Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Nonfiction Research Homework Directions: Your task tonight is to get to know both the city-states of Athens and Sparta in preparation for The Great City-State Debate that is coming up! You will soon be assigned your role. In order to be the most effective debater possible, you need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of both city-states. Good luck! Please answer the questions in the box below each portion of the reading. UNDERLINE YOUR EVIDENCE WITH THE QUESTION NUMBER. An Introduction to Ancient Greece Part 1: The City-State and Sparta Ancient Greece wasn't one large empire but a collection of smaller city-states. The term the Greeks used was polis, which meant (more or less) "city-state." A polis was bigger than a city but smaller than a state. They were scattered throughout the Mediterranean area. Some were sea-ports; others were more inland. Some of the more famous city-states were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Delphi, and Thebes. The people living in these city-states were all Greek, coming from a common heritage. But the people of each city-state did different things and had different beliefs. Sparta, for instance, was a place of great determination. The Spartans believed in a strong army. All Spartan boys were trained to be soldiers. When the Persians invaded Greece, the other city-states looked especially to Sparta and its army to keep them safe. The creation of the Spartan military state is credited to Lycurgus, a legendary man who gave Sparta is laws. He said that land should be divided equally among all people. He also said that all people should eat meals together in large halls, so the rich couldn't enjoy food while the poor starved. Most famous, perhaps, is the Senate, a part of government that made laws and kept tyrants in check. 1) List the names of the most famous city-states. 2) Sparta was a place of great determination. What facts from the article support this statement? 3) What were two laws that Lycurgus gave to Sparta? 12- Part 2: Athens Athens, another large city-state, was the birthplace of democracy, or the idea that each person could have a voice in what laws were passed and who made up the government. (This, of course, meant each citizen could take part in government. A citizen was a person who was born in Athens and who owned land there. This was nowhere near the majority.) Early in its history, Athens was ruled by tyrants, some of whom worked to create democracy. The Athenians invented the practice of ostracism to deal with tyrants. Basically, each person could decide to target one person to be kicked out of Athens. If enough people named a person, he would be banished for 10 years. Athens had its own lawgiver (like Lycurgus of Sparta). His name was Solon, and his laws formed the basis for the democracy of Athens Athens was also a place of great culture. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle studied and taught in and around Athens. Many of the famous buildings that are only ruins today were in Athens. An example is the Parthenon. Athens was the home of the Greeks' great fleet, which beat back the invading Persians several times during the Persian Wars. Athens also used this fleet to create an empire. Other, smaller city-states grew afraid of Athens' power and sided with Sparta, another large city-state, in the Peloponnesian War, which ended in the defeat of Athens. This war left the Greeks so weak from fighting each other that they were easy targets for a determined conqueror like Alexander the Great, who conquered Greece on his way to ruling most of the known world. (He conquered the mighty Persian Empire and won land all the way to India before his untimely death at age 23.) 1) Who was considered a citizen in Athens? 2) Before democracy, Athens was ruled by tyrants. What was the name of the process that the city-state used to get rid of these people? 3) Why did many of the city-states eventually side with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War? Part 3: Athens and Sparta: Different yet the Same The two rivals of ancient Greece that made the most noise and gave us the most traditions were Athens and Sparta. They were close together on a map, yet far apart in what they valued and how they lived their lives. One of the main ways they were similar was in their form of government. Both Athens and Sparta had an Assembly, whose members were elected by the people. Sparta was ruled by two kings, who ruled until they died or were forced out of office. Athens was ruled by archons, who were elected annually. Thus, because both parts of Athens' government had leaders who were elected, Athens is said to have been the birthplace of democracy. Spartan life was simple. The focus was on obedience and war. Slavery made this possible by freeing the young men from household and industrial duties and allowing them to focus on their military duties. Young boys were trained to be warriors; young girls were trained to be mothers of warriors. Athenian life was a creative wonderland. As an Athenian, you could get a good education and could pursue any of several kinds of arts or sciences. You could serve in the army or navy, but you didn't have to. (This applied only to boys, however: Girls were restricted to other pursuits, not war or business or education.) For many years, Spartan armies provided much of the defense of the Greek lands. The Spartan heroism at the Battle of Thermopylae, during the Persian Wars, inspired all of Greece to fight back with all their might against the invading Persians. Athenian and Spartan fought side by side in the Battle of Plataea, which ended Persian invasions of Greece. One way that Athens and Sparta really differed was in their idea of getting along with the rest of the Greeks. Sparta seemed content to keep to itself and provide army and assistance when necessary. Athens, on the other hand, wanted to control more and more of the land around them. This eventually led to war between all the Greeks. This was the Peloponnesian War. After many years of hard fighting, Sparta won the war. In true Greek spirit, Sparta refused to burn the city of Athens. Rather, the culture and spirit of Athens was allowed to live on, as long as the Athenians no longer desired to rule their fellow Greeks. In this way, the influence of Athens remained and grew stronger. Other city-states had the same kinds of temples, buildings, and meeting-places, but it was Athens that became most famous. 1) A major difference between Sparta and Athens was their forms of government. Who rules in each city-state? 2) Why was slavery important in Sparta? 3) What was the major difference in the way Athens and Sparta treated the other Greek city-states?