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Ancient Greece
A Theoretical Study
of the Societal and
Personal Interactions
of the Ancient
Hellenistic Cultures
Where’s Sparta again?
• Located on Peloponnesus
–Easily defended
–Between mountains, fierce
winds
Powerful, were they?
• Most powerful
polis in ancient
Greece
• Armed camp
where life
revolved around
preparing for war
Not too nice
• Conquered nearby peoples
–Outnumbered Spartans
• Slaves worked farms
• Helots – social class
between slave and free
Sons, daughters… who
cares?
• Spartan goal was to create
strong, fearless men and
women
• Marriages expected to
produce children
–Beaten if no children
Marriage? Bah…
• Wounded and old men
encouraged to “lend” wives to
able-bodied men
• Marriages arranged by parents
• For unmarried men and
women, pushed into dark room
and forced to choose a mate
Ugh…
• Obese men were
criticized or banished
• Celibacy a crime
–Bachelors couldn’t
vote, beaten up by
women
Oh, poor baby!
• Sickly children left to die or
thrown from cliffs
• Children raised by slaves with
no love or attention from
parents
»Children were property
of polis
Totalitarianism, anyone?
• Spartans forbidden to travel
without gov’t. permission
• Two kings command army,
25-30 Senators run gov’t.
–Senators average age 60
yrs.
Atten-SHUN!
• Boys moved to barracks at
age 7
–Taught discipline,
patriotism, and weapons
• Learned to endure pain and
hardship
Spartan women are the
best, Spartan women beat
the rest… YAY!
• Trained in
gymnastics and
physical fitness
• Spoke openly on
important subjects,
inherited property
WAR! • Only Roman legions
could equal Spartans
in fearlessness and
victory
• No poets, sculptors
• Ignorant of science,
literature, philosophy
• Hated by neighbors
• Center of Greek
culture
• Artists,
playwrights,
poets,
philosophers
st
• 1 ever
democracy
• 621 BC – Draco
writes down
collected laws
Athens
Solon
• Stopped
revolution in
Athens by
repealing all of
Draco’s laws
– laws had no
distinction
between social
classes
Solon’s reforms
• Legal system where all free
men serve in juries
• Graduated income tax
• Soldiers who died in war –
sons educated at gov’t.
expense
Uh oh... Tyrant!
• Pisistratus – Solon’s nephew
• Took power by force
• Took land from nobles gave
to poor
• Built up army and navy
• Built aqueducts, roads &
temples
Better than advertised
• Cleisthenes
–Reformed political
system
–10 districts, 50 men
from each became
advisory council to
Assembly
Yeah! Cheddar!
• Pericles
–opened gov’t. jobs
to all citizens & paid
them
–Every citizen must
vote, hold office, or
serve on juries
Pericles’ justice
• Jury had 6,000 jurors drawn
by lot
• Judges chosen by lot from
60+ yrs. men
• All gov’t. in hands of
citizens (10% pop.)