Chapter 27Life in Two City-States:

Athens and Sparta

27.2: Comparing Two City-States

• Athenso Located in Central Greeceo Athenians liked to travelo They encouraged artists to come share their

knowledge of art and architectureo Developed strong relationships with other city-

stateso Grew powerful through trade

• Spartao Was more isolatedo Located on a plain between mountains• Peloponnesus

o Suspicious of outsiders and their ideaso Grew what they needed around Sparta• Took what they didn’t have by force

o Valued strength and simplicity• Taught sons and daughters to fight• Produced soldiers instead of artists and

thinkers

oAthens and Sparta were bitter enemies

27.3: Athenian Government

• Democracyo Only free men could be citizens• all men over the age of 18 born in Athens

were citizenso Every citizen could take part in the city’s

government• Council of 500 met every day

oEvery year names of all citizens 30 years old and older were collected and 500 were chosen.

• Ran day-to-day business of government and suggested new laws

o Laws had to be approved by the Assembly• Met every 10 days• 6000 citizens had to be present for the

meeting to take place• If not enough showed up, slaves would

round up citizenso Assembly• Debated and voted proposed laws• Every citizen had the right to speak

oWater clock was used to time• One cup was set above another with

the water dripping in the bottom cup

27.4: Athenian Economy

• Economy based on trade because land could not provide enough food

• Traded with other city-states and foreign lands to get goods and other natural resourceso Wood from Italyo Grain from Egypt

• Bought and sold goods at the agora

• Agorao Huge marketplaceo Merchants sold goods in small standso People bought lettuce, onions, olive oil, wine,

and other foodso Bought household items like pottery, furniture,

and clay oil lampso Leather sandals and jewelry were very popularo Slaves were bought and sold

• Coinso Made out of gold, silver, and bronzeo Image on one side had a picture of Athena, the

other side Athena’s favorite animal, the owl

27.5: Education in Athens

• Main purposeo Produce good citizens

• Boys and girls were educated differentlyo Boys• Until 6 or 7, were educated at home• 6-14, went to school

oTeachers taught reading, writing, arithmetic and literature

oBooks were read aloud because they were expensive

oThe boys had to memorize everythingoThey used writing tabletsoCoaches taught sports• Wrestling and gymnastics to

strengthen musclesoStudied music• They learned to sing and play the lyre

• At 18, they begin their military training• After their service, wealthy young men

might study with private teachersoCharged high fees for lessons in debate

and public speaking, which would help them to become political leaders

o Girls• Did not learn to read or write• Grew up helping their mothers• Were taught to cook, clean, spin thread, and

weave cloth• Some learned ancient songs and dances for

religious festivals• Usually married around 15

oWealthy families the father choseoPoorer families had more choice

27.6: Women and Slaves in Athens

• Women were not considered citizenso Had fewer rights than meno Could not inherit or own much propertyo Could not vote or attend the Assemblyo Most couldn’t even choose their own husband

• Only a few had a jobo Some sold goods in the marketo Some were priestesses

o Most spent their time in the home• Managing the household and bringing up the

children• She had separate rooms and never went out

alone• She would spin, weave, and supervise slaves• Educated her sons until 6 or 7 and her

daughters until 15, when they married

• Slaveso If person was not poor, owned at least 1o Some were born into slaveryo Others were captured in wars

o Performed a variety of jobs• Ran households• Tutored children• Trained as craftsmen• Worked in farms or factories• Some worked as clerks• Unluckiest worked in the silver mines.

o10 hours a dayo300 feet below the surface

27.7: Spartan Government

• Oligarchyo Even though there was an Assembly, all

decisions were made by the Council of Elders

• Council of Elderso Made up of 2 kings and 28 meno The kings inherited their power and shared

equallyo Other 28 members were elected by the

Assembly• Men had to be at least 60 years old and from

a noble family• Served for life

o Held the real powero Prepared laws for the Assembly to vote ono Had the power to stop any laws passed by the

Assembly

• Assembly o Made up of male citizenso Met in a large outdoor area away from the

center of the cityo Had very little powero Did not debate issueso Could only vote “yes” or “no” on laws

suggested by the Council of Elders

27.8: Spartan Economy

• Relied on farming and conquering other peopleo Didn’t enough land to feed all its peopleo Took land they needed from neighborso Used slaves and noncitizens to produce need

goodso Turned conquered neighbors into slaves

(helots)• Lived in their own villages, but had to give

food they grew to the Spartans

• Noncitizenso Called perioikoio Free men, not slaveso Served in the army when needed, but couldn’t

take part in the governmento Made necessary items such as shoes, red

cloaks, iron tools, and pottery

• Discouraged tradeo Feared contact with other city-states would

lead to new ideas that would weaken the government.

27.9: Education in Sparta• Purpose was to produce men and

women to protect the city-stateo A baby that appeared weak might be left to die

• Spartans valued discipline and strengtho From the age of 7 all Spartan children were

trained to fighto Girls even received military trainingo They learned wrestling, boxing, footracing, and

gymnastics

o Spartan boys lived in barracks• They were taught to read and write

• Most important thing was to be a brave soldiero Spartan boys were taught to suffer any amount

of physical pain without complainingo They marched without shoeso They were not fed well and were told to steal

foodo At 20, Spartan men were given a difficult test

of fitness, military ability, and leadership skills• Pass become Spartan soldiers and full

citizenso A man could not live with his wife and family

until after he was 30 years old

27.10: Women and Slaves in Sparta

• Spartan women lived the same simple life as Spartan meno Wore plain clothing with little decorationo Did not wear jewelry or use cosmetics or

perfumeo Were expected to be strong and healthy and

ready to fighto Was expected to look after her husband’s

property in times of war• Guard against invaders and slave revolts

• Women’s rightso Free to speak with their husband’s friendso Own and control their own propertyo Could marry another man if their husband was

away too long

• Spartan slaveso Called helotso People conquered by the Spartanso More helots than citizenso Government sometimes declared war on the

helots to stop a rebelliono Had some rights• Could marry whoever and whenever they

wanted

o Could pass their names on to their childreno They could sell any extra crops after their

master his share.o If they saved enough, they could even buy

their freedom