartans likewise had greater role for women in society, whereas in Athens, women weren't even allowed the rights to public assembly aside from prostitutes.
** Likewise, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconophilia many Athenian philosophers]] admired Sparta. Some of them, such as Xenophon, fought for Sparta against Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars. Some of Spartan ideas of organizing society and the way they taught their elites, inspired England's Public School system, the Ivy League, and philosophers like Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau, who noted that whatever their flaws, Sparta's system lasted longer and was more stable than Athens'.

** In the short term, the Spartans won UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar, but eventually was defeated by Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra, and the occupying Thebans freed many helots and slave runaways, and then the city and society collapsed shortly beforeunder UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's conquest. Athens flourished in the Hellenistic and Roman era, remaining a major student town until Late Antiquity, and becoming the modern capital of Greece. Sparta's military culture prevented it from evolving, and the modern city was rebuilt in 1834. Though Sparta now acknowledges Athens as the capital of Greece the ancient rivalry continues in politics and sports. Modern Athens is more liberal allowing them to better resemble the city the ancient Athenians presented themselves as, while Modern Sparta is more conservative, but even the conservative modern Spartans would be more liberal compared to Ancient Athenians.

* The UsefulNotes/PunicWars pitted UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic against Carthage. Both of them were expansionist city-states with client-kingdoms. The only sources for the conflict come down from Roman historians, who as a rule tended to paint Rome as the civilized land of virtue, patriotism and military glory and they loathed Carthage who they painted as "barbarians" (their word to describe all non-Romans, be they Italian, Gallic, Gothic, Britannic, Persian or anything else). The Romans noted that the Carthaginians practiced HumanSacrifice of children, of which we apparently have some archaeological evidence but it's highly disputed.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has [[TheKingdom Gondor]], a human lingdom that is noble and heir to a powerful and advanced civilization, but on its final legs by the time of the book. Sadly, it's right next door to {{Mordor}}.

** In the short term, the Spartans won UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar, but eventually was defeated by Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra, and the occupying Thebans freed many helots and slave runaways, and then the city and society collapsed shortly beforeunder UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's conquest. Athens flourished in the Hellenistic and Roman era, remaining a major student town until Late Antiquity, and becoming the modern capital of Greece. Sparta's military culture prevented it from evolving, and the modern city was rebuilt in 1834. Though Sparta now acknowledges Athens as the capital of Greece the ancient rivalry continues in politics and sports. Modern Athens is more liberal while Modern Sparta is more conservative, but even the conservative modern Spartans would be more liberal compared to Ancient Athenians.

** In actual practice, both cities were built on slavery and both were militarily expansionist great powers who thought nothing of sacking weaker nations (like the Island of Melos). Athens' idea of democracy was restricted to men from property owning native born families, those who possessed "the best qualities"/arete (from which we get the word Aretekratos/Aristocracy -- [[TheSocialDarwinist Power of the Best]]). Later authors and historians noted that, on some level, the Spartans are more admirable because [[AtLeastIAdmitIt they didn't pretend]] they weren't a brutal slave-driven society, unlike the Athenians who saw themselves as promoting freedom (yet Athenians were the ones who actually called a slave a slave). Spartans likewise had greater role for women in society, whereas in Athens, women weren't even allowed the rights to public assembly aside from prostitutes.

** In the end, Athens won the rivalry as it stood the test of time and is now the capital of Greece. Sparta's military culture prevented it from evolving and eventually it fell. Sparta was rebuilt in 1834. Though Sparta now acknowledges Athens as the capital of Greece the ancient rivalry continues in politics and sports. Modern Athens is more liberal while Modern Sparta is more conservative. Some things never really change.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has [[TheKingdom Gondor]], a human lingdom that is noble and heir to a powerful nd advanced civilization, but on its final legs by the time of the book. Sadly, it's right next door to {{Mordor}}.

