Well, they had discovered foods that haven't seen before, also their life was a little harsh because they didn't know about the new world, they where seeing plants and animals like the pig they haven't seen before. Another thing is that their life was kind of rich because they recruited natives from the area to work for them.
it depends do you want to focus on military aspects for greek life or the arts and democracy personally i would go with Sparta as you can find a lot more information on greek battle doctrines than say the Athenian battles other than Artemesium strait or the battle of marathon
