Ancient Greece: Athens

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Ancient Greece Athens Sparta
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Introduction
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YOU ARE AN ATHENIAN!

• Be courteous. You have been superbly educated in
  the arts and the sciences, and trained to be
  extremely productive and capable in times of
  peace or war. You are an achiever. 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
  Homeric poetry and learned to play that
  magnificent instrument, the lyre. You learned
  drama, public speaking, reading, writing, math,
  and perhaps even how to play the flute. You
  attended four years of higher school, and learned
  more about math and science and government. At
  18, you attended military school for two
  additional years! You are proud to be an
  Athenian! Famed for its literature, poetry,
  drama, theatre, schools, buildings, government,
  and intellectual superiority, you have no doubt
  that your polis, Athens, is clearly the shining
  star of all the Greek city-states.

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Ancient Greece ATHENS
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Athens Education

• In ancient Athens, boys started going to
  school at about the age of six or seven. They had
  to go to three different schools one for sport,
  one for music, and one for things like reading
  and writing. If they could afford it, a family
  also had a special slave called a paidagogos who
  would accompany their sons to all of their
  schools, making sure that they were safe, that
  they turned up and that they behaved. Paidagogoi
  might also help the boys with their work. If
  there was more than one boy in the family, then
  they would share one paidagogos between them.
  These special kinds of teachers were often very
  good friends to the boys they looked after.
• The Three Kinds of Schools
• Boys did physical education at the palaistra an
  open field. Men trained there at the same time.
  You had to take all your clothes off to do any
  sport. At the palaistra, boys learnt javelin,
  discus, long jump, running, boxing and wrestling.
• In music lessons, boys mostly learnt the lyre,
  which is like a small harp. They were also taught
  how to sing along with the lyre.
• At their third school, boys learnt to read and
  write and to do arithmetic. They also studied
  literature, learning passages from poets like
  Homer off by heart. The poetry was mostly
  selected to teach the boys about right and wrong.
  Sometimes boys were also taught drawing and
  painting. The teachers could be very strict
  students who misbehaved were hit with sandals!

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Athenian Education continued

• School Rules
• All of the ancient Greek schools were private and
  the parents had to pay fees. Parents decided how
  long their sons should stay at school, and that
  sometimes depended on how much money they had.
  There were no laws which said that boys had to be
  educated for a set number of years, and some
  people received no education at all. Other people
  only went to one or two of the three schools. The
  Greeks didn't agree on which school was the most
  important.
• Further Education
• If a young man wanted to continue his education,
  and if he could afford it, then he might go to a
  philosophical school such as the Academy set up
  by Plato or the Lyceum set up by Aristotle. These
  schools were sort of like universities. If the
  young man wanted to learn more practical skills
  he could go to a teacher, often a sophist, who
  would teach him to make speeches and debate.
  These were useful skills if you wanted to get
  into Athenian politics. Alternatively, you could
  go to a school of medicine to become a doctor.
  Some boys from poorer families went on to learn a
  trade, often from their fathers.
• Did Girls go to School?
• Athenian girls were not as well educated as boys.
  Some of them were taught by their mothers at
  home, others seem to have gone to special girls'
  schools. Some girls may have learnt to read and
  write, but they were probably mostly taught how
  to do housework.
• Definitions
• Sophist a "wise man" who can teach people how to
  argue for anything, whether it's right or wrong.

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Athenian Society politIcs

• Aristocrats
• oligarchic governments (from oligarchy meaning
  government by a few). These few were the
  aristocrats of the city-state.
• From the 6th Century BC Athens had developed into
  a democracy (from the Greek demokratia where
  demos means people and kratein means to rule).
• Pericles, Athens' leading statesman in the 5th
  Century BC said (according to the historian
  Thucydides). "Our constitution is called a
  democracy because power is in the hands not of a
  minority but of the whole people."
• Citizens
• An Athenian citizen was the male child of
  Athenian parents. Out of a population of
  approximately 315,500 in 431 BC, 172,000 were
  citizens. Women were not included. All classes
  could take part in government. The lowest class,
  in particular benefited from the new democracy
  and were thus very supportive of it.
• Metics
• Metics numbered approximately 28,500 in Athens in
  431 BC. They were resident aliens with no
  political rights. They were not allowed to own
  land and could not obtain citizenship. Although
  not possessing political rights, metics enjoyed
  similar privileges to citizens in some areas.

