Sparta and Athens

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Sparta and Athens

• Class Notes
• Chapter 4-2

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Tyranny in the City-States

• By the end of the Dark Age, the nobles who owned
  large farms, seized power from the Greek kings.
• Farmers had to borrow money from nobles and often
  could not pay back the debt. The farmers lost
  their land and had to work for the nobles or were
  sold into slavery.
• Unhappy farmers demanded changes in the power
  structure of the city-states. This unhappiness
  led to the rise of tyrants, or people who take
  power by force and rule with total authority.

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Tyranny in the City-States

• Tyrants overthrew the nobles during the 600s B.C.
  They had support from the hoplites in the army.
• Tyrants maintained their popularity by building
  marketplaces, temples, and walls.

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Tyranny in the City-States

• The Greek people eventually tired of the tyrants
  and created oligarchies or democracies. They
  wanted rule by law with all citizens
  participating in the government.
• An oligarchy is a form of government in which a
  few people hold power.
• A democracy is a form of government in which all
  citizens share power.
• Sparta was an oligarchyAthens was a democracy.

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Sparta

• To obtain more land, Spartans conquered and
  enslaved their neighbors, calling them helots.
• To keep the helots from rebelling, the Spartans
  created a strong military of boys and men.
• Boys entered the military at age seven!
• At age 20, men entered the regular army and lived
  In the barracks for 10 years. They returned home
  at age 30, but served in the army until age 60.

See you Mom Im joining the army!
Read why the military was so important in
Sparta on page 126
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A Spartan boy taken for war training
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Sparta

• Spartan girls were trained in sports to become
  healthy mothers and were freer than other Greek
  women. Women in Sparta could even own property.
• The Spartan government was an oligarchy
  containing two branches, a council of elders, and
  an assembly.
• The Spartan government kept foreign travelers out
  and discouraged its own citizens from traveling
  in order to maintain control of the country.

I may look sweet but I am one tough cookie!
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• Spartas government had two kings that headed a
  council of elders, which included 28 citizens
  over the age of 60.
• To keep anyone from questioning the Spartan
  system, the government discouraged foreign
  visitors. It also banned travel abroad for any
  reason but military ones.
• The government even frowned upon citizens who
  studied literature or the arts.

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Athens

• Boys in Athens attended school to learn reading,
  writing, and arithmetic. Boys finished school at
  age 18 and became citizens.
• Athenian girls learned household duties from
  their mothers. Some wealthy girls learned
  reading, writing, and playing the lyre.

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Athens

• The government of early Athens was an oligarchy.
• A noble named Solon reformed the Athenian
  government in 594 B.C. He canceled all the
  farmers debts and freed those who had become
  slaves.
• He was popular among the common people, but
  refused to give away the wealthy nobles land.

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Athens

• The tyrant Peistratus seized power 30 years after
  Solons reforms.
• He won support of the poor by dividing large
  estates among landless farmers. He also loaned
  money to poor people and gave them jobs building
  temples and other public works.
• Cleisthenes took power in 508 B.C. He is
  credited with making Athens a democracy.
  Cleisthenes gave the assembly more power. He
  also created a new council to help the assembly
  carry out its duties. Members of the council
  were chosen by lottery.

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Focus Questions

• What was one disadvantage of the Spartans focus
  on the military?
• They didnt learn much about science and didnt
  practice trading
• Why did the people of Athens remain unhappy after
  Solons reforms?
• Solon refused to give away land of the wealthy
  nobles to the farmers
• Why was Sparta considered an oligarchy?
• They only had two branches of government and only
  a few ruled Spartanot the citizens!