Download Citizens of Athens

Warm-Up
What do you think of when
you hear the words Sparta and
Athens?
Section 5-2
Greek City-States
Goals
1. Identify the different types of political systems that
developed in the Greek city-states.
2. Describe the development of democracy in Athens.
3. Compare and Contrast the different governments of
Athens and Sparta
4. Summarize the events of the Persian War.
Rule and Order in Greek City-States
By 750 B.C. the city-states were the fundamental
political unit in ancient Greece
“polis” – the city and the surrounding countryside,
usually 50-500 sq. miles of territory often including
small villages c. 10,000 people or less
Citizens would gather at the agora (marketplace) or
the acropolis (protected space on top of a hill)to
discuss government policies and actions
Greek Political Systems
Monarchy – mono = one, archy = leader or rule, one ruler,
king
Aristocracy – aristo=best, cracy=government, government by
the best, nobles, rich land owners
Oligarchy- olig=few, archy=leader or rule, a small group of
powerful, wealthy leaders in charge
In some cases the common people would clash with the
rulers, and powerful leaders would emerge and take
control of the gov’t with the people’s support=tyrant
“Tyrant” was not a negative term like today, often they would
enact policies that would benefit the common people who
supported them.
Athens & Limited Democracy
Athens struggled with rich vs. poor like most city-states
But reformed their system and created a democracy
Demos=people, cracy- government, a system where the citizens
participate directly in the governing
Draco- a nobleman who took power over Athens in 621 B.C.
Draco’s Code - stated all Athenian citizens, rich and poor were
equal under the law, laws were written down to prevent the
wealthy from manipulating the law against the poor
Draco’s Code also set out harsh punishments for crimes,
(draconian) and supported the practice of debt slavery
(making someone a slave until their debts were paid off)
Athens and Democracy cont.
Solon-a leader who came to power in 594 B.C.
He declared that debt-slavery was illegal.
He also divided up the Athenians into 4 classes according
to wealth where only the top 3 could hold political
office
However, all citizens regardless of class could participate
in the Assemblies
Any citizen could bring charges of wrong-doing against
others
Athenian Democracy cont.
Cleisthenes became ruler of Athens c. 500 B.C.
He got rid of the wealth classes and divided the citizens up
according to where they lived
He also changed the Assembly rules so that all citizens could
introduce laws for debate and passing
He also created the Council of the 500 – a body of members
chosen by lottery that would propose laws and counsel
the Assembly
Citizens of Athens= Free, adult males who owned property
and were born in Athens, women, slaves, and foreigners
were not considered citizens and had few rights
Athenian Education
Boys – were sent to school around 7 yrs old and learned:
reading, grammar, poetry, history, mathematics, and
music.
Also how to be good citizens =logic, public speaking and
debate skills to prepare them for the Assembly.
When they were old enough they were sent to military school
to learn how to be a good soldier.
Girls – taught at home by their mothers and other women in
the household, they learned: child-rearing, weaving,
cooking, managing the household etc. some were able to
learn how to read and write, but primarily their lives were
centered on the family and the home.
Sparta & the Military
Sparta was located on the Peloponnesus,
Sparta was a military state- the government and society
was centered around a strong military
c. 725 Sparta conquered Messenia and took their land,
made the Messenians “helots” peasant farmers that
had to pay tribute
C. 650 Helots revolted and outnumbered the Spartans
8:1, the Spartans barely managed to beat the Helotsdecided to concentrate on a strong military
Spartan Government
Spartan Gov’t had several branches:
An Assembly – all Spartan citizens and elected
officials who would vote on laws
Council of Elders – 30 older citizens who proposed
the laws that were voted on by the Assembly
5 elected officials (Ephorate) that enforced the laws
that were passed and who controlled education
and acted as judges
2 kings who where strictly military leaders
Spartan Gov’t cont.
Spartan social order:
Spartan Citizens-descendents of the original inhabitants
of the land, including the wealthy ruling families
Free Non-Citizens- usually merchants and industry
workers who were free born but moved into Sparta
from other places
Helots- Messenian descendents, peasant farmers and
house servants – little more than slaves
Spartan Daily Life
c. 600- 371 B.C. Sparta had the most powerful army in
Greece
Because all the emphasis was on military strength,
there was little personal expression and the arts were
not valued
Duty, strength and discipline were more important than
freedom, beauty and learning
Spartan Education
Boys- left home at age 7 to go live in Army barracks
and begin military training & stayed in the barracks
till the age of 30
Boys trained all day, in all weather with only light
tunics and no shoes
Slept w/o blankets on hard benches and received
very little food- those that were still hungry were
encouraged to steal from others
=tough, resourceful soldiers who served in military
until they were 60 yrs old
Spartan Education cont.
Girls – received basic military education and
encouraged to be athletic, running, wrestling
and sports were common with girls
They were taught to put Sparta above family
As adults, women often had considerable
freedom, especially when the men were away
on military missions – very different than
other Greek city-states