Greece History
Geography of Greece
• Greece is a small
country in Europe near
the Mediterranean Sea.
• The main part of
Greece is on a
peninsula.
• The rest of Greece is
made up of islands.
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Greek intro...
MACEDONIA
Mt. Olympus 
Troy
Aegean Sea
Present day
Turkey
Olympia
Corinth 
Sparta

Rhodes
• Greek Trade
Greek City-States
• Because Greece is made up of many
islands, and has many tall mountains,
the Greeks began to build city-states
instead of one country.
• A city-state is a city with its own laws,
rulers, and money.
• City-states were cities that acted like
countries.
Sparta
• Sparta was a Greek city-state.
• Sparta was very powerful and had its own
army.
• Sparta conquered other city-states to gain
wealth and power.
• There were three classes of people in
Sparta.
• Citizens, non-citizens, and slaves.
Sparta’s Classes
• Only men born in Sparta were citizens.
• Women were not allowed to become
citizens, however, women were allowed to
own land and businesses, which gave them
more freedom than other Greek city-states.
• The second class in Sparta was people who
came from other city-states or other
countries. They could own businesses but not
become citizens.
• The third class was slaves.
Sparta Warriors
• Learning to read and write in Sparta was not
very important.
• Training to become a good soldiers was
important.
• Young boys were taken from their parents
and trained to be soldiers as well as good in
sports such as running.
• Girls were also trained to be good in sports.
Athens
• Athens was another important Greek citystate.
• The people of Athens wanted to rule
themselves and not have a king or queen.
• Athens became the world’s first democracy
around 508 B.C.
• A democracy is a government in which all
citizens can vote and have equal say in what
happens.
Education in Athens
• Education was very important in
Athens.
• Boys went to school to learn to read
and write. They also learned many
sports.
• Girls were not allowed to go to school
or learn to play sports.
Democracy in Athens
• Athens was a democracy because all
citizens could vote, but only half the
people in Athens were citizens.
• Women, people born outside of
Athens, and slaves could not vote.
Pericles
• Pericles was the leader
of creating democracy
in Athens.
• He had many buildings
constructed.
• Pericles had the
Parthenon and the
Acropolis built.
Parthenon and
Acropolis
Athens & Sparta
More on Athens and Sparta
A Contrast in Cultures
Although these city states were only 300 miles apart,
their cultures were vastly different in many ways.
Three of those are the treatment of children, women in
society, and customs.
Child Upbringing in Athens
•Boys were taught by their
mothers until age seven and
then sent to a day school.
Boys in Athens
had to learn
about Plato
(above) and
Socrates (right)
•Other than reading, writing,
and math, they were educated
in the arts, government, and
drama.
•They also learned how to play
a lyre.
•At eighteen, they entered
military school for two
additional years.
•They were taught how to be a
good citizen of Athens and
have good morals.
Child Upbringing in Sparta
•Once a son was seven years old, he
was taken from his mother to go to
military school where they, they
trained to be a disciplined warrior.
•School courses were very painful and
difficult. They were taught the very
basics of reading and writing, but
warfare was the only thing that
mattered to the Spartans.
•The boys weren’t fed well and were
taught to steal –but were punished if
they were caught.
•The boys had to live in barracks away
from their family. They lived apart
until the age of sixty.
•Spartans thought that any kind of
luxury made a person spoiled, so
they did not believe in
entertainment or comfort. Their
food was bland and their clothes
were plain.
Athens—Women
could not own
property.
Athens—Women
were only a small
step above slaves.
Sparta—Girls were taught
wrestling, gymnastics and
combat skills.
Sparta—If she
passed the test for
strength, she was
allowed to be a
citizen.
Women
Athens—women
were not citizens and
were under their
husband’s authority.
Athens & Sparta—Marriages were
arranged by the father of the bride.
Sparta—Since their
husbands didn’t live at
home, the women
enjoyed a great deal of
freedom.
Sparta—women could not
wear jewelry, make-up, or
colored clothing.
1. Spartan babies
were washed in wine.
Weird Customs
2. If Spartan infants were
not strong enough then
they were thrown over a
cliff.
3. Spartan boys marched
without shoes to make them
strong.
5. In Athens, a naked father
carried his newborn around
the house in a ritual dance.
6. Parents in Athens
considered their children
“youths” until the age of
thirty.
4. In Sparta when a woman was
married, her head was shaved and was
made to wear men’s clothing until the
ceremony was over.
Conclusion
Although Sparta did not produce
much art or philosophy or any
written work, but its people were
admired for keeping alive the Greek
values
Athens was famous for its
literature, poetry, drama, theater,
government, ( our own
government is modeled after it )
and producing the world’s
greatest thinkers. It is clearly the
shining star of all the Greek
city-states.
If you lived in Ancient
Greece, which city-state
(Athens or Sparta) would you
have chosen to live in?
Why???