Download SPARTA and ATHENS - Kyrene School District

ATHENS AND SPARTA
I can compare and contrast the
government and daily lives of people
living in the ancient Greek city-states
of Sparta and Athens.
The two largest Greek city-states at the
time had very different sized
populations. Around the year 500
B.C., Sparta had a population of
around 140,000 people, while Athens
boasted a population of 315,000 people.
(1/3 of that population consisted of
slaves).
ATHENS BUILDS A DEMOCRACY
One of the great legacies that came
from ancient Greece is the idea of
citizenship. In your groups
brainstorm what it means to be a
good citizen.
To the Greeks, a citizen was a person with the right to
take part in ruling the city-state. A citizen had to be born
of parents who were free citizens. In ancient Greece,
people of both the upper and lower classes were citizens,
although only upper-class citizens held power.
During the 500’s B.C., leaders in the
Greek city-state of Athens began to make
gradual reforms that gave people more
power within the city-states. One of those
leaders was a man named Solon.
“Society is governed by people
who obey the magistrates, and
magistrates that obey the law.”
~Solon
Solon was elected leader of Athens in 594 B.C. Leading up to that there was much trouble
throughout the city-state. Poor farmers owed so much money that they were being forced to work
someone else’s land, or become someone’s slave. Rulers of Athens held much power, and the lower
classes were growing angry because of the inequalities of society.
SOLON’S REFORMS
•
•
•
All people who were slaves because of
debt were freed.
Created a law stating no citizen could
become enslaved.
Salon organized citizens into 4 classes
based on wealth. This allowed rich
men to have more power.
• All citizens could serve on the
assembly and elect leaders.
• Made laws less harsh.
Eventually, citizen’s power in Athens grew
even more and around 500 B.C., new leaders
made changes that took power away from the
nobles and made it so that any citizen could
vote on laws.
Athens moved towards an early form of
DEMOCRACY.
Fearing mass revolts around Athens, Solon created
reforms (changes) to help avoid violence.
“Solon’s classification scheme supported the further development
of conditions leading to democracy, because it allowed for
upward social mobility: IF A MAN MANAGED TO INCREASE HIS
INCOME, HE COULD MOVE UP THE SCALE OF ELIGIBILITY FOR
OFFICE.”
DEMOCRACY
Democracy: A system in which the citizens make political decisions.
DIRECT DEMOCRACY
TWO MAIN TYPES OF DEMOCRACY
All citizens meet to decide the laws.
This was the type of Democracy
practiced in ancient Athens.
In ancient Athens, only free
males were considered
citizens and could participate
in government decisions.
Women, slaves, foreigners
were not citizens and were
not allowed to become
citizens.
INDIRECT DEMOCRACY
People elect representatives to make laws.
This is more common today and is very
similar to our government system in the
United States.
ATHENS IS KNOWN TODAY AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF DEMOCRACY
ATHENS’ DEMOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE
Athens had two governing bodies. The Council of Four Hundred took care of day-to-day
problems. The Assembly voted on policies proposed by the council. Citizens had to serve in the army
whenever they were needed. They also had to serve on juries. Juries usually had several hundred people to
hear charges against a person. In Athens, all citizens were equal in the courts. There were no professional
lawyers or judges. Citizens argued their case directly before a jury.
Different reforms (changes) had organized citizens into four classes based on income.
Foreigners, women, children, and slaves were not citizens. Slaves made up one-third of the population.
They worked in homes, agriculture, industry, and mines. Some slaves worked alongside their masters.
Some even earned wages and were able to buy their freedom.
ATHENIAN EDUCATION AND WOMEN
Boys of wealthy families started school at age six or seven. Education prepared them to be good citizens.
They studied logic and public speaking to help them debate as adults in the Assembly. They also studied reading, writing,
poetry, arithmetic, and music. Athletic activities helped develop strong bodies.
Athenians expected women to be good wives and mothers. These roles were respected because they helped to
keep the family and society strong. In addition, some women fulfilled important religious roles as priestesses in temples.
In spite of their importance to society, Athenian women had much less freedom than Spartan women. Women could
inherit property only if their fathers had no sons. Girls did not attend school. They learned household duties from their
mothers. A few learned to read and write.
Athens offered a wide variety of life choices for free male citizens. Athens was the cultural center of ancient
Greece, and a city in which traders from all over the world sought out on their travels. It could boast the largest military
force in ancient Greece and had the most powerful naval force of the ancient world at that time.
SPARTA’S MILITARY STATE
About 715 B.C., Sparta conquered a neighboring area to gain land. This conquest
changed Sparta. The Spartans forced the defeated people to become slaves called helots. They
worked mostly on farms and had to give the Spartans half their crops. The helots rebelled many
times. Although they greatly outnumbered the Spartans and fought hard, the Spartans put down
the revolts. Fear of these revolts led Sparta to become a state that focused on everything building a
strong army.
SPARTAN GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY
Sparta had a government that was part monarchy, part oligarchy, and part
democracy.
• 2 kings ruled Sparta, each of whom shared in the responsibilities.
• 5 elected supervisors ran the government.
• The Council of Elders, made up of 30 citizens, proposed laws. Each member of the
council had to be at least 60 years of age and from a noble family.
• All Spartan citizens were part of the Assembly. The Assembly elected officials and
voted on the laws proposed by the council. Assembly members were only male
citizens at least 30 years of age. Assemblies were held once a month.
Three social groups made up Spartan society. Citizens lived in the city
and spent all their time training to be soldiers. Free noncitizens lived in nearby
villages. They had no political rights. The lowest group was the helots. Their
labor fed Sparta, making it possible for free Spartans to be full-time soldiers.
SPARTAN EDUCATION
The goal of Spartan society was to have a strong army. At age seven, boys moved into military
houses called barracks. Their education stressed discipline, duty, strength, and military skills. Boys learned
to read just enough to get by. A Greek historian, Plutarch, wrote:
http://safeshare.tv/w/pDYTJCjorp
“As soon as the boys were seven years old they were taken from their parents and enrolled in companies. Here
they lived and ate in common and shared their play and work. One of the noblest and bravest men of the state was
appointed superintendent of the boys, and they themselves in each company chose the wisest and bravest as
captain. They looked to him for orders, obeyed his commands, and endured his punishments, so that even in
childhood, they learned to obey.”
All male citizens entered the army at the age of 20 and served until they were 60. Even after men
got married, they had to eat with their fellow soldiers.
Spartan society expected its women to be tough, emotionally and physically. Education for girls in
Sparta focused on making them strong. They had athletic training and learned to defend themselves.
The emphasis on the army made family life less important in Sparta than in other Greek citystates. In Sparta, husbands and wives spent much time apart. Women had more freedom. They were allowed
to own property. A wife was expected to watch over her husband’s property if he was at war.
Spartan law discouraged anything that would distract people from the disciplined military life.
Sparta did not welcome visitors from other cities, and Spartans would only travel during times of war.
Spartans had no interest in other ways of life and discouraged the spread of new ideas throughout their citystate.