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THE ANCIENT GREEK CITY-STATE of ATHENS
Athenians thought of themselves as the shining star of the Greek citystates. They were famed for their literature, poetry, drama, theatre,
schools, buildings, and government.
Before the Greek dark ages, Athens was a small village, home to a
tribe of Ionian people. After the Greek dark ages, Athens grew rapidly
until Athens was one of the two most powerful city-states in the
ancient Greek world. (The other was Sparta.)
The Athenian were very different from the ancient Spartans.
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The Spartans were famed for their military strength.
Athenians were famed for their commitment to the arts and sciences.
The Greeks believed that each city-state in ancient Greece had a god or a goddess in charge of it, their special patron. For
Athens, the patron was Athena, goddess of wisdom. Perhaps because Athena was their patron, Athenians put a great deal
of emphasis on education.
Girls learned at home from their mothers. They learned how to run a home, and how to be good wives and mothers.
Boys were educated quite differently. Until age 6 or 7, boys were taught at home by their mothers. From 7-14, boys
attended a day school outside the home. There, they memorized Homeric poetry and learned to play the lyre. They learned
drama, public speaking, reading, writing, math, and perhaps even how to play the flute.
After middle school, they went to a four year high school and learned more about math, science, and government. At 18,
they attended two years of military school.
There was just cause for Athens to be proud of its system of education for its citizens.
Each city-state chose its own form of government. Most Greek city-states were ruled by kings. In Athens, citizens (the
men) met each week to discuss problems. They worked on solutions. The men of Athens experimented with government.
For about 100 years, Athens was a direct democracy!
Around 510 BCE - The Ancient Athenians invented a
government system called Democracy
Over 2400 years ago, the famous Greek general, Pericles, said, "It is true that we
(Athenians) are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the
many and not the few, with equal justice to all alike in their private disputes."
Only in Athens, and only for a short time, "rule by many" meant that all citizens
had to be willing to take an active part in government. That was the law.
Each year, 500 names were drawn from all the citizens of Athens. Those 500
citizens had to serve for one year as the law makers of ancient Athens.
All citizens of Athens were required to vote on any new law that this body of 500
citizens created. One man, one vote, majority ruled. Women, children, and slaves
were not citizens, and thus could not vote.
After the Peloponnesian War with Sparta, which Athens lost, once again Athens
was ruled by a small group of people. But for a brief period of about 100 years,
Athens was a democracy. It was not a perfect, but it was the first democracy.
A Direct Democracy: A government in which people vote to make their own
rules and laws
A Representative Democracy: A government in which people vote for
representatives. The representatives make rules and laws that govern themselves
and the people.
Greek Gods: Athena & Poseidon
Athena
Athena was born without a mother. Her father was the mighty Zeus, king of all the gods. Athena
was born directly out of Zeus' brain.
Zeus loved all his children, but if he had to pick a favorite, it would probably have been Athena, the
goddess of wisdom.
Athena was a powerful force, and one of the 12 deities who held a seat on Mount Olympus.
There are many myths about Athena in Greek mythology. Here is one of them.
Athena & Poseidon
In ancient Greece, each town had a special deity, a god that looked after them. Poseidon was
Zeus' brother. He was Athena's uncle. He was also Lord of the Sea. Poseidon was a very powerful
god. He loved attention. He loved having towns build temples to worship him. He loved the gifts
people brought him.
Poseidon was always on the lookout for towns that had not yet been claimed by a god. He wanted
as many towns as possible to call his own. Although towns could only have one god to watch over
them, gods could watch over as many towns as they chose.
One day, Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon, lord of the sea, both claimed the village of
Athens. Back then, Athens was pretty small. Normally, the people would have been thrilled to be
selected by a god to watch over them. But two gods at once? A town could have only one guardian,
and they did not want to choose. They did not want to anger either god.
Athena, who was wise as well as beautiful, understood their worry. She suggested that both gods
should give the town a gift. The townspeople could decide which gift was better. Poseidon loved the
idea. The townspeople, if possible, were even more nervous than before.
Poseidon tapped the side of the mountain. Water flowed out in a beautiful stream. Fresh water
was so important. The people were sure Poseidon had won. When they tasted the water, they tried to
smile, but they had to spit the water out. It was salt water!
Then Athena waved her hand. An olive tree began to grow. The people tasted the olives. Smiles
broke out. The olives were delicious. The olive tree would provide food, shelter, and oil for cooking.
It was a magnificent gift indeed.
But no coastal town in their right mind would risk angering the lord of the sea, the mighty
Poseidon. Fortunately, for the people of Athens, they did not have to choose.
Poseidon threw back his head and laughed his hearty roar. "Yours is a far better gift than mine, my
lovely niece. I award you Athens."
And that is how Athena became the guardian of the city-state of Athens. Even today, Athena's
special tree is the olive. It is said there were many people in ancient Greece who were sure that
Athens rise to fame was due mostly to Athena's wise direction. But that is probably just a myth.
Socrates, the Great
Teacher
Socrates was a famous teacher in ancient Athens. He wanted his
students to question things. "Is our government good? If gods exist,
where do they live?"
This angered some of the wealthy nobles in ancient Athens, not
many, but a few. They accused Socrates of mocking the gods. They
demanded a trial. If found guilty, anyone who mocked the gods
would be killed. This was a severe charge.
In ancient Athens, anyone could demand a trial. Whichever side lost
the trial paid for the whole trial. You did not bring charges unless you
had lots of proof or lots of wealth. These men had wealth.
Socrates thought it was ridiculous. He could not believe that anyone
would find him guilty. He refused to defend himself. If he had
presented a defense, the jury most probably would have found him
innocent. But, since he said nothing, the jury had no choice but to
find him guilty.