There's a city, and it's [[ShiningCity a shining example of achievement]]. It's populated by scholars, artists, dancers and scientists. The streets and air are clean, the buildings sparkle, there's a big city park with trees, grass, a playground and bike trail. If there's a religion practiced here, expect it to be centered around a [[GodOfGood deity of goodness]]. Outside the city are [[GhibliHills magnificent forests]] and {{Arcadia}}. The city's ruler is most likely a [[TheGoodKing king]], or [[TheHighQueen queen]] or a [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] But most importantly, the people here are friendly and peaceful. Oh, they can defend themselves if needed and have a [[EliteArmy small, but powerful military]], but they prefer to use diplomacy. In hindsight, this place seems perfect. [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong What could possibly go wrong?]]

Well...not far away, there's another city, and [[CityNoir it's the exact opposite]]. It's populated by [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warriors]] who most likely give the city its economy via [[HiredGuns mercenary work]]. Anyone who isn't a warrior is most likely a [[RetiredBadass retired soldier]] or a slave. The streets and air are [[AFoggyDayInLondonTown polluted and foul]], the buildings are [[WrongSideOfTheTracks misshapen]] and [[DeliberatelyMonochrome ill-colored]]. Instead of a park, expect a training ground where instead of play, children engage in [[TheSpartanWay warrior training worse than hell]]. The people most likely worship a [[GodOfEvil deity of evil]] or a [[WarGod god of war]]. Outside the city is a PollutedWasteland and [=Mordor=] hellhole where little to nothing lives or grows. The ruler is most likely an [[TheEmperor emperor]] or [[WarriorPrince warrior monarch]] and the people are probably [[ApatheticCitizens not very nice.]]

The trope doesn't always need to have the conflict between two cities though. Sometimes it can be between two countries, or planets, or even culture and political beliefs. Sometimes the good city is part of a [[TheKingdom kingdom]] while the bad city is part of an [[TheEmpire empire]]. It could also be a case of [[GoodRepublicEvilEmpire a good republic and an evil empire]].

* In DC Comics you have [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]] and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]]. The former is a ShiningCity, the latter is a SoiledCityOnAHill. One is seen as a futuristic "city of tomorrow" and is usually shown in broad daylight and bright colours, while the other is a Gothic post-industrial wasteland with UrbanSegregation and Gothic architecture and is usually shown at night. Incidentally, both cities are FantasyCounterpartCulture of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity but taking on different aspects of the city to better convey the dichotomy.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has [[TheKingdom Gondor]], a human Kingdom that is noble, but on it's final legs by the time of the book. Sadly, it's right next door to {{Mordor}}.

* ''Tabletopgame/Warhammer40K
**The Eldar see themselves as the only civilized people in a galaxy of barbarians, and will not hesitate to sacrifice thousands of humans to save a single Eldar's life thousands of years down the line. Justified somehat in that they're the second-oldest people in the galaxy fighting to retain what's left of their empire, and can't reproduce without a very strong chance of losing their soul.

** Khorne and Slaanesh's minions have this relationship. Slaanesh is the god(dess) of hedonism, whose worship involves excess and the use of senses (including art in all its forms), so the Slaaneshi see Khornates as brutal morons. Khorne is the embodiment of rage, who demands constant bloodshed both from his enemies and his troops, so Khornates see the Slaaneshi as limp-wristed and effeminate. Khornates and Tzeentchians (Squishy Wizards) seeeach other in a similar way, and for much the same reasons.

* ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' has lorebooks which talk about the [[AbusivePrecursors Alyied]] city states of Delodiil and Abagarlas. Delodiil was progressive, and was populated by artists and scholors, and it's people worshipped [[BigGood Meridia]], while Abagarlas was a military state whose people worshipped [[BigBad Molag Bal]]. Abgarlas's King was so jealous of Delodiil that he planned on sacking it and sacrificing everyone of it's citizens to Molag Baal, but by the time he and his army arrived, Delodiil had vanished, and Abgarlas had been sacked. [[spoiler: Thw Coldharbour arc reveals that Delodiil was absorbed into Coldharbour, Molag Baal's realm and becomes the main trade hub during the Coldharbour quests. Abgarlas is explorable as a dungeon]]
* A major source of conflict in "VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}''. Every empire has an ideology of 2-3 ethics which are the basis of the government. Each ethos has a polar opposite, so one can be sure that at least one neighbouring country has opposite ethics to yours, at least partially. Playing as an authoritarian empire, expect to have an egalitarian neighbour. Same goes for xenophiles and xenophobes, militarists and pacifists, spiritualists and materialists. These empires will usually have very bad diplomatic relations and will try to subjugate, "liberate", or straight up eradicate their rival.

