Today’s Date: November 8th, 2017

Today’s Title: Sparta vs. Athens

Today’s Page Number: 43

Today’s EQ: What made Sparta and Athens great societies?

What is the MOST effective and fair form of government?

Something to consider…If a nation only had one option, to either train all of its citizens

to become great warriors, or educate all of its citizens to become

great learners, which do you think it should choose & why?

Quick Comparison…

Sparta:

Warriors

Authoritarian

Not a lot of education

Great Army Athens:

Politicians

Democratic

Scholars

Great Navy

Sparta: Where is it?

The Polis (Greek word for city-state) located in the Peloponnesus

Southern tip of Greek mainland

Separated from the rest of Greece by the Gulf of Corinth

Sparta was a Greek city-state.

Sparta was very powerful and had its own

army. They were known for their strength

and their army.

Sparta conquered other city-states to gain

wealth and power.

There were three classes of people in Sparta. Citizens, non-citizens, and slaves.

Spartan Society

3 levels of society:

Equals (citizens) : Leaders of the city-state

non-Citizens: Free, paid taxes, served in army, but held no political power

Helots/slaves: Peasants forced to live and work on farm land

Spartans terrorized the helots, helots hated Spartans

Only men born in Sparta were citizens.

Women were not allowed to become citizens, but were allowed to own land and businesses. Which gave them more freedom than other Greek city-states.

The second class in Sparta was people who came from other city-states or other countries. They could own businesses but not become citizens.

The third class was slaves called “Hellots.” Treated harshly by Spartan Warriors

Spartan Government

Consisted of:

2 kings

One king in charge of army

One king in charge of matters at home

Council of Elders

28 male citizens over age 60

Citizen Assembly

approved all major decisions

Spartan Culture

Goal: make every male citizen a part of the military machine babies were examined for health

if they weren’t healthy they were left in the hills to die

Boys: at the age of 7 were sent away for military training constant exercise & discipline whippings for

punishment

soldiers could marry at the age of 20, & had to live in the barracks until the age of 30

Learning to read and write in Sparta was not very

important.

Training to become a good soldiers was

important.

Young boys were taken from their parents and

trained to be soldiers as well as good in sports

such as running.

Girls were also trained to be good in sports.

Spartan Culture (continued)

Girls: life was also rigorous; expected to produce healthy sons for the army

expected to exercise (run, wrestle/sports) in order to strengthen their bodies

Had to shave their heads to prepare for marriage

also had all rights except the right to vote & own land

had to obey fathers and husbands; usually managed the household - until the husband retired

were resented by all other Greeks because of the role that the women played

Athens Location: in a region called Attica, North of

the Peloponnesus

Athens was another important Greek city-state.

They were known for: education & democracy

The people of Athens wanted to rule themselves and not have a king or queen.

Athens became the world’s first democracy around 508 B.C.

A democracy is a government in which all citizens can vote and have equal say in what happens.

Athenian Society

Also three Levels: Citizens

Could be rich aristocratic or poor farmer Only Athenian-born men could vote

Metics Born outside Athens Free and paid taxes just as citizens Could not participate in government

Slaves Treated as property & had no right to vote

Athens was a democracy because all citizens

could vote, but only half the people in Athens

were citizens.

Only men born in Athens could vote

Women, people born outside of Athens, and

slaves could not vote.

Athenian Government: Democracy

Leaders chosen by citizens vote everyone had an equal chance

Direct Democracy All citizens participate directly in making

decisions

Representative Democracy Citizens elect representatives to govern for

them

Athenian Government: Democracy

Pericles: Athenian politician

3 Goals for Athens:

Strengthen Athenian Democracy: Direct Democracy

Hold and strengthen the Empire: Build larger Athenian navy and increase overseas trade

Glorify Athens: Build Parthenon and beautify Athens

Athenian Culture:

Heavily based on ideas of democracy and education as important rather than military

Focus on the arts and philosophy (thinking about the world around us)

Education was very important in Athens.

Boys went to school to learn to read and write.

They also learned many sports.

Girls were not allowed to go to school or learn

to play sports.

Two Forms of Government

Spartan and Athenian governments form the basis of two kinds of government today.

Oligarchy & Democracy

Oligarchy

Oligarchy: a form of government rule

by a handful of wealthy and powerful

people

Oligarchy is supported by the military

The people could not vote

Democracy

The democratic political system used as its model Athenian democracy.

In the ancient Greek city-state of Athens all citizens participated in Athenian governmental activities.

All citizens were equal before the law and participated in the government.

Slaves and women, however, were not allowed citizenship.

Athenians eventually abolished slavery and developed a direct democracy where citizens chose the members of the powerful Assembly.

Athenian youth were encouraged to develop artistic and intellectual talents to such a degree that historians refer to their developments in the arts and politics as a Golden Age.

Read the comparison sheet and create a Pro/Con chart on a sheet of notebook paper

Pros of Sparta Cons of Sparta

Pros of Athens Cons of Athens

Strong- Brawn

Need to be able to defend your country

Protection from attack

Want to be able to get things you need

To help citizens feel safer

Win wars easier with muscle

Intimidation for the enemy

Can build protection from invaders (traps, tunnels)

Can create strategies/plan to out smart your enemies

Create complex technologies and weapons

Be more efficient & evolve

Smarter leaders

Could divide up jobs

Smart- Brains

Discussion Questions

1. Who benefited most in each society: the

rich or poor, males or female?

2. Who benefited least?

3. What are the pros and cons of each

civilization?

4. Where do we see the seeds of their

governments in today's world?

Recruitment Brochure Sparta or Athens?

You choose either city-state using your notes & pros/cons chart

Create an appealing, informative recruitment brochure to lure all other Greeks to organize under Athenian or Spartan rule

Include:

• An engaging & appealing title page (not just “Sparta” or “Athens”)

• Why come to your city-state?

• Why not go to the other city-state?

Explanation page- Which is better, military strength or educational development. Why? (fill up the page)

Illustrations to support your text.

The goal is to make people want to come and join your society!