Transcript Daily Life in Athens - Bibb County Schools

Daily Life in Athens
The Economy
• Most Athenian citizens were farmers.
– They grew things like olives, grapes, and figs.
– They planted crops on terraced hillsides.
• Terracing means carving small, flat plots of land from
hillsides
• Trade was also a very important part of
Athens’s economy.
– The Athenian’s used their superior navy to
establish colonies along the Mediterranean,
Aegean, and Black Seas .
– They exported olive oil, wine, and other
household items, and imported grain and other
foods they could not grow.
Athenian Home
• Athenians built huge temples and public
buildings and generally believed that money
should be spent on buildings that benefit the
whole community.
• Most people lived in one-story houses made
of brick. These houses included:
– Courtyards
– Living rooms
– Dining rooms
– Bedrooms
– Storerooms
– Kitchen
Frescoes Paintings done on wet plaster walls
• They had lamps that burned olive oil.
– Dim lighting
• They had no plumbing
– Athenian families got water from a fountain near
the agora (Marketplace).
Athenian Family Life
• Marriage
– Marriage and family were very important to the
Athenians.
– The main purpose of marriage was to have
children.
• Parents always arranged marriages
• Girls married around age 13 or 14
• A girl’s husband might be twice her age or older
• Role of Women
– Athenian women were considered inferior to men.
– They were citizens but they could not own or
inherit property.
– A woman’s duties included:
• Managing the household and slaves
• Raising the children
• Role of the children
– The mother took care of the children until age 6.
– At about age 7, boys come under the care of a
pedagogue.
• This was a male slave who helped educate the boys and
taught them manners.
• They went to school with the boys.
– Boys went to school
– Girls stayed at home and learned to run a
household .
• They usually received no further education
• Wealthy girls were taught to read and write
Education
• Athenians placed great value on literacy and
education.
• The Athenian ideal stressed a sound mind and
a healthy body.
• Elementary School
– Families sent their sons to elementary schools for
a small fee.
– They studied reading , writing, grammar, music,
and gymnastics.
• Grammar and music were taught to develop the mind
• Gymnastics developed the body
– They also studied poetry and were required to
learn works like the Iliad and Odyssey by heart.
• Sophist School
– Men called Sophists opened these schools for
older boys.
• Sophists took their name from the Greek work sophos,
meaning “wise”.
– These boys studied government, math, ethics and
rhetoric.
• Ethics= the study of what is good and bad and what is
moral duty
• Rhetoric= the study of public speaking and debating
Military Service
• At the age of 18 Athenian males received a
year of military training.
• Young men who could afford armor and
weapons became hoplites.
• Poor men served in the army’s flanks.