Transcript Daily Life in Athens

Daily Life in Athens
Daily Life in Athens
 Democracy- Government where citizens govern
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themselves
The first democracy developed in Athens
Solon was given power by the aristocrats
He created an constitution: a set of rules for
government
As leader, he created laws giving more rights to
citizens and less to aristocrats.
He also changed how people were taxed making it
more fair
Citizens could have a say in creating laws
However, only males born in Athens who were not
slaves were citizens.
Daily Life in Athens
Daily Life in Athens
I. Men
 Met in the agora, the public marketplace
 Discussed politics, religion, philosophy, community
events
 Vendors- sold wares like, wool, pottery, tools, cloth,
books, food
 Went to government buildings and temple in the
agora
 Ate simple meals of bread, cheese, fruit, vegetables
 Lived in simple mud brick homes
Daily Life in Athens
Daily Life in Athens
II. Women
 Led secluded lives
 Men thought women had to be protected from the
world
 Had little freedom
 In charge of the homes and families
 Rich women spun and wove cloth, looked after
supplies of food and wine, cared for children and kept
track of family finances
 Poor women did the same and worked outside the
homelike making pottery, spinning and weaviong
cloth, or tending sheep
Daily Life in Athens
Daily Life in Athens
III. Children
 Rich boys went to school
 After lessons, they had athletic training
 Poor boys and all girls did not go to school
 All children learned to do the same job as
their parent
Daily Life in Athens
IV. Slaves
 Slavery- the condition of being owned and forced to
work by another person
 One third of the people in Athens were slaves
 Slaves were often Greeks from other city-states
 Had no rights or freedoms
 Slaves could become free if their master freed them
or they bought their freedom
 Worked on farms, worked in mines, in construction,
making tools, cooking, cleaning, caring for children
and many other jobs
Golden Age of Athens
 479BC-431BC
 Rich from silver mining and trade
 Tributes paid to Athens by other city-
states for protection
 Made contributions in art, philosophy,
government, and literature
 Pericles, an Athenian leader, strengthened
democracy by paying officials
 Built the Parthenon