Download “Spartan” lifestyle is living without luxuries

It was a military society
It was created between 900 and
600 BC by Lycurgus after a slave
revolt
They believed military power was
the way to provide security for
their city
A boy was inspected at birth
If he wasn’t healthy, he was left
outside the city to die
Their training was very difficult
Courage and strength were more
important than safety
They stayed in the army until
they were 60
Spartans believed the most
important qualities were selfdiscipline and obedience
They didn’t have luxuries
They thought such comforts
made people weak
A “Spartan” lifestyle is living
without luxuries
They had more rights than other
Greek women
They owned land and ran homes
Slaves made the clothes
Women also received physical
training
Officially ruled by two kings
But elected officials actually had
more power
Government was set up to
control the Helots (Greek slaves)
A slave’s life was a miserable one
in Sparta
Athens was Sparta’s main rival
Life in Athens was VERY
different
They included education, the
arts, and clear thinking along
with physical conditioning
Boys from rich families began their
education at an early age
It included physical training, but
also learned to read, write, and
play musical instruments
They served in the army from age
18 to 20, and then only in times of
war after that
They learned about history and
legend from such things as
Homer’s Iliad and Odessey
Some had tutors to help with
public speaking
Boys from poor families didn’t
receive much, if any, education
and generally became farmers
Girls got almost no education
They had fewer rights than
women in many other city-states
Could not serve in government,
leave home, or buy or own
property
After the Persian War, Athens
continued to protect Greece from
the Persian navy
The Delian League was formed
Athens was the strongest member
Athens began to treat the others
as subjects
The Athenians began to use Delian
League money to build in Athens
They turned the League into an
Athenian Empire
To stop Athens’ growth, Sparta
declared war
In 431 BC Sparta attacked Athens
The war was a stalemate, but
disease swept through Athens
After 10 years of fighting, a truce
was declared
In 415 BC, however, Athens tried
again to expand its empire, by
attacking Sicily; this backfired
In 404 BC Athens had to surrender
Sparta controlled most of Greece
for about 30 years
This caused resentment
Fighting broke out between the
city-states that weakened them all
This opened the door to a new
enemy…