Athens and Sparta Worksheet
Ancient Greece wasn't one large empire but a collection of smaller city-states. The term the
Greeks used was polis, which means “city-state”. A polis was bigger than a city but smaller
than a state. They were scattered throughout the Mediterranean area. Some were sea-ports
while others were more inland. The two most famous city-states were Athens and Sparta.
Although the people living in these city-states were all Greek, each city-state did different
things and had different beliefs. Lets examine these differences by looking at two citystates.
Athens- was the most famous of all the city-states of ancient Greece. It was the birthplace of
democracy and home to great philosophers like Plato and Socrates. It was also home to historians,
scientists, mathematicians, and other great thinkers. Athens was famous for its giant fleet or ships,
which they used to help defeat the Persians. A great rivalry with another city-state, Sparta led to the
Peloponnesian War. This war eventually ended in a victory for Sparta.
Sparta- had the strongest military of all ancient Greek city-states. The focus of this city-state
was constantly on war. Boys were expected to be trained as soldiers, while girls were expected to
grow up and bear children who grew up to be soldiers. To make sure that the army got as many
Spartan soldiers as it needed, Sparta depended on slaves from nearby settlement to do their manual
labor. When the Greeks were at war with Persia, many people turned to the Spartans to ensure their
protection.
There were three main types of government:
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Democracy - A government ruled by the people, or assembly. Officials and
leaders were elected and all citizens had a say.
Monarchy - A single ruler like a king. In Athens this ruler was called a Tyrant.
Oligarchy - When the government is ruled by a small group.
Over time some city-states, like Athens would change governments. Sometimes they
were ruled by Tyrants and, at other times, they were a democracy.
Athenian Democracy
Democracy in Ancient Greece was very direct. What this means is that all the citizens
voted on all the laws. Rather than vote for representatives, like we do, each citizen was
expected to vote for every law.
They did have officials to run the government, however. Most of these officials were
chosen by a lottery. So every citizen had a chance, regardless of their popularity or
wealth, to become an official. A few key positions were voted on, such as the treasurer
and the 10 generals who ran the army (also called the strategoi).
Who could vote?
In order to vote, you had to be a citizen. However, not everyone who lived in Athens
was a citizen. Only men who had completed their military training were counted as
citizens.
Questions
1. What were two important Greek city-states? a) _____________________, b) _____________________
2. What was the Greek word for city-state? ____________________
3. Athens was the birthplace of this important idea… ______________________
4. Who were two famous philosophers from Athens? a) __________________, b) __________________
5. Who won the Peloponnesian War? _____________________
6. What were the Spartans famous for? ___________________________________________
7. What were boy in Sparta expected to be when they grew up? ______________________________
8. Who did the Spartans depend on to complete their manual labor? _____________________
9. Where was the government of democracy first conceived of and introduced? _______________________
10. How were most of the officials chosen in the Greek democracy? __________________________________
11. In Athens, only the citizens could vote. Who qualified as a citizen? ________________________________
12. When a city-state was ruled by a single person, like a king, what did they call the leader? ___________
Reflection
If you were an immigrant to Greece and had a choice of which city-state to settle in, would it be Athens or Sparta? Use
the information we learned in class, the reading above, and your personal opinion to CHOOSE ONE, and then GIVE
EXAMPLES as to why you like one over another. This should be ONE PARAGRAPH of at least 4 complete sentences.