Download The Greek “Polis”: Athens and Sparta I. The classical ______ (city

The Greek “Polis”: Athens and Sparta
I. The classical ________ (city) was a political, social, and cultural entity. Over
the next few classes we will look at it from each of these points of view! (yay!)
A. The physical characteristics of a polis can be expressed by this
formula: astry + chora = polis
1. Astry is the Greek word for city proper, the ____ of the polis
What are modern and/or local examples of:
Astry:
2. Chora means region or district; the land surrounding the
polis
3. So, a polis always has an urban and a _________ zone:
Chora:
a. Athens + Attica = Athenian polis
b. Sparta + Laconia = Spartan polis
4. The urban area usually had an agora (market area),
temples, a building or area where public decisions were
made, and entertainment facilities like theaters or
_______________.
II. Sparta’s early development is (like many other things) shrouded in mystery.
Supposedly, Lycurgus, a mythical law-giver, on the command of the gods,
gave Sparta a ______________________ around 750 BC.
A. The outstanding feature of the Spartan system was the __________
classes
1. The homoloi (________) were adult male Spartan citizens
over the age of eighteen. They had substantial rights of
political participation which was unusual at a time so early
in history
2. The periokoi (dwellers about) were what we would call
“resident aliens”. These people were not citizens but
enjoyed basic ____________________.
3. The helots (state slaves) were the conquered peoples. The
helots belonged to Sparta (the ________) not to individual
people
Agora:
Label the social pyramid below with the
three main social classes of Sparta
B. There were two kings, drawn from the same two families, who had
veto power over each other. One was usually at home, and one
away with the _______________.
C. There were two deliberative councils
1. All equals belonged to the Assembly of Equals. This body
could propose laws, wars, treaties but could not legislate
by itself.
2. Real power belonged to a High Council consisting of the
kings, the ephors (overseers/elders), and equals over the
age of sixty. His body could ignore or act on suggestions
from the assembly of equals.
D. Krypteia (secret police) were young men between 18 and 20 who
primarily spied on the helots but also snooped on ordinary equals
III. The Spartan constitution depended on the ___________ system, the agoge
(the training, or upbringing)
A. Babies were inspected at birth, and the healthy ones were returned
to their parents until age 7
B. At age 7, boys were enrolled in military brotherhoods to which they
belonged for the rest of their lives. From 17-18 they underwent
rigorous physical and military training. From 18-20 many served in
secret service. They then entered a regular army unit until age 60.
C. Marriage was not for __________, but to just produce more equals
D. The system aimed to create military excellence, discipline, and
_________________.
E. Spartan life was very simple and _________________.
1. Spartans believed that book-learning made men effeminate
2. Spartan used iron money to make hoarding unattractive
a. Very little/no __________________
In the chart below, label the Spartan
government with: King 1, King 2, Assembly of
Equals, and High Council
IV. On the other side of the pond, Athens tells the story of a shift in power
from the eupatrids (the well-fathered ones) to the demos (the people).
A. With the power of hindsight, we can see an orderly process (that
would lead to the creation of democracy) that almost seems
inevitable to us today!
B. That process also seems natural to use because we suppose that
others would share in our (American) love for
____________________ (which means rule by the people or
demos).
C. But ancient writers disliked democracy…especially Athens’ version
of democracy because it was something the world had never seen
before and appeared ____________ and wild at times
D. Athens created democracy accidentally as the city’s leaders
responded to many different crises
V. In the 7th century BC, most of the Greek world (with the notable exception
of Athens and Sparta) experienced _______________. How did Athens
escape this?!
A. Around 621 BC Draco codified the laws of Athens and posted them
in the Athenian agora. This code was harsh- “Draconian”- but it
represented a concession to those who opposed the arbitrary rule
of the eupatrids. Athens was, in principle, ruled by ________- not
by _______!
B. Ordinary Athenian farmers still suffered cycles of boom and bust,
and the city was home to more and more rich merchants who had no
place in a society dominated by wealthy, land-owning eupatrids.
1. In 594, Solon, a eupatrid who had made a fortune in trade,
was appointed lawgiver and was given a lot of authority
to make law reform
2. He was a moderate guy with little personal _____________
(as he had already struck it rich!)
3. He abolished many debts and debt slavery, lowered basic
qualification for holding office, extended the right to _____;
Define tyranny:
What is another example? (historic or modern)
4. And he created a Council of 400 who set the agenda for the
assembly of all __________ (this is the opposite of Sparta’s
system!)