Personally, I think Athens was the superior of her two. What they did not have in military strength, they made up for tenfold in intellectual strength. Some of the most renowned Philosophers and Mathematicians in history came out of Athens.
and that's a good point, but they did get wooped by Sparta through the years, sometimes smarts doesn't beat strength , but its always good to work together for maximum strength and strategy, so lets all agree Romans are jerks