Transcript Sparta`s Government

Ancient Greece
Why
couldn’t the
Greeks unite
under one
government?
Forms of Government
MONARCHY
•State ruled by a
king
•Rule is
hereditary
•Some rulers
claim divine
right
ARISTOCRACY
OLIGARCHY
DIRECT
DEMOCRACY
•State ruled by •State ruled by a •State ruled by
nobility
small group of
its citizens
•Rule is
citizens
•Rule is based on
hereditary and •Rule is based on
citizenship
based on family wealth or ability
•Majority rule
ties, social rank,
•Ruling group
decides votes
wealth
controls military
•Social status
and wealth
support rulers’
authority
Though the citizens of both
Sparta and Athens participated in
polis (city-state) government, the
two city-states differed greatly
from each other in their values,
cultures, and accomplishments.
Who reformed Athens?
• Draco (621 B.C.)
– developed a legal code based on the idea
that all Athenians, rich and poor, were
equal under the law
– penalties were extremely harsh (death was
the punishment for practically every crime)
– upheld debt slavery
• Solon (594 B.C.)
– outlawed debt slavery
– allowed citizens of all classes to participate
in the Assembly
• Cleisthenes (500 B.C.)
– increased the power of the Assembly by
allowing all citizens to submit laws for
debate and passage
– created the Council of 500, which proposed
laws and counseled the Assembly
How did Athenian
democracy work?
• Citizens chose members of the Council of
500 in a lottery
• Jury system used to decide court cases
– juries contained 201-1001 members
• Ostracism
– citizens could write the name of an
undesirable politician on a piece of clay
(ostracon)
– if name appeared 6000 times, he could be
exiled
Was this a direct democracy?
No…it was a limited democracy.
Women, foreigners and slaves were still
excluded from political life.
Athenian Education
• Education depended on social and
economic status.
• Athenian citizens were required to
educate their sons so they could
participate in government.
• Girls learned household duties from their
mothers and did not attend school.
• Boys entered school at age 7 and
graduated at 18
– studied Iliad and Odyssey
– studied reading, grammar, poetry, history,
arithmetic, geometry, drawing, music, and
gymnastics
– added rhetoric (public speaking) as teenagers
• At age 18, men left for two years of
military service
“I will not bring dishonor upon my weapons nor
desert the comrade by my side. I will strive to
hand on my fatherland greater and better than I
found it. I will not consent to anyone’s disobeying
or destroying the constitution but will prevent
him, whether I am with others or alone. I will
honor the temples and the religion my forefathers
established.”
--oath of enrollment in Epheboi corps,
early 400s BC
Sparta
Sparta...
• invaded neighboring city-states and
enslaved the local people
• citizens owned helots (slaves)
• helots revolted…Spartans put down the
revolt but…
Problem:
How can Sparta
maintain power?
Solution:
A Military Society
All life in Sparta revolved
around the army.
• Men wanted to be
Spartan soldiers.
• Women wanted to
become mothers of
Spartan soldiers.
Life in the army
• Age 7
Spartan boys taken from home
and placed in the military
» Spent days marching, exercising and
fighting
• Age 30 Men were expected to marry
» They spent their days away from home in military
drills
• Age 60 Men could retire from army
Role of Women
• Women were raised to be strong
• Young girls trained in gymnastics, wrestling
and boxing
• Women married at 19
• Women had considerable freedom, especially in
running the family estates when their husbands
were on active military service
• Told husbands and sons going to war to “come
back with your shield or on it”
Sparta’s Government
• Two kings governed Sparta
– they led the army
– they really had little power
• Assembly
– all male citizens
– elected officials and voted on major issues
• Council of Elders
– 30 men over the age of 60
– proposed laws to Assembly
• Five elected officials carried out the laws
passed by the Assembly
– controlled education
– prosecuted court cases
Did militarism work?
• Yes…
– They maintained control over people for 250
years.
– They were exceptional athletes and soldiers.
• No…
– They were suspicious of new ideas that might
bring change so they lagged behind in
economic development and in the areas of
philosophy, science, and the arts.
Your task:
Create a Greek flag to represent either Athens OR
Sparta.
Think about what colors, symbols, etc. would
represent each of these city-states.
On the back of the flag, make sure to list the meaning
of all colors, symbols and drawings.
You will be graded on neatness, effort, creativity and
the “information” on your flag.