1. Geography In History
The ancient Greek city-states never united because the land was very mountainous and hilly making travel difficult. This is one case where geography influenced history.

2. Sparta and Athens Did You Know?
Children in ancient Greece played many games we still play today, including checkers, hockey, and chess

3. Tyranny in the City-States
Kings ruled the first Greek kingdoms
After the Dark Age, nobles who owned large farms seized power from the kings.
Farmers had to borrow money from nobles and couldn’t pay back the debts. They ended up losing land and had to work for nobles or were sold into slavery.

4. Tyranny in the City-States
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.
Tyrants overthrew nobles during the 600s B.C.
Greek people eventually grew tired of tyrants and created oligarchies or democracies.

5. Tyranny in the City-States
Oligarchy- form of government in which a few people hold power
Democracy- form of government in which all citizens share power
Sparta was an oligarchy; Athens was a democracy (although it started out as an oligarchy

6. Discussion Question
How are tyrants today different from those in ancient Greece?

7. Sparta
To obtain more land, Spartans conquered and enslaved their neighbors, calling them helots.
To keep them from rebelling, they 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.
Served in military till 60 years old, although they could return home at age 30.

8. Spartans
The Spartan government was founded on the principle that the life of every individual, from the moment of birth, belonged absolutely to the state. The elders of the city-state inspected the newborn infants and ordered the weak and unhealthy ones to be carried to a nearby chasm and left to die. By this practice Sparta hoped to ensure that only those who were physically fit would survive.
The children who were allowed to live were brought up under a severe discipline. At the age of 7, boys were removed from their parents' control and organized into small bands. The strongest and most courageous youths were made captains. The boys slept in dormitories on hard beds of rushes. They ate black broth and other coarse food. They wore the simplest and scantiest clothing. Unlike the boys of Athens, they spent little time learning music and literature. Instead they were drilled each day in gymnastics and military exercises. They were taught that retreat or surrender in battle was disgraceful. They learned to endure pain and hardship without complaint and to obey orders absolutely and without question.
They were allowed to feel the pinch of hunger and were encouraged to supplement their fare by pilfering food for themselves. This was not done to cultivate dishonesty but to develop shrewdness and enterprise. If they were caught, they were whipped for their awkwardness. It is said that a Spartan boy, who had stolen a young fox for his dinner, allowed the animal he had hidden under his cloak to gnaw out his vitals rather than betray his theft by crying out. Girls were educated in classes under a similar system, but with less rigor.

9. Sparta
Boys were harshly treated to make them tough. They weren't allowed to wear undergarments and were given one coat a year.
Slept on bands of grasses
Ate black broth- pork boiled in animal blood, salt and vinegar
It was customary in Sparta that before the males would go off to war, their wives or another female of some significance would present them with their shield and say: "he tan, he epi tas" (Ή τάν ή Επί τάς), which translates to "With this, or upon this."

10. Assignment
5 minutes:
The Greek historian Plutarch said that the author of Sparta’s constitution, Lycurgus, “Considered children not so much the property of their parents as of the state.”
Write a short paragraph to explain the meaning of this remark in your own words.

11. Sparta
Spartan girls were trained in sports to become healthy mothers and were freer than other Greek women.
Spartan government contained 2 branches, a council of elders, and an assembly.
Spartan government kept foreign travelers out and discouraged its own citizens from traveling in order to maintain control of the country

12. Athens
Boys in Athens attended school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic
Girls learned household duties from their mothers. Some wealthy girls learned to read, write and play the lyre.
A noble named Solon reformed the Athenian government in 594 B.C.
Tyrant Peisistratus seized power 30 years after Solon’s reforms.

13. Athens
“School comes from the Greek word skolle, but it meant something different to the Greeks than it does to us. They defined the term simply as “conversation”. They thought schooling

14. Athens Cleisthenes took power in 508 B.C.
Created a democracy in Athens
Gave the assembly more power

15. Athens
Athens was knows for its great navy and was a rival of Sparta. Its ships were known as triremes because they had three levels of rowers.