Ancient Greece

Greek City-States  The central focus of Greek life and society was the polis  Polis = Greek city-state. community of people with a common identity and common goals  Each polis developed independently of its neighbors, own form of gov’t, laws, and customs  Acropolis = fortified gathering place at the top of a hill which was sometimes the site of temples and public buildings  Agora = an open area that served as a gathering place and as a market

 Greeks were fiercely loyal to their polis and regarded themselves not as Greeks, but as members of a particular city-state  Make-up of a polis:  Citizens who had political rights = adult males  Citizens who had no political rights = women and children  Non-citizens = slaves and foreigners  Some cities develop democracy = gov’t by the people or rule by the many  Other city-states develop an oligarchy = rule by the few

 New military system develops  Based on hoplites = heavily armed foot soldiers  Carried a round shield, short sword, and a thrusting spear  Formed a phalanx for protection  Phalanx = a wall of shields created by foot soldiers marching close together in rectangular formation Phalanx  Greek colonies established, one of the most famous being Byzantium  Spread of cultural and political ideas  Two prominent city-states emerge

Athens  First ruled by kings, then aristocrats  Economy was largely based on farming and trade  Cleisthenes creates the foundation of Athenian democracy (world’s first democracy)  Standards for voting = must be a free male over the age of 20 who has completed military training and owns land - Accounts for 10% of the population  Duties of people allowed to vote:  Vote in all elections and serve in office if elected  Serve on juries and in the military during war

 Athenian democracy consisted of three main bodies 1. Council of Five Hundred who proposed laws that would be voted on by the Assembly and supervised both foreign affairs and the treasury 2. Complex series of courts 3. Athenian Assembly – composed of all male citizens who were eligible to take part in the gov’t  This assembly voted on and passed the laws  Direct democracy = people participate directly in gov’t decision making and vote directly on an issue

 Family – primary function was to produce new citizens  Men – Were educated (started at age 6), discussed politics, sold things in the market, went to plays, tended their land (with the help of their slaves)  Women - could not own property and always had a male guardian when out. Were not educated  Chief obligation was to have children  Were expected to stay at home and out of sight, unless attending religious festivals or funerals

Sparta  Located on the Peloponnesus, the large peninsula of southern Greece  Like most city-states, Sparta needed more land, so they conquered neighboring peoples instead of starting new colonies  The Spartans turned these conquered peoples into helots = state slaves  The helots were given to Spartan citizens to work on farms  Spartans were now free to spend all their time training for war

 Government structure  Was an oligarchy headed by two kings who led the army on its campaigns 1. Ephors – a group of five men elected each year  Responsible for the conduct of all citizens and education 2. Council of Elders – composed of the two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60  Decided the issues that would be presented to the assembly 3. Assembly of male citizens – voted on the issues

Foreigners were discouraged from visiting and Spartans were not allowed to travel abroad Kept out dangerous ideas and discouraged new thoughts

Spartans decide to create a military state to keep control over the helots  Helots outnumbered Spartan citizens by 7 to 1  Life in Sparta was rigidly organizedSparta  Babies were examined at birth and if they were found to be weak, they were put to death

 Men  Taught physical toughness by parents until age seven  They then entered a school system designed to teach them combat  At the end of their training, boys were sent into the wilderness and expected to survive  At age 20 the boys became hoplites in the Spartan army  Allowed to marry, but had to live in barracks until age 30  Could now live their own lives, but expected to fight with the army when needed  Allowed to vote in the assembly at age 30, retired from the army at age 60

 Women  Expected to exercise and raise healthy children  Had greater freedom and power in the household due to separation from their husbands  Could own property  Married - late teens-20  Wives would say to their husbands – Come back with your shield or come back on it

WHY SPARTAN WOMEN WERE MORE DOMINANT IN SOCIETY THAN THEIR ATHENIAN SISTERS  Girls were given a good education in both the arts and athletics.  Women were encouraged to develop their intellect.  Women owned more than a third of the land.  There was less difference in age between husbands and wives, and girls in Sparta married at a later age than their sisters in Athens.  Husbands spent most of their time with other men in the military barracks; since the men were rarely home, the women were free to take charge of almost everything outside of the army.  Mothers reared their sons until age 7 and then society took over. Fathers played little or no role in child care.