* "WesternAnimation/VeggieTales": In "The Tale of Flibber-o-loo" (their adaptation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, renamed "A Tale of Two Cities" in reissues) there are two cities atop neighboring mountains. In Flibber-o-loo, the citizens all wear shoes on their heads. In Flibber-dee-lot, the citizens all wear pots. This headwear disagreement is the cause of an ongoing war, which most consists of the two cities catapulting shoes and pots at each other, all day and night.
* Disney Television's ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand has planet Tangea, home to both the Royals in their World In The Sky and the Grounders that are earthbound. The Grounders are regarded as primitives despite their power of telekinesis, while the Royals (of whom The Lancer Mira Nova is one) live an ivory tower existence with their power to phase through solid objects. Both races lose their powers when near one another, and cohabitate Tangea in a Cold War-like relationship.

** In actual practice, both cities were built on slavery and both were militarily expansionist great powers who thought nothing of sacking weaker nations (like the Island of Melos). Athens idea of democracy was restricted to property owning native born families, those who possessed "the best qualities"/arete (from which we get the word Aretekratos/Aristocracy -- [[TheSocialDarwinist Power of the Best]]). Later authors and historians noted, that on some level, the Spartans are more admirable because [[AtLeastIAdmitIt they don't pretend]] they aren't a brutal slave-driven society promoting freedom unlike the Athenians (yet Athenians were the ones who actually called a slave a slave). Spartans likewise had greater role for women in society, whereas in Athens, women weren't even allowed the rights to public assembly aside from prostitutes.
** Likewise, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconophilia many Athenian philosophers]] admired Sparta. Some of them, such as Xenophon fought for Sparta against Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars. Some of Spartan ideas of organizing society and the way they taught their elites, inspired England's Public School system, Ivy League, as well as philosophers like Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli and Creator/JeanJacquesRousseau who noted that whatever their flaws, Sparta's system lasted longer and was more stable than Athens.
** Bear in mind that Athens self-consciously styled itself as civilized and they are the source of all of our information about themselves and their neighbors. The Athenians famously derided foreigners despite their city being celebrated by Pericles as a "[[MeltingPot School of Hellas]]" and filled with foreigners. They used a word to describe all non-Athenians, ''barbarian'', because to them all non-Athenians sound like FunnyForeigner (bar-bar-bar i.e. BlackSpeech).

* The UsefulNotes/PunicWars pitted UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic against Carthage. Both of them were expansionist city-states with client-kingdoms. The only sources for the conflict come down from Roman historians, who as a rule tended to paint Rome as the civilized land of virtue, patriotism and military glory and they loathed Carthage who they painted as "barbarians" (their word to describe all non-Romans, be they Italian, Gallic, Gothic, Britannic, Persian). The Romans noted that Carthaginians practiced HumanSacrifice of children, of which we apparently have some archaeological evidence but its highly disputed.
** Roman writers went on about how Roman glory was built on citizen soldiers while Hannibal's army was composed largely of mercenaries and indeed Carthage's Merchant Oligarchy hired mercenaries and clients to fight their wars from them, and Roman victory was because of its ideology and patriotism and their ability to suborn Carthaginian allies. So in a certain sense, Carthage is the Athens to Rome's Sparta...the former is a sophisticated, worldly, commercial society while the latter is a military-driven society bound by strong ideology. Likewise, Carthage like Athens was primarily a naval power, while Romans were largely and mainly a land army like the Spartans.
** Incidentally during UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, France painted England as "the Modern Carthage" with themselves as the Romans. They did this because they pointed out that England was a largely naval power while the French under Napoleon were a land-based power. The former was driven largely by mercantile and commercial interests while the latter was bound by ideology and promises like meritocracy and liberty. Of course, the English saw themselves as the true Romans opposing the Modern Hannibal, Napoleon.

