Athens indeed gets the credit for what were often spartan victories. And that is because navies (hamiltonian ethics) are more rewarding than armies (jeffersonian ethics).
And that western europe (france, italy, and britan) had prosperous navies only because germany held the territories against invasion.
And that rome was prosperous as a naval and trading power that fought with marines, but failed as an army because the cost of holding land was too great.
So my position (like most of my positions) relies upon the observation that specialization produces better armies, navies, and prosperity. Just as american entrepreneurship, british banking and finance, italian arts, german engineering, and russian military produce specialties that no one could produce on its own.