Download File - Mr. Wright`s Class

Ancient Greece: Athens vs.
Sparta
CH 5.1, 5.2
Bellringer
 What do you know about Ancient Greece?
 Share at least three things/ bullet points!
Greek City
State / Polis
By 500 BCE, this
map shows the
spread of Greek
Influence
 After 800 BCE, the ancient Greek City-states (or polis) arose. Before that, there were
several different groups (like the Minoans and the Mycenaeans) that came and left
Greece, but much about them is a mystery.
 So what is a city-state? There are no city-states left in Greece to use as an example. We
have to look into the past to find some.
 The villages started to band together, in part for protection and in part for more
organized trade. They wanted strong trading centers. Groups of villages that banded
together were called city-states. There were hundreds of city-states in ancient Greece,
some really small ones and some really big ones with large populations.
Similar....but also Different
 Although each city-state had its own form of
government and its own army, and even sometimes its
own navy, and each city-state certainly its own way
of doing things, the city-states of ancient Greece had
many things in common.
 They all spoke the same language; they all believed
in the same gods; they all worshiped in the same
way; they all thought of themselves as Greeks. But they
were loyal to their city-state.
 If you asked someone in ancient Greece where they
were from, they would not say they were from Greece,
because Greece at that time was not a country. It was a
collection of city-states, each with its own personality
and way of doing things. They would say they were
from Athens, or Sparta, or Corinth, or Argos. The
Greeks were very proud of their own city-state.
 The city-states banded together to fight outsiders.
They also banded together to fight each other. And the
two most influential? Athens, and Sparta.
Athens
Athenian Democracy
 Athens was one of the largest of the
ancient Greek city-states and also
one of the most democratic. We
often remember Athens as the
birthplace of democracy.
 This didn’t happen all at once,
however. Athens had its own share of
different governments. First it had a
monarchy, followed by an
aristocracy, then oligarchy, and
finally democracy.
 Over time, more and more people
earned the right to participate in
government. By 500 B.C. a
recognizable democratic system was
in place. VID
The Acropolis (in Athens)
The Assembly
The Assembly most likely met in a Greek
Amphitheater much like this one below:
At the center of Greek
democracy was what
was called the
Assembly.
The Assembly passed
laws, levied taxes, and
voted on issues such as
war or peace.
All Athenian citizens
were allowed to
participate. Before
deciding on an issue,
the Assembly members
would debate about it,
then would vote by a
show of hands. Majority
vote ruled the day.
This amphitheater is located in what was
Epidaurus (another city-state).
Can you think of
anything like
this that we
have today?
In the United States, we have
a similar form of doing things.
Our Congress does the same
thing as the ancient Athenian
Assembly & Boule used to
do in Athens.
However, because the United
States has so many more
people, instead of allowing
EVERYONE a say in all the
things that are discussed, we
elect representatives to speak
on our behalf.
We have two parts to our
Congress, just like the
Athenians did; the Senate
(like the Boule) and the
House of Representatives
(i.e. Assembly).
Photo of the U.S. Senate Chamber
os·tra·cize [os-truh-sahyz]
verb (used with object), os·tra·cized, os·tra·ciz·ing.1.to exclude, by general consent, from soci
ety, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc.: ”His friends ostracized him after his
father's arrest.”
 Another interesting power that the
Assembly had was to ostracize, or
banish citizens who posed a danger to
the city-state. Just like everything else
done in the Assembly, this was carried
out by majority vote.
 Whenever an “ostracism vote” was
carried out, each person was allowed to
write the name of someone they’d like to
see banished / ostracized on a piece of
pottery called an ostrakon.
 If enough people wrote someone’s
name, they’d be ostracized for a period
of ten years, during which they had to
leave and never come back. Afterwards
however they were free to return and
keep their lands, possessions, etc.
Ostrakon which reads:
“Socrates Anagorasios”
The Legal System of Athens

For the time, Athenian law was quite democratic and fair in
comparison to other legal systems of the time. It was divided
into two main parts: Public laws, and Private laws.
 For public law infractions, one would have to face
the Assembly (much like our House of
Representatives) and be judged by them, facing a
fine or penalty.
 For private disagreements, those involved would
go to a local law court where they would be
judged by a jury of their peers.
 For instance, it is much easier to pay off the
majority of a jury of 12 people (7-8 people)
than paying off several hundred jurors.
Because of how large these juries could be,
most citizens got the opportunity to serve on
a jury at least once, if not multiple times.
Strategoi
Another element of
Athenian Democracy
(after The Assembly
/the Boule, and the
Legal System) was the
Strategoi, or a board
of 10 generals elected
each year by the
assembly, who were in
charge of the defending
Athens.
Carving of the Strategoi
Limits of Athenian Democracy
 As we said earlier, all Athenian citizens were allowed
to participate in the Assembly. However, many
people who lived in the polis were not citizens.
 To qualify as a citizen, a person had to be:




Male
At least 18 years old
Not a slave
The son of two Athenian parents.
