Athens vs.
Sparta
(part 1)
Chapter 4, Sect. 2
(pg. 124-131)
Tyranny in City-States!
Life in the city-states became difficult.
 Small farm owners were unhappy being under
the rule of Nobles
 Farmers were in massive debt to their Noble.
 But they had no power or say in government.
Soon Tyrants came into power.
Tyrants in the City-States
 Tyrant: ruler who takes power by force and
rules with harsh, oppressive authority.
 Tyrants became popular by building markets,
temples, and walls.
 But Greeks did not want to be ruled by one
person.
Fall of the Tyrants
 By 500 bc, Tyrants were no longer popular
 Most of Greece became either:
 An Oligarchy: Where a few ppl hold power
 A Democracy: All citizens share in running the
gov.
Sparta
 Spartans focused on Military Skills to control
the people they conquered.
 Helots: Sparta’s captive workers
 Spartans thought helots might rebel someday
 So they trained their men and boys for war.
Sparta’s Men
 Age 7: Boys left homes to live in barracks.
 Treated harshly to make them tough.
 Age 20: Spartan Men entered the regular army
 Lived and ate with other soldiers.
 Black Broth: Meal of pork boiled in animal blood
 Age 30: Men went home to live but stayed in army
 Never Surrender- Win or Die!
Sparta’s Girls
 Girls trained in Sports
 Running, Wrestling, Javelin Throw
 Stayed fit to become healthy mothers
 Wives lived at home while Men lived in barracks.
 Result: Spartan Women freer than others, could
own property, and go where they wanted to.
Sparta’s Government
 An Oligarchy: Where a few people hold power.
 Two kings headed a council of elders: 28 citizens
over the age of 60.
 All Spartan men over 30 were part of the
Assembly.
 Assembly voted on the council’s laws & voted on
Ephors: Men who enforced laws and managed tax
collection.
Spartan Government
 Government discouraged foreign visitors, and
travel abroad for any reason other than military
 Did this to keep people from questioning the
Spartan way of life.
 Spartans kept control for 250 years, but fell
behind other Greeks in trade.
 Their focus on Military kept them from science
and other subjects.
Assignment
 1) Answer #3 on pg. 130 of the section 2 review.
 2) Write an Elephant Paragraph on the lifestyle of
Spartan Men.
 Remember to use the Elephant Paragraph format:
 - Introduction sentence
 - Supporting information sentence
 - Supporting information sentence
 - Outside information sentence
 - Concluding sentence