** This is largely a recent development. During the UsefulNotes/KoreanWar and the aftermath, both nations were brutal dictatorships that committed war crimes during the conflict and committed many human rights abuses after the war. North Korea likewise was bombed into the Stone Age during the war, with Pyongnang almost entirely destroyed and losing all its infrastructure, subsisting on aid given by USSR and China (who both had their own problems) while South Korea received much aid from America for redevelopment.
* In America, many people, especially New Yorker see themselves as Athens to Los Angeles' Sparta. They see themselves as the MeltingPot, the center of the art and theater world, while the rest of Americans are flyover country, and Los Angeles is a trashy West Coast wannabe.

* Lancashire and Yorkshire, two counties in the North of England. Historically, much of Yorkshire remained Celtic kingdoms after Lancashire became a Roman wasteland, and later the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses were fought (Lancs = red rose, Yorks = white rose). The rivalry persists today, with there only being one route between the neighbouring counties -- and it's a [[ChokepointGeography dangerous mountain pass]]. Tykes insist that Lancastrians aren't actually Northern, which is the most damning of insults there. Lancastrians insist that the hotpot is better than the Yorkshire pudding.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has [[TheKingdom Gondor]], a human Kingdom that is noble, but on it's final legs by the time of the book. Sadly, it's right next door to [[Mordor the dark land of Mordor]].

** In actual practice, both cities were built on slavery and both were militarily expansionist great powers who thought nothing of sacking weaker nations (like the Island of Melos). Athens idea of democracy was restricted to property owning native born families, those who possessed "the best qualities"/arete (from which we get the word Aretekratos/Aristocracy -- [[TheSocialDarwinist Power of the Best]]). Later authors and historians noted, that on some level, the Spartans are more admirable because [[AtLeastIAdmitIt they don't pretend]] they aren't a brutal slave-driven society promoting freedom unlike the Athenians. Spartans likewise had greater role for women in society, whereas in Athens, women weren't even allowed the rights to public assembly aside from prostitutes.

* Also from DC, Creator/JackKirby's ''ComicBook/NewGods'' is almost certainly modeled on the classical examples, with Apokolips being {{Mordor}} led by a militaristic tyrant Darkseid, and New Genesis being represented as CrystalSpiresAndToga benevolent verdant and hilly area ruled by benign gods.

* The [[TropeNamer Trope namer]] is the real life rivalry between ancient Athens and ancient Sparta. Athens was, and still is a center of Greek art, culture, and the birthplace of democracy. That being said, Athens was not perfect as women could not vote or even get jobs. Sparta was a military ruled city where everyone had to fight and [[TheSocialDarwinist those who were weak perished]].

** Bear in mind that Athens self-consciously styled itself as civilized and they are the source of all of our information about themselves and their neighbors. The Athenians famously derided foreigners despite their city being celebrated by Pericles as a "[[MeltingPot School of Hellas]]" and filled with foreigners. They used a word to describe all non-Athenians, ''barbarian'', because to them all non-Athenians sound like FunnyForeigner (bar-bar-bar i.e. black speech).

** In actual practice, both cities were built on slavery and both were militarily expansionist great powers who thought nothing of sacking weaker nations (like the Island of Melos). Athens idea of democracy was restricted to property owning native born families, those who possessed "the best qualities"/arete (from which we get the word Aretekratos/Aristocracy -- [[TheSocialDarwinist Power of the Best]]). Later authors and historians noted, that on some level, the Spartans are admirable because [[AtLeastIAdmitIt they don't pretend]] they aren't a brutal slave-driven society promoting freedom. Spartans likewise had greater role for women in society, whereas in Athens, women weren't even allowed the rights to public assembly aside from prostitutes.