Section 3: Sparta and Athens

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Section 3 Sparta and Athens

• Greek city-states were both similar and
  different. The two most important city-states,
  Athens and Sparta, showed great differences.
  While Athens was known for its laws and
  government, Sparta was known for the physical
  strength and discipline of its people. According
  to legend, Spartan laws were intentionally not
  written down so that people would have to
  memorize them as a further test of discipline.

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I. Sparta The Military Ideal

• By the late 1100s B.C., invaders overran the
  Peloponnesus and enslaved the residents, calling
  them helots

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I. Sparta The Military Ideal

• A rigid military society developed and Sparta
  became its capital

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A. Spartan Society

• The Equals, the descendents of the invaders,
  controlled Sparta

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A. Spartan Society

• Half-citizens were free, paid taxes, served in
  the army but had no political power

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A. Spartan Society

• The lowest group were the Helots, who became
  Spartas slaves

Helots lived in their master's household but were
owned by the state unlike ordinary slaves, their
master could not declare them free. They served
as agricultural and domestic slaves, and
sometimes military servants as well. Spartans
usually allowed agricultural helots to keep
excess produce.
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B. Government in Sparta

• Two kings headed the government - one led the
  army and the other ruled at home

Statue of King Leonidas of Sparta
Archidamos III King of Sparta
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B. Government in Sparta

• A Council of Elders proposed laws and judged
  criminal cases

The council of elders called Gerousia, were
elected by the Assembly and held office for life.
The Gerousia, consisted of 30 men including the
two kings. They had to be over sixty years old,
except the two kings. Also, to be elected, you
had to be a man and come from a noble family. The
Gerousia's responsibilities included acting as
the judicial power in criminal cases, and
preparing measures written by the Assembly, but
they could overturn any of these measures if they
thought that they were not good.
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B. Government in Sparta

• The Assembly accepted or rejected laws proposed
  by the Council of Elders

The Assembly was made up of male Spartan citizens
over the age of thirty. To gain citizenship a man
had to pass training courses, and have a certain
amount of education. To get this education and
attempt the training courses, the Gerousia
decided at the birth of the infant if he was to
be raised or not. If he was not to be raised he
would be exposed.
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B. Government in Sparta

• The Assembly elected five ephors, who ensured the
  kings stayed within the law

The Ephorate was the biggest constitutional
change which occurred after the first Messenian
war. The Ephorate was five men. At first the
kings chose these men but then they changed into
having these men elected annually. They changed
it because their basic role was to keep the kings
on the right track, to make sure that they stood
by their oaths, and this was to keep the kings
from gaining too much power.
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C. Spartas Military Society

• At age 7, boys left home for military training
  and schooling

The state-controlled education agoge in Sparta
was designed not to instill literacy, but
fitness, obedience, and courage. Boys were taught
survival skills, encouraged to steal what they
needed without getting caught, and, under certain
circumstances, to murder helots. At birth unfit
boys would be killed. The weak continued to be
weeded out, those who survived would know how to
cope with inadequate food and clothing.
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C. Spartas Military Society

• From ages 18 to 20 they trained for war and began
  military service at age 20

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C. Spartas Military Society

• They could not engage in trade or business and
  remained available for military service until age
  60

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C. Spartas Military Society

• Spartan girls received strict physical training
  and were taught devotion to the city-state

In no other Greek City-state did women enjoy the
same freedom and privileges of Spartan women. 
Only in Sparta did girls receive public
education - in other city-states most women were
completely illiterate. Only in Sparta were girls
allowed to engage in sport. Only in Sparta did
women possess economic power and influence.
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II. Athens The Birth of Democracy

• A. Athenian Society
• Citizens formed the top social group but only
  Athens-born men had full political rights

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A. Athenian Society

• Metics, those born outside Athens, were free and
  paid taxes but were not citizens

Metics (resident aliens) with their involvement
in various businesses were very important to the
Athenian economy.  They were not and could not
become citizens, but nevertheless had to serve in
the military and pay a poll-tax.  They, however,
could not participate in the political life of
Athens. 
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A. Athenian Society

• Slaves were people captured in war and were at
  the bottom of society

Slaves were the lowest class in Athenian society,
but according to many contemporary accounts they
were far less harshly treated than in most other
Greek cities. Indeed, one of the criticisms of
Athens was that its slaves and freemen were
difficult to tell apart.
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B. Early Government in Athens

• All male citizens met in an assembly that elected
  nine archons, rulers who served one-year terms

There were nine archons (árkhon ruler, regent,
commander) in the classic constitution at Athens.
Six were judges, the Thesmothetae. The other
three were the Polemarch (polémarkhos, "war
leader," the third archon), who was the
commander-in-chief, the King (basileús, the
second archon), who succeeded to the religious
duties of the original Kings of Athens, and the
Eponymous (epónymos) Archon, the first archon,
after whom the year was named.
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B. Early Government in Athens

• In the late 600s B. C., an archon named Draco
  created Athenss first written laws

Draco introduced the first written legislation in
Athens. The Draconian punishment outlawed
vendetta. His harsh code punished both trivial
and serious crimes with death - hence the use of
the word draconian to describe tough legal
measures.
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B. Early Government in Athens

• Solon, another archon, outlawed slavery for debt
  and divided citizens into four groups based on
  wealth rather than birth

Solon, an Athenian statesman, lawgiver, and poet,
was considered one of Athens Seven Sages, or
seven wisest men. His reputation is based on his
contribution to Athenian law and through
political and economic reforms that paved the way
for increased participatory democracy in the
great period of classical Athens.
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B. Early Government in Athens

• From 546 to 527 BC, Peisistratus ruled Athens as
  a tyrant

Due to a economic crisis, Athens was collapsing
in anarchy. A nobleman, Peisistratus, swept into
power during this anarchy and set about restoring
order. Peisistratus began to build in and around
Athens, reform Athenian religion and religious
practices, and devoted his government to cultural
reform. He sought out poets and artists in order
to make Athens a culturally sophisticated and
dynamic society. He launched a full attack on the
power of the nobility. He increased the power of
the Assembly and the courts associated with the
poorest classes.
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C. Athenian Democracy

• In 507 BC, Cleisthenes seized power and created a
  direct democracy

One of Cleisthenes reforms was that any free man
living in Athens or the surrounding area was a
citizen.
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C. Athenian Democracy

• He divided citizens into 10 tribes and each tribe
  chose 50 men to serve in the Council of Five
  Hundred

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C. Athenian Democracy

• The Council proposed laws, but the assembly had
  final authority