 Thus women, children, slaves, and foreigners living
in Athens were NOT citizens and so they couldn’t
vote in the Assembly nor serve on juries.
Athenian Women
 While women played an important role in religious
affairs, they had no political rights. They were always
under the control of a man, whether that was a husband,
or some other male relative, even a son.
 Whomever the male relative was, they had all power over
her. If her husband had died, they could in turn remarry
her without her consent.
 Girls might have gotten an education at home, but they
were not sent to school like the young men. Women were
raised to bear children and tend to their families; this
was their most important role in Athenian society.
Other Disenfranchised Groups
Slaves
 Slaves made up as much as a 1/3 of
Metics
 As a busy port city, Athens was home
to many foreign traders and
the total population. Some citizens
merchants.
had 10-50 slaves, while the richest
 They were known as metics, and they
might have had hundreds of slaves.
played an important role in Athenian
Only the poorest citizens did not have
society. Although some metics
slaves.
gained an honorary citizenship ,
 Slaves did all the domestic chores for
most never got that opportunity.
their households, and some were
even well educated, and would act as  In reality, out of the some
300,000 people living in or around
tutors for their masters’ children.
Athens, only about 40,000 of
 Yet as a slave they had no political
those were citizens. So while
rights either, even if they managed to
Athenian democracy had its limits, in
somehow buy their freedom, they’d
500 B.C. you couldn’t find another
never be allowed to buy
place that had so many politically
citizenship.
active citizens. They were truly
pioneers in their time.
Athenian Education
 As the Athenians believed it was of
vital importance that each citizen play
a role in government, they went to
great lengths to train and educate
their young men, the future of the citystate.
 Part of this education included
preparing these young men to debate
persuasively, defend their arguments,
and know how to effectively critique
others’ ideas. These skills are known
as rhetoric (i.e., the art of discourse).
Athenian Education Continued….
 Besides logic, the
Athenians also taught their
boys reading & writing,
arithmetic (math), and
music and drama.
 Boys often learned to play a
stringed musical
instrument called the lyre,
and would also memorize
important sections of epic
poems written by Homer,
The Illiad & The Odyssey.
 An Epic poem is a long
poem that tells the
adventures of one or
more legendary heroes.
Other Activities
 In addition to academic
instruction, Athenian
youths were given 2 years
of military instruction,
and many years of physical
education.
 This physical education
was carried out in the
gymnasium, which was
an outdoors park outside
the city where they would
work out. This they did
naked (gymnasium comes
from a Greek word
meaning “to exercise
naked”)
Older Activities
 After getting older, Athenians engaged in
other activities. They might attend
symposiums, which were banquets
and/or drinking parties. Citizens would
gather to eat, drink, listen to music and
enjoy one another’s company.
 Often these symposiums involved
educational conversations (not just silly
gossip), but deep profound debates about
topics such as love, or happiness. They were
profound and enlightening to all who
participated.
 Overall the Athenian education was
designed to produce cultured, wellrounded men who appreciated art, music,
sports, and were good citizens, willing to
serve on the battlefield and the Assembly
whenever required.
Sparta
IN THE RIVAL CITY-STATE OF SPARTA, LESS
THAN 100 MILES AWAY FROM ATHENS,
THINGS WERE QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT.
SPARTANS RAISED THEIR CHILDREN TO BE
WARRIORS. THEY HAD NO INTEREST IN
DEVELOPING “WELL-ROUNDED
INDIVIDUALS.” VIDEO
Different
Focuses
Spartans cared first and
foremost about
strength and
physical prowess.
This process started
from their very birth.
When a baby was born,
a committee would
inspect the child, and if
it was deemed worthy
and fit, it was allowed
to live. Otherwise, if it
was decided it was too
weak, they left it
“exposed” (to the
elements) and it died.
Military Training
 Spartan children were made to be tough. They were
required to serve for 23 years in the military, and this
training began from their infancy.
 For instance, if a Spartan child cried, it was not picked up
or comforted. The Spartans thought that doing so would
lead to the child growing up soft.
 They also objected to sandals, and so even in the dead of
winter, Spartan boys were not allowed to wear shoes,
which meant they had to have strong and tough feet.
 At the tender age of 7, the Spartan boys were sent
away from their families to begin their military
training. They lived in barracks with other boys of the
same age and were taught absolute obedience. Any
infraction would lead to a good whipping.
Education
 Intro: In Sparta, little time
was spent on reading, or
poetry. Instead, physical
fitness was seen as supreme.
Spartans were taught to
endure great pain and never
accept defeat, no matter the
odds.
 Once teenagers, the boys’
food rations were cut, so
they had to learn to be clever
and steal more food without
getting caught.
 Young boys were allowed to
marry as early as 20, but
they had to live in the
barracks (w/out their wife)
until 30.
 If they were caught with
their wife, they were
punished (as military
service was their first duty).
 Even after moving in with
their family, they still had
to eat with their army unit
rather than their family.
