Athens and Sparta

1
Athens and Sparta

• Coach Parrish
• OMS
• Chapter 7, Section 2

2
Living in Sparta

• Unlike Athens, life in Sparta was harsh and even
  cruel. The Spartans were a very tough group.
  The only similarity between Athens and Sparta
  during the 400s BC was the size of the military.
• Sparta became different from other Greek
  city-states in the 600s BC when a new government
  was formed out of external and internal wars.
• From these wars came the Spartan Rule Always
  put the citys needs above your own.

3
Living in Sparta, cont.

• Early in its history, the Spartans conquered the
  land around their city. They turned the
  conquered people into helots slaves owned by
  Sparta.
• Since there was more helots than Spartans, they
  treated them harshly in fear of a revolt.

4
Growing up in Sparta

• The life of every Spartan was in the hands of the
  government from birth. Only the healthiest
  children were allowed to live because the
  Spartans wanted only the healthiest people in the
  city.

5
The First Test

• Soon after birth, a child would be placed in a
  wine bath. The thought in Sparta was that a
  child placed in these conditions could only
  survive if they were tough.
• If a child passed, they was brought before a
  council where the elders checked the baby for
  defects. Passing this test life.

6
Growing Up Male

• For boys, training began early. At age seven, a
  Spartan boy left home to live in the barracks
  with other boys. Training lasted 13 years.
• By age 12, a boy had spent many hours using
  swords and spears. He had only one cloak and a
  thin mat to sleep on. Because they gave the boys
  so little to eat, they had to steal enough food
  to survive.

7
Growing Up Male

• If the boys were caught stealing, they were
  severely punished. They were expected to take
  their punishments in silence to show toughness.
• When a Spartan turned 20 years old, they became a
  soldier. Men remained soldiers until they were
  60 years old.
• At age 30, they were allowed to join the council,
  where government decisions were made.

8
Growing Up Female

• Like the boys, the girls also trained in
  wrestling and spear throwing. Spartan women were
  expected to be fit because it was thought they
  would have fit children.
• Spartan women were allowed to own land and take
  part in business. They also typically oversaw
  the home because the men were gone to battle.

9
Expanding Persian Empire

• Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire in the
  mid 500s BC. By 520 BC, the Persians had gained
  control of the Greek Colonies on the west coast
  of Asia Minor.

10
Battle at Marathon

• In the fall of 490 BC, thousands of Persians
  landed in Greece. The Persians gathered at
  Marathon, a city 25 miles north of Athens.
• The Athenians put together a small army that was
  outnumbered 2 to 1 by the Persians. The two
  armies stared at each other for 2 days before
  fighting began.
• Suddenly, the Athenians rushed and attacked the
  Persians killing 6400 while only losing 192
  soldiers themselves. Athens won the battle.
  Once the battle was over, a runner ran back to
  Athens to proclaim victory. He ran into Athens,
  yelled Nike, and dropped dead!!

11
Conflict and the Athenian Empire

• More battles between Greece and Persia followed.
  With each win, the Greeks assumed they had
  pleased the gods.
• Athens emerged from the Persian wars the most
  powerful city-state in Greece. They formed the
  Delian League where other city-states bowed to
  them. This time in Athens was the Golden Age
  mentioned in Chapter 6.

12
Sparta and Athens at War

• Athens had a democratic government, but it began
  to treat other city-states unfairly, especially
  those in the Delian League. Those city-states
  were making tribute payments to Athens for
  protection from the Persians.
• Athens moved the treasury from Delos to Athens
  and used the money to build the Parthenon and
  other projects.

13
Peloponnesian War

• The Greeks began to resent Athenian power. They
  looked to Sparta to help protect them. Sparta
  formed the Peloponnesian League with city-states
  in southern Greece.
• In 431 BC, Sparta and its allies fought against
  Athens and its allies. This was called the
  Peloponnesian War conflict between Sparta and
  Athens that lasted for 27 years.

14
Peloponnesian War, cont.

• When Sparta attacked Athens, Pericles (leader of
  Athens) allowed people to move inside the city
  walls. The overcrowded conditions led to a
  plague widespread disease.
• When the plague ended 5 years later, almost 1/3rd
  of the Athenians had died, including Pericles.

15
Fall of Athens

• Athens never recovered from its losses during the
  plague. To make matters worse, Sparta allied
  itself with the Persians to use its mighty Navy.
  
• In 405 BC, the Spartans and Persians staged a
  blockade action taken to isolate the enemy and
  cut off its supplies. The Spartans surrounded
  the harbor where Athens received supplies.
• Starving and beaten, Athens surrendered in 404
  BC. The Spartans knocked down the city walls and
  decimated Athens. Athens never again dominated
  the Greek world.