EDUCATIONElementary EducationChildren were first taught at home, by their parents. If their family were rich they may have had a teacher (pedagogue).They were taught basic morals and skills . Girls were also taught at home.

At the age of 7 , rich children would receive a formal elementary education as their parents could afford to hire a tutor or send them to school.

In their elementary education, Athenian children were taught: reading and writing counting drawing memorizing and reciting poetry (especially the poetry of Homer)

Poor children would be educated by their parents and learn whatever their parents knew. They may not have been able to go to school because their parents couldn't afford it and they would be needed at home.

Gymnasium

Having a fit body was important to Athenians (in fact all Greeks) . Athenians would have a physical education from the age of 7 and eventually they would begin training at the gymnasium. Athenians thought physical exercise

was important as a balance between physical and intellectual healthiness. They also exercised to improve their appearance, prepare for war and have good health in old age.

Secondary EducationWhen Athenian boys turned 14, they could have a secondary education, but only if they came from a fairly wealthy family. The children that received a secondary education were taught at permanent schools or by travelling teachers.

They may have learnt about: Natural sciences (biology and chemistry) The art of speaking and writing well (rhetoric) Geometry (maths) Astronomy (studying the stars) Meteorology (study of the weather) Music and dance were also very important to Athens

Athenians believed that an intellectual education was important. It was part of being a balanced citizen of Athens: being fit in body and of mind.

Education was important to the Athenians and successful students would gain the respect of people in Athens

If the child was from a poorer family, at 14 they would start to learn a trade and be an apprentice.

Girls did not receive a secondary education. Generally they were married off in their teens to older men. Their father chose who they would marry, and when they were married they would be controlled by their husbands.

Equipment When children needed to, they wrote on wooden boards covered with layers of wax. They used a wooden pen called a stylus with a sharp end for writing and a flat end for ‘rubbing out’. The wax was melted and reapplied from time to time

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MilitaryAt 18, all men were required to go to military school for two years. After that period, they were free to pursue their own jobs.Athens did not have a professional army (ie people whose job is being a soldier) so when Athens needed an army, the men of the city would stop their jobs and become soldiers.

There were different jobs in the army: Peltasts: soldiers that had slings which would fire stones at the enemy. Hoplites: the core of the army, heavily armed and armoured. Only

wealthy citizens were hoplites because they had to buy and maintain their own weapons and armour.

Cavalry : rode into battle on horses. Rich citizens were the cavalry because they had to buy and maintain their own horses.

Athens also had war ships in a navy.

Because it was not a professional army, Athenians had to buy and maintain their own armour and weapons. This meant that a citizen’s role in the army was dictated by how much money they had.

Women were not allowed to be in the army or fight in battles.

A Greek hoplite. These were the core of the Athenian army. They were heavily armoured with a large ox-

hide and wood shield (called a hoplon) a leather cuirass , bronze

greaves and a bronze helmet

They would have also carried a spear and a sword.

Ancient Greek cavalry were more lightly armed than the foot-soldiers.

Peltasts were light armed and armoured troops. They would carry either a sling for firing stones at the enemy or a number of short javelins. They may have carried a light shield.

A reconstruction of a Greek trireme .These war ships had sails, but largely relied on the three layers of rowers that would propel the ship forward. They would attack other ships by trying to ram them with bronze-clad ram. The decks would have also have been manned by soldiers and peltasts.

Government :Ancient Athens has become hugely famous for being the first democracy. Which meant that it was ruled by the people.

demos = people Kratia = rule ofso Demos+kratia = democracy = rule of the people

All decision and laws were voted on by the citizens of the Athens. The citizen directly decided how their city was run. The Ecceslia was the name of the place that the Athenians would go to vote on new laws or decrees. This was also known as the Assembly.

Blissful democracy, not quite. Not everyone could vote, you could not vote if, You were a woman, Under 20 , A slave, A freed slave, Did not have Athenian parents, Were a foreigner .

In fact only 20% of Athenian could vote, still it is pretty amazing that they had democracy two thousand years before Britain did!Women were not allowed to vote and were not allowed attend votes.

Creating a new law or decree:Because there was no ‘government’ like we have, individual people would propose a new law or decree.

There would then be a debate in the assembly (Ecclesia) between the person who proposed the law and another person who opposed it.

The whole assembly would then vote by placing a white stone (for ‘yes’) or a black stone (for ‘no’) in a jar.

The Helialia – Greek Court

Athenian JusticeCases in Athens were judged by a jury of Athenian citizens.

They were chosen at random from a group of 6000 citizens The size of the jury ranged from: 200 - 6000 There were no judges The jury decided if they were guilty The prosecution and defendant had to suggested their own

punishments Punishments included exile and death. Women were not allowed to be jurors and could not vote in trials

Oskraka

Do you want to get rid of that annoying neighbour - Ostracism is the way forward.Every year the citizens of Athens could vote to banish someone from Athens for 10 years.The people of Athens would write the name of the person they wanted to banish on pieces of broken pottery (called Ostraka ) and placed them in urns.The Names would then be placed into piles, and the person with the most votes was banished from the city for ten years.

CultureAthens was considered one of the centres of culture, arts and education.

Legendary figures in AthensAthenaAccording to a popular myth, Athena and Poseidon competed for the honour of being the patron god of the city. The myth describes how the gods provided gifts in order to gain the people’s favour. Poseidon hit the Acropolis rock (a large hill in the middle of Athens) with his trident and from the wounded earth a majestic horse arose as a gift to the citizens. The city however was named after Athena, for she gave the gift of the olive tree.The horse represented power, courage and war. The Olive tree represented clear-thinking, serenity and peace

This is a reconstruction of the statue of Athena that would have stood inside the Parthenon in Athens.

At the festival of the Panthenaea, the Athenians would present this statue with a new ‘peplos’: a finely woven shawl.

Theseus The legendary hero was the son of Aegeas (the man who gave his name to the Aegean sea), and he is credited with many deeds, most important of which is the slaying of the Minotaur.

The Theatre

Athenians often went to the theatre to watch plays written by famous Athenian playwrights as well as poetry recitals.

There were many religious festivals held in Athens

The Panathenaea was the most important festival in Athens and one of the most impressive festivals in all of Greece. Everyone in the city (except slaves) would take part in a large procession which ended at the great alter of Athena on the Acropolis. Only Citizens were allowed to enter the Acropolis. It may have been a time to celebrate Athena’s birth day.

The Dionysia was the second most important festival in Athens. It honoured the god, Dionysia. As part of the festival, there were play competition where playwrights would enter their new plays.

Philosophers and Scientists Athenians were encouraged to be thinkers and many of the world’s most famous philosophers were Athenian (Socrates, Plato and Xenophon). Athens was also home to accomplished scientists and mathematicians like Euclid, Archimedes and Pythagoras.

Architecture:

Athens was considered a beautiful city with many stunning buildings, including the Parthenon which was a temple to Athena Pallas.

The Acropolis was a rocky hill in the middle of Athens. On its top the Athenians built many temples including the Parthenon to Athena, temples to Poseidon and shrines to other gods. The Acropolis was also a defensive position surrounded by walls. It still stands today and was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Government:

Your focus is on how the Athenians ran their city and made decisions .

Some suggested areas of research:

Who decided which laws where made? What happened when somebody was brought to court? How was responsible for deciding who was guilty? Who could be a citizen of Athens? What could citizens do?

Culture

Your focus is on the culture of Athens , this would include the following:

Leisure activities

The theatre Their religion Festivals that happened in Athens The Architecture of Athens Art in Athens Science and mathematics in Athens