Life in Two City-States
Athens and Sparta
Introduction
• Ancient Greece was a collection of city-states, each
with its own government
• Two of the most important city-states were Athens and
Sparta but they had very different governments and
very different ways of life
• Athens was a walled city near the sea
• Sparta had no walls and was a farming community
• We will examine each city’s government, economy,
education and treatment of women and slaves
Comparing the Two City-States
Athens and Sparta security
Read the section of text provided and create
Venn Diagram in your notebooks
Athenian Government
Who Participated?
• Athens became a democracy around 500 B.C.E.
• Athens only allowed free men to be citizens
• All men 18 or older, born in Athens, were free
men
• Women and slaves were not citizens
Athens Government
How Did It Work?
• Every citizen could take part in the city’s government
• A group of 500 men called the Council met everyday
• To chose the council Athenians would collect names of
all men 30 years or older every year and from those
names 500 men would be chosen as the council for that
year
• The council ran the government day to day business
and suggested new laws to vote on
Making Laws in Athens
• Proposed laws had to be approved by the Assembly, a
larger group than the Council
• The Assembly met on a hill about every 10 days
• At least 6,000 people had to be present in order for the
meeting to take place
• If not enough people showed up, slaves would gather
more citizens with robes dipped in red paint
• Men were embarrassed to appear with stained robes so
they tried their best to attend the Assembly
The Assembly Continued
• The Assembly debated and voted on laws proposed by
the council
• Every citizen had the right to speak at the Assembly
meetings
• Some speakers were more skilled than others and some
spoke longer than others
• Sometimes a water clock was used to time a speaker
• Most men enjoyed taking part in the assembly and they
were proud of their freedom as Athenian citizens
Economy
• An economy is the way a community or region
organizes the manufacture and exchange of
money, food, products and services
• How does the American economy work?
• What do we manufacture?
• How do we exchange our money, food, products
and services?
Athenian Economy
• The Athenian economy was based on trade
• The land around Athens did not provide food
for all of the city’s people but Athens was near
the sea, so Athens would trade with other citystates and some foreign lands
• The acquired wood from Italy and grain from
Egypt
• In exchange, Athens traded honey, olive oil,
silver and beautifully painted pottery
Athenian Economy Continued
• Athenians bought and sold goods at a huge market
place called agora
• Merchants would sell there goods at small stands
• People bought lettuce, onions, olive oil, wine and other
foods
• People also bought pottery, furniture and oil lamps
• Most Athenians made their clothes at home, but leather
sandals and jewelry were also popular items at the
market place
• Slaves were also sold at agora
Athenian Economy
and Money
• Like most city-states, Athens developed its own
coins to make trade easier
• Coins were made of metal such as, silver, gold
and bronze
• Athenians decorated the flat sides of the coins
• One of the coins had a picture of the god
Athene, on the other side of the coin was her
favorite bird, the owl
Education in Athens
• Athenian democracy depended on having good citizens
• Athenians believed that producing good citizens was
the main purpose of education
• Since only boys grew up to become citizens, boys and
girls were educated differently
• Athenians believed that a good citizen had a sharp
mind and a healthy body
• Education meant physical training and book learning
Steps to the Educational
Process in Athens
• Until age 6 or 7 boys were taught in the home by
their mothers or male slaves
• From ages 6 to 14 boys went to school
• In school, teachers taught reading, writing, math
and literature
• Books were rare and expensive so they were
read aloud in the classroom and the boys had to
memorize everything
• To help learn the boys used writing tablets
School Continued
• Coaches taught sports such as, wrestling and
gymnastics to strengthen the students muscles
• Boys also studied music
• At age 18, Athenian men began their military
training
• After their service, wealthy men might study
with private teachers
• These teachers were expensive but taught the
men about public speaking, debate and politics
A Girl’s Education
• Most girls did not learn to read or write
• Girls grew up helping their mothers around the house
• They were taught to cook, clean, spin thread and weave
cloth
• Some girls learned ancient secret songs and dances for
religious festivals
• Girls usually married by age 15
• Wealthy families chose husbands for their daughters
• Girls from poor families often had a choice
Women and Slaves in Athens
• Women and slaves had fewer rights than men because
they were not citizens
• Athenian women could not inherit or own property
• They could not vote or attend the Assembly
• A few women had jobs like selling goods in the market
• Some women could become priestesses
• But most women had their greatest influence on the
home
Athenian Women continued
• Athenian women had separate rooms in the
house and could not go out alone
• She would spin, weave and supervise the slaves
• She also educated her young sons and daughters
until they were married
Athenian Slaves
• There were many slaves in ancient Athens
• Most people who were not poor owned at least one slave
• Some slaves were born into slavery and other were prisoners of
war
• Slaves performed many jobs, including tasks that required a lot
of skill
• Some slaves ran households and tutored children
• Some slaves were trained craftsmen or skilled at working on
farms
• Some slaves even worked as city clerks
• The most unlucky slaves worked in the silver mines, which meant
they worked 10 hour days cramped in tunnels 300 feet below the
surface. They had little air and were often whipped.