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Athenian Society Politics continued

• Slaves
• Slaves made up the lowest class of the
  population. There were about 70,000 in Athens in
  431 BC. They could be owned privately or by the
  state.
• Slaves came from a variety of sources some were
  prisoners of war, others were unwanted children
  who had been exposed and left to die, children or
  men who had been sold into slavery for debt and
  still others were children who had been born into
  slavery.
• Women
• The status of a woman was determined by her
  class.

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Athenian Economics Occupations

• MALES
• Athenian politicians.
• Doctors.
• Some boys from poorer families went on to learn a
  trade, often from their fathers.
• WOMEN Archaeological and written evidence gives
  us information about the different occupations of
  women
• priestesses were most respected
• hetairai (female companions) had the greatest
  social freedom
• women from the "better classes" have been
  depicted on pottery as sharing affectionate
  moments with their husbands and children
• middle-class women were occasionally able to go
  out to religious festivals
• there is little evidence on lower-class women.
• Written evidence seems to point to women being
  expected to keep a low profile and become
  proficient in spinning, weaving and household
  activities.
• Athenian women had no political rights, very few
  legal rights, limited social contact and could
  not even choose their husband. However, it would
  appear that they could show independence or
  spirit when the occasion arose, e.g. fifth
  century playwrights such as Sophocles,
  Aristophanes and Euripides present their heroines
  as assertive, independent and intelligent women.
• SLAVES
• Privately owned slaves worked in the better class
  houses where many held positions of trust. These
  slaves were better treated than the state owned
  slaves.
• State owned slaves worked on the roads, in the
  dockyards, in the mint and on public buildings.
  The lowest class of slaves worked in the silver
  mines.
• METICS

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Athenian Culture

• PoetryHomer featured people trying to live up to
  standards of courage and honor. Pindar wrote
  poems that honored sports heroes. Sappho wrote of
  friendship and love.
• DramaPoems evolved to songs and finally to drama
  when Thespis broke away and spoke lines on his
  own. Plays were a big deal to the Athenians. On
  opening day even prisoners were let out to
  attend.
• TragediesThe Greek tragedies were plays that
  showed dignity in the face of trouble. They
  showed how noble people could be. The Universe
  was governed by fate or destiny in these plays.
  People who were too stubborn or proud would be
  punished by destiny. Aeshylus, Sophocles, and
  Euriopides wrote some of the great tragedies.
• ComediesThe comedies of Aristophanes and others
  were satires of politics and current events.
  History The Athenians were the first to examine
  history with a critical eye. Herodutus and
  Thucydides were some of the historians of the
  day. Artists and Architects Paintings and
  sculptures showed the ideal person. The Athenians
  tried to make structures fit with natural
  surroundings. Notice how the Parthenon seems to
  grow up out of the rocks.

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Athenian Culture Continued

• PhilosophyPhilosophy is the love of wisdom. The
  Greek philosophers started with deep-seeded
  questions such as "Why are humans here?" and
  "How far is the universe?" Greeks looked for
  rational ways to explain the natural world. They
  believed in natural laws, many of which were
  wrong.
• PythagorusPythagorus believed the universe was
  arranged according to natural laws. He discovered
  the Pythagorean Theorem, the relationship between
  the sides of a right triangle.
• HypocritesHypocrites started a medical school
  and taught people to find the reason for
  illnesses. He separated medicine from magic.
• Socrates 469-399 BCSocrates never wrote anything
  down. He believed that it was more important to
  gain knowledge of human beings than to
  investigate nature. He thought that one should
  get knowledge from reason, not emotions. "The
  unexamined life is not worth living." He taught
  by having discussions in which the truth of every
  statement was questioned. Socrates was killed for
  his ideas.
• Plato 427 - 347 BCPlato was a student of
  Socrates. He believed that laws must serve the
  best interests of everyone. He blamed democracy
  for the troubles in Greece because too few had
  the brains to govern wisely. Plato wanted
  philosopher kings.
• Aristotle 384 - 322 BCAristotle studied
  everything (plants, animals, and astronomy). He
  was the founder of science and biology. Aristotle
  analyzed speech to see what made for effective
  speeches.

