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Power concedes nothing without a demand.
Name:
Date:
Mr. Carey/Mr. Clarke
Comparing Inequalities
Do Now
Directions: Actively read or examine the following documents from Han China. While you analyze, keep in mind the
provided question below. When you finish, respond to the question in a complete, college-ready fashion in the
“Classwork” section of your AP World History notebooks.
1.
Using the documents, explain whether or not Han China was an egalitarian society. Your response should
include evidence from both documents, as well as make use of the terms social stratification and patriarchy.
Document 1
Source: Chinese poem by Li Shen, a peasant from the 8th century CE.
The cob of corn in springtime sown
In autumn yields a hundredfold.
No fields are seen that fallow (un-farmed) lie:
And yet of hunger peasants die.
As at noontide they hoe their crops,
Sweat on the grain to earth down drops.
How many tears, how many a groan,
Each morsel on thy dish did mould!
Document 2
Source: Image of a Chinese woman during the Han dynasty, with advice from a Chinese scholar.
Power concedes nothing without a demand.
Exit Ticket
Directions: For much of today, we have spent our time analyzing class inequalities within classical societies. Inequality
between genders, however, was also an important factor in classical societies, as each of these societies was built upon
their own patriarchal structures. Actively read and annotate the provided comparison of patriarchies in the Greek citystates of Athens and Sparta. As you read, keep in mind the question below. When you finish, respond to the question in a
complete, college-ready fashion.
Explain how the patriarchies of Athens and Sparta differed from each other. Support your response with at least two
pieces of evidence.
The patriarchies of second-wave civilizations changed over time but also varied considerably from
place to place. Nowhere is this more clear than in the differing cases of Athens and Sparta, two of
the leading city-states of Greek civilization. Although Athens has been celebrated for democratic
government, its attitude toward women was far more restrictive than that of the highly warfocused and much less democratic Sparta. (1)
In the several centuries between 700 and 400 BCE, as the free male citizens of Athens moved
toward more and more participation in the Greek government, the city’s women experienced
growing restrictions. They had no role whatsoever in the assemblies, councils, or juries of Athens,
which were only made up of men. In legal matters, women had to be represented by men. Greek
thinkers, including Aristotle, argued that women should not participate in politics and should
serve men, referring to women as “inadequate” because they could not produce sperm. (2)
As in China, upper-class Athenian women were expected to remain inside the home. Athenian
women were generally married in their midteens to men 10 to 1t years older than themselves. Their
main function was taking care of the house and producing male children. Women were not
expected to read or write, nor did they have much economic power. (3)
The development of Sparta differed in many ways from that of Athens. Sparta grew by using its
superior army to conquer its neighbors. In order to maintain its territory, Sparta created a society
that was constantly ready for war. The perfect Spartan male was a warrior, skilled in battle, able to
endure hardship, and willing to die for his city. Unlike Athens, political power was not controlled
by a democracy, but rather by a small group of wealthy men. (4)
Oddly enough, Spartan society offered women greater freedom and fewer restrictions than in
Athens. As with other Greek women, Spartan women were expected to bear children, but they
were encouraged to strengthen themselves by taking part in sports. They were also given
education. Thus, Spartan women were not kept to the house as often as Athenian women were.
Furthermore, Spartan women married men of their own age and were allowed to divorce these
men if things did not go well. Because men were always away at war, Spartan women essentially
ran their households. The freedom of Spartan women was said to shock other Greeks, who believed
that their freedom weakened good order and the authority of the government. (5)
Sparta was clearly a patriarchy, with women serving as breeding machines for the army, but it was
a lighter patriarchy than that of Athens. Spartan men and women worked together to ensure that
Sparta continued to control its conquered territories. Death in childbirth was considered just as
honorable as death in war. In Athens, on the other hand, the democracy grew alongside the
strength of a male-dominated, property-owning society where men had all of the control. (6)