Chapter 4 : The Rise of Ancient Greece Two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, provide a record of the legends and early history of the Greeks. They also emphasize such qualities as courage, dignity, and love of beauty. Greek gods and goddesses were super-beings but also had many human qualities. The two major city-states in ancient Greece were Sparta and Athens. Sparta was a military society that emphasized physical strength and army service. Athens, a freer society, stressed education and public service. It also introduced the Western concept of democracy. The Greeks united to defeat the Persians in a series of wars, a period followed by a golden age of cultural achievement in Athens. The decline of the Greek city-state system began with the Peloponnesian War between Athens and a Sparta-led alliance of city-states.