>>10020645Sparta was a reliable example of blood purity and it never expanded its borders. However, it got some of the most achieved warriors on recorded history.
In contrast you have Athens (who at the time, Athenians and Spartans consider each other as different races) which has more ambitions of sea expansion, mainly to retaliate against the Persian Invasion attempts, was more relaxed on the subject.
Achieved a society that gave a lot of room for "open source research and philosophy" for the time, and Democracy.
Lost in the Delian League against the Pelopolesian league, led by Sparta. War initiated by Delian league, Spartans play on the defensive like always.
Athens loses power, mainly its naval power (ship burning as part of "peace treaty").
However, later on, the tribe of Macedonia, always suspicious of its opponnents on today's greek soil, spends a lot of time and money improving the quality of its troops to very above average amounts. This under Philip II, that proceeds to conquer many other what we call today "greek tribes" which they saw as opponents, trying to take intact the territory that we today know as "Greece".
After Philip II passes away, its son and heir Alexander, has to again re-conquer greek tribes seeking independence from the Macedonians.
With Sparta, Alexander just makes a deal that they become their subjects in exchange for not being bothered or invaded. A weakened Sparta by then accepts.
Then Alexander Magnum goes on to finish the shared fantasy of all those enemy tribes: The Persian Empire, among the largest.
Even after reaching the terrain that we call "turkey" today, "greek" cities rebel against Alexander, and before starting to conquer the Persians, he has to put down a few Greek rebels allied with the Persians.
You know the rest, fast foward to 1450s AD and you have the crypto-steppes tribe of Turks conquering what's left of Eastern Rome/Byzantium.
