Transcript Ancient Greece Athens and Sparta

Ancient Greece
Athens
and
Sparta
The City of Athens
• Athens was the largest city
in Greece.
• There were about 40,000
men and 40,000 slaves.
• Athens controlled the land
around it, a large region
called Attika.
• Between
the
many
mountains
were
fertile
valleys, where farmers grew
olives, grain, fruit and
grapes.
• There were also deposits of
silver, lead and marble.
The City of Sparta
• Sparta was smaller than Athens.
• There were about 8,000 Spartans men who ruled over
a population of 100,000 slaves.
Athenian Rule
• In 510 BC a new way of
government was invented in
Athens.
• It was called a 'democracy',
which means 'ruled by the
people'.
• Any man with full citizen
rights could go to the
assembly, where they could
speak and vote freely.
• Public debates like this
decided how the city was
run.
The Spartan Rule
• Usually called as an "oligarchy"
which means ruled by a few.
• But it was a mixture of:
• Monarchy which means ruled by
kings.
• Democracy which means ruled by
the people.
• Aristocracy which means ruled by
the upper class or land owning
class.
Women in Athens • Women did not have citizen
rights.
• They could only go out to
weddings, funerals, religious
festivals and to visit female
friends.
• In wealthy families girls were
educated to run the household
of servants and slaves, and
were usually married by the age
of 13.
• In poorer families women
worked alongside men, farming
in the fields or running the family
business.
Women in Sparta
• Women were allowed
more freedom in Sparta
because most of their
husbands were soldiers
living away from home.
• They were allowed to
leave the house and go
shopping.
• There were slaves
The Lives of Slaves
Athens and Sparta.
in
both
• These were men and women
captured in wars or born into
slavery.
• Many slaves had special skills,
such as nurses and teachers,
while others had the hardest and
most unpleasant work to do.
• It was common for a rich
household to have many slaves.
• Some slaves were owned by
the state and were used as a
kind of police force
Education in Athens
• Until age 6 or 7, boys were taught at
home by their mother or by a male
slave.
• They boys learnt the poetry of
Homer and how to play the lyre.
• Their teacher, who was always a
man, could choose what other
subjects he wanted to teach.
• He might choose to teach drama,
public speaking, government, art,
reading, writing, maths and the flute.
• Books were expensive and rare, so
lessons were read out-loud, and the
boys had to memorize everything.
• They were taught to read and write the Greek
alphabet.
• They didn’t have books to write in. Instead, they use
a wax tablet, and wrote on this with a metal 'pen'. The
pen had a sharp end and a rounded end.
• They wrote with the sharp end, and then rubbed out
the work with the rounded end.
• At 14 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.
Education in Sparta
• In Sparta, education was to produce an army.
• Spartan boys were sent to military school at age 6 or 7.
• They lived, trained and slept in the barracks of their
brotherhood.
• At school, they were taught survival skills and other skills
necessary to be a great soldier.
• School was very hard and often painful. The boys
were taught to read and write but those skills were
not seen as important. Only warfare mattered.
• The boys were not fed well, and were told that it was
fine to steal food as long as they did not get caught
stealing. If they were caught, they were beaten.
• They boys marched without shoes to make them
strong.
• Somewhere between the age of 18-20, Spartan
males had to pass a difficult test of fitness, military
ability, and leadership skills.
• If they passed, they became a full citizen and a
Spartan soldier.
• Spartan citizens were not allowed to touch money.
That was the job of the middle class.
• Even if they were married, they did not live with their
wives and families. They lived in the barracks.
• Military service did not end until a Spartan male
reached the age of 60.
• Only then could a Spartan soldier retire and live in
their home with their family.
• In Sparta, girls also went to school at age 6 or 7.
• They lived, slept and trained in their sisterhood's
barracks.
• The girls were taught wrestling, gymnastics and
combat skills.
• The Spartans believed that strong young women
would produce strong babies.
• At age 18, if a Sparta girl passed her skills and
fitness test, a husband would be chosen for her and
she was allowed to return home.
What was it like to be a Spartan?
• Taken away from your parents at age 7, you lived a harsh and
often brutal life in the soldiers barracks.
• You were beaten by older children who started fights to help
make you tough and strong.
• You were often were whipped in front of groups of other
Spartans, including your parents, but never cried out in pain.
• You were given very little food, but encouraged to steal food,
instead. If caught stealing, you were beaten.
• To avoid severe pain, you learned to be cunning, to lie, to cheat,
to steal, and how to get away with it!
Spartan Goals And Behavior At The Olympics
• Win at all costs.
• Lie, cheat, do whatever it takes.
• If you can't win, at least beat those citizens of Athens.
• You are the proud and fierce Spartans!
• March in step whenever possible. Plot secretly with other Greek
city-states to sabotage any Athenian chance at victory.
•
Cheer only for your fellow Spartans at each event.
• Good luck at the games!
What it was like to be an Athenian!
• Be polite.
• You have had a good education.
• Until age 6 or 7, you were taught at home by your mother, or by
a male slave.
• From age 7-14, you attended a day school in the neighborhood
where you memorized poetry and learned to play the lyre.
• You learned drama, public speaking, reading, writing, maths,
and perhaps even how to play the flute.
• You attended four years of higher school, and learned more
about maths and science and government.
• At 18, you attended military school for two additional years!
• You are proud to be an Athenian!
Athenian Goals And Behavior At The Olympics
• You know those Spartans, will do anything to win, even lie and
cheat.
• But you are Athenians - you would never behave like that.
• Cooperate with your fellow Athenians to defeat those brutish
Spartans, and do your personal best!
• Be polite to all Greeks, no matter what city they represent.
• You are Athenians clever, creative and polite
• Good luck in the games!