Download Sparta: Life and Power

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Date:
World History 7 – Mrs. Schenck
Sparta: Life and Power
FQ: How was the distribution of power different in Athens than Sparta?
Use the link on my website: http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/sparta/home_set.html
With any extra time you may have, explore the games and challenges though out the rest of
the site! There is a ton of great info here!
PART 1 – Life in Sparta
1. Read the overview of Sparta here. Then click on “Story”, and read the story.
“Why are the Spartans warlike?” Answer in a body paragraph that includes a quote
from the story to support your answer. Remember “austere” means plain and harsh.
Question: Why are the Spartans so warlike?
Answer: There are more helots (slaves) in Sparta than citizens, and they have
rebelled in the past.
Quote to Support My Answer: “We had to always be ready to fight; after all, there
have always been more Helots than Spartans.” “But our power over the Helots
had other consequences.”
GOOD Paragraph:
…
PART 2 – Education in Sparta
2. Click on “Challenge”, and complete the two tasks below. Remember “agoge” is the male
education program in Sparta.
Task A: Decode the message. Do you believe that this is a great message for a sevenyear old to learn? Why or why not?
Message: “For no man ever proves himself a good man in war unless he can
endure to face the blood and slaughter, go close against your enemy and fight
with his hands.”
Should 7 year olds learn things?! Anyone?!
Task B: Play “Egg Thief”. How is stealing viewed in Spartan society? What is the
message for children here?
Stealing is encouraged and only punished if you get caught!
There are lots more games here, but they take a while. Play them on your own if you have
extra time when you finish the rest of the packet!
PART 3 – Power in Sparta
Use the link on my website: http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/dailylife/story/sto_set.html
3. Spartan Women vs. Athenian Women. Choose both women characters. Go through their
lives and answer the following questions.
A. What are similar/different aspects of a Spartan and Athenian girl’s childhood?
(Make a chart.)
Sparta
Athens
 Female baby has more value
 Female baby might be deserted
at birth because they have less
 Women are trained in sports and
value to the family
competitions
 Women are taught to be mothers
 Slaves do the spinning and
and homemakers
weaving
 Women are taught to spin/weave
 Exercise naked and spend time in
 Ladylike to stay indoors
public
Similarities:
 Brothers spend most of their lives separate from the sisters
 There are special events specifically for women – lives are very separate
B. Which 13th birthday would you rather have? Why?
Athens – Hestia, give up toys, wear girdle to show they are an adult until they marry
Sparta – compete in the Heraia sports festival!
C. Looking at the entire life of a Spartan and Athenian woman, which would you rather
be and why?
…
4. Spartan Men vs. Athenian Men. Choose both men characters. Go through their lives and
answer the following questions.
A. How is education for a Spartan and an Athenian man similar and different?
(Make a chart.)
Athens
Sparta
 Taught to be good citizens, learn
 Taught to steal and obey orders,
to read/write in schools as well
intense physical fitness
as physical fitness
 At age 7 the government takes all
 Parents are responsible for
boys to train them for the
educating their kids (tutors)
military
Similarities:
 Unfit male babies are left to die
 Physical fitness is important to life and the city-state
B. Why is the 18th birthday important to each society?
SPARTA: commanders choose what group of the agoge you will be a part of
ATHENS: considered an adult, can vote? Not clear, and we saw otherwise on other
websites…
C. Based on EVERYTHING that you have read, is life easier for a Spartan or Athenian?
Explain why!
PART 4 – Update Our City-States!
If Spartans and Athenians were part of American society, what type of teenager would each
be today?
Draw or find and adapt a picture of how each would appear (fashion, build, etc.).
What music would they listen to?
What music would they listen to?
What types of extra-curricular activities
would they be involved in?
What types of extra-curricular activities
would they be involved in?
What classes would they be
strongest/weakest in?
What classes would they be
strongest/weakest in?
PART 5 - Analysis
FQ: How was the distribution of power different in Athens than Sparta?
What did this mean for government in both places?
What can we learn from both about the “best” type of government?