Download Athens and Sparta - MVUSD Haiku Learning

Athens:
From Dark Age to
Classical Period
Sources: Sparta has almost no material written
about it, but most of it come from Athens.
?
- Surrounded by Mountains, a
complete bowl with city of Athens
in center
- Clans (groups of people) probably
related, working together in local
areas
- The highest aristocratic families
ruled
- Political clashes between wealth
and poor for power
Setting up a System of Government
-- Athens is going to have difficulty keeping and following
diplomatic/political rule.
- It will have same problem with tyranny as other city-states
do.
- Tyrannies are designed to break aristocratic rule over the
people. But usually the tyrants are aristocrats themselves!
Political Reform Efforts in Athens
Three men lead reforms at different time periods
*Solon
*Cleisthenes
*Pericles
Solon: He could be trusted by more to avoid tyranny, deals
with problems aggressively, but ends up being hated by
everyone, yet successful.
Solon’s Reforms
- dealt with debt and enslavement
-he institutes property classes, creating a top class of rich
land owners
- creates classes based on affluence rather than heredity:
wealthy, middle, and people outside of Athens in the hills
(people left outside of system)
Democratic Greek Leaders
594 BC
Solon
507 BC
Cleisthenes
457 BC
Pericles
Elected chief Archon
(statesman) in 594
B.C. to help solve the
problems of Athens
Solon (SO-luhn)
•A statesman who solved the economic &
political crisis that Athens faced by
passing a law outlawing slavery based on
debt & he canceled the farmers debts.
•Created a council of 400, that prepared
business for the already existing council.
•Introduced a code of laws, which gave
citizens the right to bring charges against
wrongdoers.
•Encouraged the export of goods, which
became a profitable overseas trade.
•Voting limited to 1/10 of population – 1/3
of population was slaves, so limited
democracy
Cleisthenes
(Klice-then-eez)
•In 508 B.C. he introduces new reforms
A rich and
powerful
aristocrat
•Wanted to break up the power of the nobility
•He allowed all citizens to submit laws for debate & passage
•He reorganized the assembly to make Athens a Full Democracy (Every
Athenian man would have one vote, and they would all meet and vote on
what to do. (The big meeting was called the Assembly)
•Created the council of Five Hundred, (a smaller council of 500 men,
who were chosen by a lottery, and changed every year)
•Regarded as the Founder of Democracy in Athens
Reforms under Cleisthenes
-His reforms ended monopoly of political
power by aristocratic families that plagued
Athens for long.
-Ostracism- most popular man had to leave
Athens for 10 years.
- honorable exile- retains citizenship and
property
-Purpose was to prevent any one man
from gaining too much power- prevent
tyranny
-A reverse popularity contest
•A statesman who increased the number
of paid public officials & paid jurors
•Under Pericles, Athens evolved into a
Direct Democracy (a form of government
where citizens rule directly & not thru
representatives)
•Under Pericles, more Athens citizens
were actively involved in government
than any other city-state
Pericles
•He is also responsible for the building of
the Parthenon
Led Athens for 32
years, from 461 to
429 B.C.
“ Our constitution is called a democracy
because power is in the hands not of a
minority but of the whole people.”
The Golden Age
of Greece
Rome and the Republic
• Rome will develop its own form of government in which
power rests with citizens who have the right (free-born
citizens) to elect the leaders who make governmental
decisions. It is an indirect democracy because not all
citizens participate directly in gov.
• Senate- legislative branch that had two assemblies
• Written legal code- Justinian Code, officials to be held
accountable, not reverse
Ancient Greeks and Romans contributed to the development of
democracy. The Greeks were the first civilization to let citizens get
involved in political decision making. They made laws and banished
their countrymen using the ballot box. Also, the Greeks had several
brilliant thinkers/philosophers that encouraged people to examine
their lives and use logic/reason to make sense of their world.
When the Romans took over control of the ancient world, they
adopted and made changes to democratic thinking. Putting laws in
writing and on public display made sure that laws were applied
equally to everyone. The Romans, under Justinian, codified over
1000 years of law and organizing it set a precedent that modern
societies emulate. In all, the greatest gift from the ancients is the idea
that individuals are citizens of a country and not just subjects of the
ruling class.
SPARTA
A Military State
- While Athens was experimenting in
political systems, Sparta, just 100 miles south
was perfecting a system based in military
strength
•Spartans practiced an oligarchy- the rule of a few.
•Spartan life based in the development of a military
state, so the way of life was very rigorous.
-Men and women had very different lifestyles
-Men served as a soldier from age 7 to 60.
-If a Spartan boy completed training succesfully he
was considered as part of the Homoioi- elite
group
-If a Spartan failed the Agoge- he was still a citizen,
but not an important figure.
-Kings did not take the Homoioi
- Called to war by age group
Life as a Spartan Woman- What a marriage!
-Since homosexuality was practiced, little value
placed on marriages
-So women were made to look masculine, and their
main duty was to produce children
-Husband did not live at home until after age 30
-“Wife- swapping” –to produce more kids. Their
system decreased greatly because this system was not
working.
-Women exercised with the males, but didn’t
necessarily perform in combat