And military service
was required till age
60.
Spartan
Women
As the entire Spartan state
was organized like one giant
military unit, everyone had a
role to play, including women.
While Spartan women did not
fight, they had more rights
than Athenian women
did. They could own land,
competed in sporting events,
and were expected to raise
their sons as future warriors.
As part of this, they had to be
stoic when it came to letting
their sons go off to war, and
possibly die. One Spartan
woman said, after learning
her son had died:
“I bore him so that he might
die for Sparta, and that is
what has happened, as I
wished.”
Why so militaristic?
 Historians have wondered why the Spartans were so
extreme in their warrior beliefs…part of it was
obviously to defend themselves against invaders who
might kill and destroy them.
 However, one of the biggest reasons is because of
their slavery system. The Spartans had many slaves,
known as helots. The helots were treated as animals,
and were forced to work all day, doing all the work
that the Spartan warriors were too busy to do.
 They were regularly beaten, and could be killed for
any reason. They were often forced to fight Sparta’s
battles for them, with little to no armor, knowing full
well they were mostly going to be slaughtered.
 Another cruelty against the helots was a rite of
passage known as the krypteia. Armed with nothing
more than a knife and his arms, the more promising
Spartan boys of 18 years were sent out with only a
knife to kill as many helots (state-owned slaves) as he
could and return home without getting caught.
Helots, Continued
 Interestingly, the helots made up
about 90% of the population of
Sparta (300,000), and the Spartans
themselves only about 30,000.
Seeing as how they mistreated the
helots, their extreme cruelty and
harshness seems to make more sense
when you have to subjugate a huge
portion of your population at all times
thru fear and intimidation.
 At the same time, it should come as no
surprise when the helots sometimes
rose up in rebellion against their cruel
masters. Fear of such rebellions also
taught the Spartans to train from a
young age to be cruel, merciless
warriors.
Spartan Government
 Generally their government was known as an
oligarchy (ruled by a few powerful rulers).
The Spartans had two kings, who were
supposed to make sure one didn’t get more
powerful than the other.
 They also had an aristocratic council of
elders, and an Assembly (though much less
democratic than the Athenian one).
 There were no debates allowed on issues or
elections, only votes, either against or in
favor of. And the way they did this was by
shouting the loudest. Whichever person, or
decision got the loudest cheers, that was
chosen over the more quiet one (Athenians
thought this was quite hilarious, by the way).
Contrasting Lifestyles
Spartans
Athenians
 Athenians sought to be well-rounded
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individuals.
Athenians liked to partake of the good
things in life, such as good food, debate,
and philosophical discussions (like in
their symposiums).
Athenians were groomed to be eloquent
statesmen who could persuade others to
see their way.
Athenians loved the arts and culture,
and was excited to have foreigners come
and visit. They felt that such things lead
to greater overall strength as a people.
Being close to the ocean, Athens
developed an especially strong navy, and
a decent army.
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Spartans cared most about having good and
clever soldiers who cared most about the state,
not themselves.
Spartans thought such frivolous things were
dangerous distractions, avoided making life
very enjoyable, and just keeping things simple.
For instance, they made their food bland on
purpose, and only danced because it might
improve the soldiers’ footwork.
Spartans were very concise, or laconic (a
synonym for Spartan), or men of few words.
When an enemy told a Spartan, “If we defeat
you, we’ll destroy your city.” The Spartan
simply replied “If.”
Spartans thought the arts and such was a waste
of time, and tried to remain as isolated as
possible.
Being landlocked, Sparta focused on a large
standing army, and had a very small navy.
Compare and Contrast Ancient Greece & Today
 For your assignment, you’ll be answering the considering the following:
 Journal Entry Questions: #1 of Term 2
 “Democracy is when the indigent (i.e. the poor), and not the men of
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property, are the rulers."
― Aristotle
Throughout history, there are examples of different types of governments. The
Athenians are famous for their implementation of democratic government, while
the Spartans were quite authoritarian. Considering the governments of the
civilizations that we've studied this lesson, answer the following questions:
Compare / contrast the rights and duties of different Ancient Greeks
(the Athenians, Spartans, etc.) with those of Americans and / or others
today. How are they similar? Different? Is one better than another? Why
/ why not?
Review Aristotle's quote; Is he right, that Democracy is when the poor
are in charge, not the wealthy? Does that accurately describe our
society, or not? Explain.
You should be able to complete this in roughly 3 paragraphs
Assignments for Next Time
 There are two assignments you have to do:
 First: answer the journal entry question comparing and
contrasting our day with the world of the Ancient Spartans /
Athenians; this should be relatively quick and easy if you took
good notes.
 Next: start creating a poster about one of the Greek
Gods/Goddesses/Heroes that we will be covering next time.
 A rough draft must be finished for next class, for points, as we
will be sharing these with each other next time.
 After our next class, you will have the chance to tweak and
finalize your poster / cartoon, which is due this Friday