Spartan Government
• Spartan’s government was very different from Athens
• Sparta was more like an oligarchy, although they had an
Assembly, their laws were decided on by a small group
called the Council of Elders
• The Council of Elders was made up of 2 kings and 28
men
• The two kings inherited the position and shared equal
powers
• The other 28 members were elected by the Assembly
Sparta Government Continued
• To be elected to the Council of Elders, men had
to be at least 60 years old and from a noble
family
• Some historians believed Assembly men shouted
for the man they wanted in the Council the
most, whoever had the loudest shouts would
win a position
• Council men served for the remainder of their
lives
The Council of the Elders
• The Council of Elders held the real power in Sparta
• It prepared laws for the assembly to vote on, and it
could stop any laws passed by the Assembly that it
didn’t like
• The Assembly and the Council was made up of only
men
• The Assembly did not debate issues like the Assembly
in Athens
• Members of the Spartan Assembly only voted yes or no
Spartan Economy
• While the Athenian economy relied on trade the
Spartans relied on farming and conquering other
people
• Sparta did not have enough land to feed its
people, so Sparta took the land it needed from
its neighbors
• Spartan men spent their lives as warriors and so
slaves and non citizens farmed and produced
needed goods
Spartan Economy Continued
• Spartans would turn their captured neighbors into
slaves, called helots
• Helots continued to live in their villages but they had to
turn over much of their food to the Spartans
• The Spartans also made use of non citizens, called
periokoi
• Periokoi were not slaves but they could not take part in
government
• Sometimes Periokoi would fight in battles but mostly
they made necessary goods for Sparta like, red cloaks,
shoes, tools, weapons and pottery
Spartans and Trade
• Spartans did some trading for goods but not nearly as
much as the Athenians
• In general, Spartans discouraged trade because they did
not want their people to be influenced by other citystates, they felt this would ruin their government and
way of life
• Sparta did not use coins, instead they used heavy iron
bars as money
• Legend has it, a Spartan leader decided to make it heavy
and bulky so it would be hard to steal
Education in Sparta
• The purpose of education in Sparta was to
produce men and women who could protect the
city-state
• If a baby did not appear to be healthy and
strong it would be left to die
• Spartans valued discipline and strength
• From the age of 7, all Spartan children were
trained to fight
• Even girls received some military training
Spartan Education Continued
• Students learned wrestling, boxing, footracing
and gymnastics
• Spartan men lived and trained in buildings called
barracks
• They were taught to read and write but Spartans
did not think those skills were very important
• What was important was to be a brave soldier
Boys in Sparta
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Video: Training of a Warrior
Spartan boys were taught to take pain without
complaining
Boys would march for hours and days without shoes
They were not fed well during their training and they
were taught to steal food as long as they did not get
caught
At the age of 20 the men were given a difficult fitness
test, if they passed they became Spartan soldiers and
citizens
Even if they passed they still lived and trained in
barracks until the age of at least 30
Women in Sparta
• Spartan women lived the same simple life as Spartan
men
• They wore plain clothing with little decoration
• They did not wear jewelry, perfume or cosmetics like
women in other city-states
• Like men, they were expected to be strong, healthy and
ready to fight
• A women was expected to look after her husbands
property in times of war
• She also had to guard against invaders and revolts from
slaves
Spartan Women Continued
• Spartan women had more rights than women in
other city-states
• They were free to speak with friends of their
husbands
• They could own and control their own property
• They could even marry another man if there
husband was at war too long
Spartan Slaves
• The slaves or helots were people who had been
captured by the Spartans
• There were more helots than citizens in Sparta
• The Spartans were afraid the helots would revolt
so they treated them harshly
• The government often declared war on the
helots so they could kill any that might rebel
War on the Helots
• At one period of time the Spartan government
asked the helots to choose their best fighters
• They said these men would be set free as thanks
for their hard work
• Two thousand helots were chosen
• The Spartans immediately killed everyone of
them
Helots had Rights?
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Helots actually had some rights
They could marry whomever they wanted
They could pass their names onto their children
They could sell any extra crops they owned
If they saved enough money, they could even
buy their freedom