Download Sparta*s Infiltration of Athens

Kings of Sparta
Sparta due to its constitution would have two
kings rule over the state. These kings working
in partnership would share their duties, and by
the nature of the dual leadership would keep
the other king honest. Both kings would ensure
that one king would not abuse or obtain too
much power, that they could cause harm to the
state. The unique nature of the Spartan kings
was impressive considering all the other Greek
city states of the time had elected officials in
place of their kings.
LET’S REVIEW
Citizens of Athens
Great responsibility, so you had to earn it
 Citizens were children of
parents who were born in
Athens.
 Only male citizens could
participate in voting and
governing the city.
 A young man became a
citizen after he finished his
military service at age 20.
 Female Citizens – had little say in
any aspect of life in Athens
 Stayed home to raise children.
 Did household tasks, weaved.
 Only left the house to
participate in religious
ceremonies
 Always had a male guardian to
 Women could not participate
look after and accompany her
in Athenian democracy.
Roles of Women &
Girls
Roles of Men & Boy
MEN:
WOMEN:
 Picking husbands
 Serving military
 Household work
 participate in decision
making process
 Teach their children
 Make clothes
 Taking care of children
 Spent long hours talking
about politics in the market Could own property and valuables
place, assembly or work.
 Took care of women
BOYS:
 Go to school
 Play sports
 Join military at 18
 Women had few rights. Main role to
obey father or husband.
 They were important, but had no
involvement in politics.
GIRLS:
 Learn to take care of the house
Metics
 Residents of Athens who had
been born outside of the citystate.
 They were not allowed to own
land and could not become
citizens –( in special and rare
cases it did happen)
 Metics were trusted to live in
Athens but were considered
foreigners
 Role: make and sell good for
money
Slaves
 Owned either by private Athenians
or by the city-state
 Many slaves were people who had
been taken prisoner when their citystate was attached by the Athenians.
 Slaves could not become citizens.
 Impacted Athens political structure Because of the slaves citizens had
time to participate in government.
Made democracy possible.
 Usually uneducated and served
owners
 Role: work and do what owners
wanted
The Assembly
Direct Democracy
 All male citizens expected to participate
 Met about 40 times a year – (3 once a month) unless
an emergency
 Members make decisions on issues big or small (go to war or not)
 Speakers 50 years or older spoke first
 Members make speeches at the Pnyx
 Debate, listen discuss, vote
 Every member had an equal right to speak
 Voting by “hands up” or by stones
 Had to have 6,000 men at a meeting to vote
Athenians vote to ostracize
a citizen by scratching his
name on a piece of pottery.
If a citizen receives 6000 or
more votes, he must leave
Athens.
The Council of 500
known as the Boule
 Each tribe was in charge of the
Council one tenth of a year
 Full time government of Athens
 Council was chosen by lottery

met daily
 People served a one year term
 A citizen could serve on Council
only twice
 Citizens placed into 10 tribes. 10
tribes with 50 members each (
over age of 30) represented at
council.
 Every 24 hours a new leader of
the Council was chosen by
lottery – leadership lasted 24
hours
 Always 50 members on duty at
any time.
 Council planned the agenda for
Assembly meetings
 Council supervised the running
of the government – made sure
laws were being enforced
 Discussed and voted on decrees
that they would present for
approval to the Assemble
The Courts
Two offices:
Magistrates:
 Speeches were timed,
 Government official working for
the court
 Citizens could be
magistrates
 Could fine people, or send them
to trail
 Plaintiffs and Defendants
spoke for themselves – no
lawyers
Jury:
 Male citizens over 30 could be
on a jury
 Had 501-1500 people
 Chosen by lottery
 Citizens could be on a jury
 Women and Metics could
be involved as plaintiffs
and defendants
Court system - Anyone could bring a charge against another person
in ancient Greece. There was no prosecutor. But there were rules.
Here's how it worked:
 FIRST: You had tell the person that you were going to start an
action against them to be heard in "court". You had to bring
witnesses with you so your witnesses could testify that the person
was told why you were bringing an action, and that you had given
this person a date, time, and location that they had to appear in
court to defend themselves.
 SECOND: You had to post a written notice near the courthouse
that clearly stated the names of both parties, the charges, and the
date, time, and location of your first trip to court on this action.
 FIRST TIME IN COURT: The first trip gave both parties a chance to
speak before a judge. If the judge felt there was enough cause,
that judge would assign a trial date. That trial date had to be
posted as well.
 JURY SELECTION, TRIAL BY JURY:
To be on a jury, you had to be a
citizen. You had to be over 30
years of age. You had to swear
that you would be fair to both
sides. Jury members did get paid.
Juries were selected from
volunteers. The number of jurors
could be huge. Some trials had as
many as 500 jurors who had
volunteered to judge a case. Only
the jury could bring in a decision
that someone was guilty or
innocent. The judge only kept
order, but could not decide a trial
outcome.
 THE TRIAL: Both sides
presented their case. Then
the jurors voted. Majority
ruled.
 PUNISHMENT: Punishments
varied. If found guilty, both
sides, the person bringing
the charge and the person
being charged, suggested a
punishment. The jury could
not choose a third choice.
They had to choice one
suggestion or the other.
 FAMOUS ANCIENT GREEK TRIAL: The trial of Socrates.
Nothing probably would have happened to Socrates if he
had followed the rules. He knew how the court system
worked in ancient Athens. But when the court found him
guilty, he was angry. The other side suggested death as
punishment. Socrates, who found the charges against him
ridiculous, suggested his fine be one piece of silver. He
knew the jury would be angered by that. If Socrates had
suggested a stronger punishment, the jury probably would
have voted for it. But he left them little choice. By law,
they had to pick one side's suggestion or the other, and
be fair about it. Socrates had to treat the trial seriously. He
did not, and it cost him his life.
 Trial by jury was not invented by the ancient Greeks. But it
was fine tuned. We use many of their steps in our court
system today.
Big question:
How did the structure of the government give opportunities
for people to participate in decision making?
 Government positions were held by ordinary citizens, rich or
poor, with equal chances of being elected
 Lottery to chose government – equal chances for everyone
 Short terms of power – no one controls government for too
long
 Assembly gave all citizens a chance to be heard –
 This is called direct
democracy
 Every citizen was considered equal, and any citizen could
bring up laws
To what extent were democratic ideals of equity and
fairness not a part of the structure of government and
society in ancient Athens?
 Slavery was accepted
 Women were closed off from most of society
 Immigrants (metics) were not allowed to participate,
even though they were an important part of Athenian
life
 Most residents of Athens could not participate in
government.
 Individual rights were not important compared to what
the majority wanted. (ostracisms)
 The courts had no real rules of evidence – it was just
who could convince the jury better
To what extent was the
form of democracy
practice in ancient Athens
fair and equitable?
 At the time (500 BCE), most of the world was ruled
by kings and tyrants while Athens was governed by
the people. Every citizen had a voice.
Athenian citizens were directly involved in politics.