2. Review: Being Greek
The ancient Greeks spoke the same language.
They believed in the same gods. They shared a
common heritage. They perceived themselves as
Greeks.
The ancient Greeks referred to
themselves, however, as citizens of their
hometown - their city-state. Each city-state
(polis) had its own personality, goals, laws and
customs. Ancient Greeks were very loyal to their
city-state.
3. Athens
Athenians thought of themselves as the shining
star of the Greek city-states. They were famed
for their
literature, poetry, drama, theatre, schools, buildi
ngs, and government.
Athenians were famed for their commitment to
the arts and sciences.
The Greeks believed that each city-state in
ancient Greece had a god or a goddess in charge
of it, their special patron. For Athens, the patron
was Athena, goddess of wisdom. Perhaps
because Athena was their patron, Athenians put
a great deal of emphasis on education.
4. Education in Athens
Girls learned at home from their mothers. They
learned how to run a home, and how to be good
wives and mothers.
Boys were educated quite differently. Until age 6
or 7, boys were taught at home by their
mothers.
After this, they were sent to school
everyday, where they learned: drama, public
speaking, reading, writing, math, and perhaps
even how to play the flute.
Science, government.
At 18, they attended two years of military
school.
There was just cause for Athens to be proud of
its system of education for its citizens.
5. Government in Athens:
Democracy
Each city-state chose its own form of
government. Most Greek city-states were ruled
by kings.
In Athens, citizens (the men) met each week to
discuss problems. They worked on solutions.
The men of Athens experimented with
government.
For about 100 years, Athens was a direct
democracy!
6. Democracy
Over 2400 years ago, the famous Greek
general, Pericles, said, "It is true that we (Athenians) are
called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands
of the many and not the few, with equal justice to all alike
in their private disputes."
Only in Athens, and only for a short time, "rule by many"
meant that all citizens had to be willing to take an active
part in government. That was the law.
Each year, 500 names were drawn from all the citizens of
Athens. Those 500 citizens had to serve for one year as the
law makers of ancient Athens.
All citizens of Athens were required to vote on any new
law that this body of 500 citizens created. One man, one
vote, majority ruled. Women, children, and slaves were
not citizens, and thus could not vote.
7. Sparta
Remember the Dorian people who ruled ancient
Greece during the Grecian Dark Ages? Sparta
began as a small village of Dorian people.
Life was very different in ancient Sparta than it
was in the rest of ancient Greek city-states. The
Spartans were proud, fierce, capable warriors.
No great works of art came out of Sparta. But
the Spartans, both men and women, were
tough, and the Greeks admired strength.
8. A Warrior’s Oligarchy
Sparta's government was an oligarchy. The
people were ruled by a small group of warriors.
The Spartans spoke Greek, wrote Greek, thought
of themselves as Greeks, but they were
different.
In most of the other Greek city-states, the goal
of education was to create a strong citizen of
that city-state. In Sparta, the goal of education
was to create a strong warrior.
9. Building the Fighting Machine
All of the ancient Greeks were warriors, but
Sparta's warriors were legendary.
In Sparta, boys were taken away from their
parents at age 7. They lived a harsh and often
brutal life in the soldiers barracks.
Children were often whipped in front of groups
of other Spartans, including their parents, but
they were not allowed to cry out in pain.
10. Unorthodox Education
Spartan children learned to be cunning, to lie, to
cheat, to steal, and how to get away with it!
As adults, Spartan men did not live with their
families. They visited their families, but men
lived in the soldiers' barracks.
11. Independent Women
Girls went to school too, to learn how to fight.
They lived at home during training. Their
training was not as harsh and the boy's, but it
was harsh enough. Sparta women were
warriors.
As adults, Spartan women, unlike women in the
rest of Greek world, had a great deal of
freedom. Many ran businesses. Sparta women
were free to move about and visit neighbors
without permission from their husbands. How
would they get permission? The men were often
off fighting.
12. Ask Yourselves
Recall:
What were Athenians famed for?
Explain:
What is the difference between an oligarchy and a
democracy?
“What does “rule by many” mean?
Analyze:
Why do you think Spartans were so interested in raising
the best warriors?
Why do you think kids were raised in such harsh
conditions?
Compare:
What was the main difference between women’s
education in Sparta and Athens?
13. Bibliography
Mr Donn. (n.d.). Sparta. Retrieved 07
20, 2012, from Mr Donn:
http://greece.mrdonn.org/sparta.html
Mr Donn. (n.d.). Athens. Retrieved 07
2012, 2012, from Mr Donn:
http://greece.mrdonn.org/athens.html
Images taken from Google.
