Athens vs. Sparta: The Original Superpower Rivalry

At Thermopylae and Salamis, Sparta and Athens fought side by side and beat the largest empire on earth. Fifty years later, they spent twenty-seven years trying to destroy each other. One was a seafaring democracy that built the Parthenon partly with other Greeks' money. The other was a warrior state built on fear of its own enslaved population. In this episode, we explore the original superpower rivalry — how Sparta finally won with Persian gold, and why the real winners were the powers watching from the sidelines.

🎙️ History Shorts is a daily history podcast hosted by historian, author, and Smithsonian Magazine contributor Peter Zablocki. New episodes every day.

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