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GREECE - Geography

• The geography of ancient Greece had much to do
  with how it developed. Isolated communities
  developed their own systems. The water was all
  around them. Much of the land was hilly. The
  Persians were to their east and Rome to their
  west.

The soil was not very good for agriculture.
There are a lot of mountains which made travel
very difficult. However, what Greece does have
is a lot of coastline. There is not one part of
Greece that is more than 40 miles from the coast.
Beaches are beautiful and plentiful in Greece.
For this reason, there were many sailors in Greek
history. Fishing was (and is) common as well as
trade. Also, Greece is in a very unstable
environment. There are many volcanoes and
earthquakes are common due to the tectonic plates
in the earth beneath the Greece landscape.
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ATHENS
ATHENS
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YOU ARE A SPARTAN!

• Be proud! You have endured unbelievable pain and
  hardship to become a superior Spartan soldier and
  citizen! 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! Some of you are members of the
  Spartan secret police and enjoy spying on slaves.
  If you find a slave who is showing signs of
  leadership, you have orders to kill them
  immediately. You are fierce, capable, and proud
  of your strength. You know you are superior and
  are delighted to be Spartan!

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ANCIENT GREECE SPARTA
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Sparta Education

• In Sparta, life was very different. There,
  education was mostly aimed at creating good
  soldiers, because every male citizen had to serve
  in the army for most of his life. Citizen boys
  had to leave home and join the army at the age of
  only seven. They were forced to live a hard life
  all together in barracks with only a mat on the
  floor for a bed. They were only allowed one cloak
  each year to wear and they were not allowed to
  have shoes. They were encouraged to steal food so
  that they would be able to steal when they were
  on campaign with the army. But if they got caught
  stealing food, they would be beaten. Sometimes,
  they were beaten just in order to toughen them
  up. They were also taught basic reading and
  writing and to play music, but physical education
  was considered the most important thing.
• Citizen girls also received a state education in
  Sparta. They lived in special girls' barracks. We
  do not know whether these were as harsh as the
  boys' barracks. Much of their education was also
  physical education, as it was believed that it
  was necessary for mothers to be strong in order
  for them to have strong children. But it was also
  considered important to teach girls music and
  dancing.

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Sparta Society and Politics

• Every stage of Spartan life was planned. They
  wanted strong, fearless warriors. Men were
  trained to be warriors. Sickly babies were left
  outside to die. People had to bring newborn
  babies to the government for the government to
  decide if the baby lived or died. From ages seven
  to thirty men were required to be in the
  military. They were taught discipline,
  strengthened their bodies, learned bravery and
  endured pain (barefoot in winter, broken bones,
  etc.). Death in battle was the highest honor,
  they were taught to never give up.
• Spartans were expected to marry by age 20, but
  the polis was more important than family. At a
  Spartan Marriage a woman's hair was cropped and
  she dressed like a boy. The ceremony was followed
  by a simulated rape. The couple did not live
  together he continued to live in the boys' dorm,
  and ate in messes with other men.
• Polis gave aristocrats land, and helots to farm
  it. Men retired at 60, but most continued helping
  the government or taught in military schools.
  Women managed farms and households. They had to
  be healthy to produce good warriors so they
  wrestled, boxed, and raced against men. Women had
  more freedoms than in other societies.

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Sparta Society and Politicscontinued

• Oligarchy, a council of old men and five
  magistrates. Two kings had special military
  powers. The Spartans became a society of brave
  warriors, but too one sided.
• In the 8th century BC, the Spartans conquered the
  "helots" (farm laborers). The helots worked for
  the polis, not for the landowners. Since the
  helots outnumbered the Spartans 10 to 1, the
  Spartans built a powerful army to guard against
  an uprising.

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Sparta - Economics Occupations

• Military Warriors
• Sparta remained agricultural and there was no
  commercial class. They never used money, only an
  iron currency for internal use.

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Sparta Culture

• They did not develop arts, trading, literature,
  etc. They all dressed the same and ate at
  communal masses. Spartans had one goal - to be
  militarily strong. They were very much into
  sports. Tried to stay isolated (didnt like the
  army to be away because they feared the helots
  would rebel.)

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Sparta Geography

• Area of 3200 square miles.

SPARTA