Download The Greek Polis: Sparta and Athens

The Greek Polis: What is a Polis?
POLIS a Greek city-state.
*What is a city-state?*
ACROPOLIS a citadel
on top of a hill.
AGORA town
marketplace.
What purpose did the acropolis serve?
Sparta
SPARTA a polis in southern Greece with the strongest
army of any Greek city-state.
Spartan Government
ARISTOCRATS nobles.
OLIGARCHY a government where aristocrats rule
Spartan Social Classes
Spartans were too concerned with war to be bothered by
farming and trading.
The Spartans owned slaves
called HELOTS.
•farmed the land
• were treated poorly
•outnumbered Spartans 20 times!
Trading was done by
merchants called
PERIOECI.
•were not citizens of
Sparta
Spartan Art
Statue honoring King Leonidas
from the Persian War.
Statue of a Spartan girl playing
sports.
The Spartan Way of Life
Spartan Men:
•were raised to join the military
•married when they were 20
•couldn’t leave the army until 60
Spartan Women:
•Had more freedom than other Greek
women
•played sports
•were educated
•taught to fight and hunt
Spartans were so focused on being strong that they inspected babies – if the
baby was unhealthy it was left to die.
Athens
ATHENS a polis in southern Greece known for it’s
government.
The Parthenon
Athenian Government
DEMOCRACY a
government where all
citizens can vote.
CONSTITUTION, set of
laws/rules for
government to follow.
The Assembly and Council of 500
Assembly (like our congress)
•All men vote at age of 18
•pass laws
Council of 500
•500 men chosen
•make decisions about daily life
•A member served for 2 years
•could not be elected more than
twice.
Persia
Orange = Persia
Green = Greece
PERSIA was the biggest empire in the world and tried to
conquer Greece.
The Persian Wars are wars between Greece and Persia
that lasted from 490 to 480 B.C.
The Delian League
Pericles was the
general of the
Athenian navy and
ruled over Athens for
30 years.
Delian League, a group of city-states that worked
together as allies.
•Athens was the head of the league
•This group was meant to protect Greece from
Persian in the future.
The Fall of Athens
Other cities became jealous of Athens's power (Sparta especially!)
PELOPONNESIAN
WAR a war between
Athens and Sparta
•Lasted 30 years – Sparta won!
•Athens was left in ruins
MERCENARIES hired
soldiers
After the war many Greek men
became mercenaries for Persia.
The Fall of Greece
Greece was eventually invaded and taken
over by Philip II of Macedonia in 338
B.C.E.
After Sparta defeated Athens they ruled over Greece.
•Harsh rulers (people didn’t like them!)
•Lead to wars between cities