If you were found guilty in ancient Athens, the punishment was death
or ostracism (being ignored). Socrates agreed to drink hemlock
(poison) and died. He was seventy years old at the time.
Sparta began as a
small village of
Dorian people.
THE ANCIENT
GREEK CITYSTATE of SPARTA
Life was very different
in ancient Sparta than
it was in the rest of
ancient Greek citystates. The Spartans were proud, fierce, capable warriors. No great works of art came out of Sparta.
But the Spartans, both men and women, were tough, and the Greeks admired strength.
Sparta's government was an oligarchy. The people were ruled by a small group of warriors. The
Spartans spoke Greek, wrote Greek, thought of themselves as Greeks, but they were different.
In most of the other Greek city-states, the goal of education was to create a strong citizen of that
city-state. In Sparta, the goal of education was to create a strong warrior.
All of the ancient Greeks were warriors, but Sparta's warriors were legendary.
In Sparta, boys were taken away from their parents at age 7. They lived a harsh and often brutal
life in the soldiers barracks. Younger children were beaten by older children who started fights to
help make the younger boys strong. Children were often were whipped in front of groups of other
Spartans, including their parents, but they were not allowed to cry out in pain.
Girls went to school too, to learn how to fight. They lived at home during training. Their training
was not as harsh and the boy's, but it was harsh enough. Sparta women were warriors.
Children, during their training process, were given very little food. They were encouraged to steal
food, instead. If caught stealing, they were beaten. Spartan children learned to be cunning, to lie, to
cheat, to steal, and how to get away with it! The Spartans did this to train more capable warriors.
After all, warriors are not much good if they cannot stay alive to fight as long as possible. The
training process was very tough for that reason.
As adults, Spartan men did not live with their families. They visited their families, but men lived in
the soldiers' barracks.
As adults, Spartan women, unlike women in the rest of Greek world, had a great deal of
freedom. Many ran businesses. Sparta women were free to move about and visit neighbors
without permission from their husbands. How would they get permission? The men were often off
fighting.
King of the Gods
Zeus
Roman name: Jupiter
Ancient Greek Gods for Kids
The Greeks loved to tell stories about the magical family who ruled
the heavens. The Greeks truly believed that their gods could
interfere in their lives, to help or hinder them.
According to Greek myth, Zeus was the king of all the gods. Zeus
had two brothers and three sisters. When their father died, the boys Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - divided the world up between
themselves. Zeus took all of the heavens, Poseidon took the sea, and
Hades took the underworld. Each was quite content with their
selection.
Zeus had a very jealous wife named Hera. He also had a whole
bunch of kids. Zeus was very fond of all his children. Each of his
children had special magical powers.
Zeus had more powers than anyone. Zeus could throw his voice, and
sound like anybody. He could shape shift, and look like anybody. In
fact, he was so good at shape shifting that he could shape shift into
the form of an animal. He could throw lightning bolts. His horse,
Pegasus, carried his lightning bolts for him.
Zeus had a quick temper, a big sense of humor, and lots of
girlfriends. He was not afraid of anything except Hera, his wife.
There are a great many myths about the famous Zeus, king of all the
gods, myths like these:
Education in Ancient Greece
Both daily life and education were very different in Sparta than in Athens or in the other ancient
Greek city-states.
ATHENS: In ancient Athens, the purpose of education was to produce citizens trained in the
arts, and to prepare citizens for both peace and war.
Until age 6 or so, boys were taught at home by their mother or by a male slave. From age 6 to 14,
boys went to a neighborhood primary school or to a private school.
Books were very expensive and rare, so subjects were read out-loud, and the boys had to memorize
everything. To help them learn, they used writing tablets and rulers.
In primary school, they had to learn two important things - the words of Homer, a famous Greek
epic poet, and how to play the lyre.
Their teacher, who was always a man, could choose what additional subjects he wanted to teach.
He might choose to teach drama, public speaking, government, art, reading, writing, math, and
how to play another ancient Greek instrument - the flute.
Following that, boys attended a higher school for four more years. When they turned 18, they
entered military school for two additional years. At age 20, they graduated.
Girls were not educated at school, but many learned to read and write at home in the comfort of
their courtyard.
SPARTA: In ancient Sparta, the purpose of education was to produce a well-drilled, welldisciplined marching army. Spartans believed in a life of discipline, self-denial, and simplicity.
They were very loyal to the state of Sparta. Every Spartan, male or female, was required to have a
perfect body.
When babies were born in ancient Sparta, Spartan soldiers would come by the house and check the
baby. If the baby did not appear healthy and strong, the infant was taken away, and left to die on a
hillside, or taken away to be trained as a slave (a helot). Babies who passed this examination were
assigned membership in a brotherhood or sisterhood, usually the same one to which their father or
mother belonged.
Slaves in Ancient Greece
Slaves were very important to the ancient Greek way of life. Slaves cleaned and cooked, worked in
the fields, factories, shops, in the mines, and on ships. Even the police force in ancient Athens was
made up of slaves! Most slave’s lives were not that different from a poor Greek citizen's life.
There were things slaves could not do. They could not go to school, or enter politics, or use their
own name. They were given a name by the citizen who owned them. They were the property of
their owner, not citizens of ancient Greece.
People became slaves in many ways. Some people became slaves when captured in battle. Some
were the children of slaves. Some were Greek infants, abandoned on a hill or at the gates of a
town, left to die, or to be rescued by someone passing by. Some children were sold into slavery by
poor families, and some children were kidnapped.
Slaves were so important to the culture of ancient Greece, that some historians believe there were
as many slaves as citizens!