Greece Chapter 6 Section 4 Sparta and Athens

Sparta is a city-state in the southern part of ancient Greece.

A helot was a member of a certain class of servants in ancient Sparta.

The Peloponnesian War was a war fought between Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece, involving almost every other Greek city-state.

A plague is a wide-spread disease. A blockade is an action taken to isolate an enemy and cut off its supplies.

Life in Sparta was harsh. The Spartan’s were tough, silent, serious, and grim. Sparta was a powerful war machine that had one basic rule: Always put the city’s needs before your own. The Spartan’s conquered lands around their city and turned the conquered people into helots.

HELOTS There were more helots than Spartans. Helots did all the farm work on farms owned by Spartan citizens. They were Treated very harshly. There were more helots than Spartans. The Spartans were fearful of a helot rebellion. This made the Spartans turn their city into a military society.

Growing up in Sparta The government was involved in the lives of the people. Newborn babies were examined. If the baby was sickly, it would be left to die. Military training started at age 7 for boys. He left his home and lived in barracks and trained with other boys for 13 years. By age 12 boys knew how to handle spears and swords.

Spartan boys were only given one cloak and a thin mat to sleep on. Spartans believed stealing would help the boys learn how to live off the land during a war. However, if they were caught, they would be severely punished. Boys were expected to bear pain, hardship, and punishment in silence.

Girls in Sparta Women in Sparta Girls trained and competed in wrestling and spear throwing. Spartan girls were expected to grow up strong and healthy to have strong, healthy children. Women in Sparta Spartan women had somewhat more freedoms than women in other Greek city-states. They were allowed to own land and take part in business.

The Persians Invade Battle of Marathon By the mid-500’s B.C, Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire. By 520 B.C, the Persians gained control of the Greek colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. Battle of Marathon In the fall of 490 B.C., the Persians landed on Greece and gathered at Marathon. Marathon was located about 25 miles north of Athens. The Athenians quickly put together a small army to face the Persians. The Athenians were outnumbered by the Persians by a ratio of about 2:1. The Athenians rushed the Persians without warning by a furious attack. The Athenians killed 6,400 Persians and lost only 192 of their own men. This was a great win for Athens who defeated a much larger enemy, the Persians.

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Sparta and Athens at War The Athenians may have been a democracy, but they treated other city-states unfairly. At first, the allies had to pay tribute to Athens in case the Persians attacked again. The Athenians used this protection money to build the Parthenon and other projects. This made the other city-states angry and they went to Sparta since they had not become allies with Athens. In 431 B.C., allies of Sparta and Athens fought. This became known as the Peloponnesian War. This battle lasted for 27 years!

Peloponnesian War. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3vsX49LVs

The Peloponnesian War The Greek historian Thucydides wrote about the war because he lived during this war. Early in the war, Athens was struck by a plague that wiped out one-third of the people. Pericles was killed during this plague. Around 405 B.C, the Spartans staged a blockade, an action taken to isolate an enemy and cut off supplies. The Spartans closed the harbor where Athens received food shipments. This made Athenians surrender to Sparta in 404 B.C because the people were starving.