SPARTA VS. ATHENS
Where would YOU rather be living?
THINK ABOUT...
Why do we know
more about Athens
than we do about
Sparta?
ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE
SPARTA: No
works
of
art
or
architecture
came
out
of
Sparta.
:/
-
anything
that’s
been
found
was
made
by
the
PERIOECI
ATHENS:
-Athens
was
expanding
with
new
buildings
(such
as
the
Parthenon)
-
Philosophers
(such
as
Socrates,
Plato,
&
Aristotle),
kindled
the
growth
of
learning
-Athenians
invented
the
theater
through
playwrights
like
Aristophanes,
who
made
fun
of
politicians
GOAL OF EDUCATION
ATHENS - Produce citizens
trained in the arts - prepare citizens
for both peace and war
SPARTA - Produce SOLDIERS!
SPARTA=MILITARY STATE
Created by Lycurgus
(Lycos Urgos = “he who
keeps the wolves away”)
in the 700sBC after helot
rebellion
EARLY LIFE:
SPARTA
When babies were born in ancient Sparta, Spartan elders would check
the baby
If the baby did not appear healthy and strong, the infant was taken
away, and left to die on a hillside, or taken away to be trained as a
slave (a helot).
BUT if the baby passed this examination - they were assigned
membership in a brotherhood or sisterhood (usually the same one to
which their father or mother belonged)
ATHENS
Until age 6, boys were taught at home by
their mother or by a male slave (pedagogue)
Horrible Histories - Ready for School?
(pedagogy - noun - the method and practice of teaching)
THE SCHOOL YEARS:
THE SPARTAN AGOGE
Started at age 7, stayed until 20
Not well fed - encouraged to steal
No shoes
One outfit per year/one cloak
Slept on hard beds or floor
(sometimes outside)
Harsh physical punishments took pride in how much pain
they could endure
A SPARTAN LEGEND
Legend says ... A young Sparta boy once stole a live fox, planning
to kill it and eat it. He noticed some Spartan soldiers
approaching. In ancient Sparta, students were encouraged to
steal, but the trick was that you could not get caught stealing. If
you were caught, you were severely beaten. As the soldiers approached, the boy hid the fox beneath his shirt. While the soldiers quizzed him on why he was not in school, the
boy let the fox chew into his stomach rather than confess he had
stolen it. He did not allow his face or body to express his pain. That was the Spartan way. Lie, cheat, steal, and get away with it,
or else (you would be in big trouble!) Horrible Histories - Spartan High School Musical
THE SPARTAN AGOGE
School
was
called
the
“Agoge”
May
or
may
not
have
been
able
to
read
Reading,
writing,
literature,
and
the
arts
were
considered
unsuitable
for
the
soldier-citizen
-
not
part
of
his
education
Taught
survival
skills
(how
to
steal
for
food,
survive
in
the
wild)
Drilled
in
military
and
warfare
tactics
&
strategies
-
encouraged
to
fight
each
other
SPARTA CONT.
Every Spartan, male or
female, was required to have a
perfect body
Horrible Histories - Spartan Head Teacher
Horrible Histories - Spartan Teacher Conference
ATHENS
Boys went to private school at age 6, accompanied by a slave called a
pedagogue, until age 14
Studied: literature (Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey), mathematics, musical
instruments (the lyre), reading, writing, physical education (running,
jumping, boxing, wrestling, discus, javelin throwing)
THE REST OF THEIR LIVES:
SPARTA
At 20, they joined the army in which they
served until they were 60 years old. They ate,
slept, and continued to train in their
brotherhood barracks. Even if they were
married, they did not live with their wives and
families. They lived in the barracks until they
were 30.
At age 60, a Spartan soldier could retire and
live in their home with their family.
ATHENS
✴AGE 14 - formal education of the poorer boys probably ended and
was followed by an apprenticeship at a trade
✴Wealthier boys continued their education
✴As adults, men usually worked it the
morning and then attended meetings
in the ASSEMBLY in the afternoon
✴ In the evenings, upper-class men
enjoyed all male gatherings where
they drank, dined, and discussed
politics and philosophy (the women
were at home, of course)
NOW THE LADIES:
SPARTA
-Girls also went to school at age 6 or 7.
They lived at home and sometimes
slept and trained in their sisterhood's
barracks
-Taught wrestling, gymnastics and
combat skills
The Spartans believed that strong
young women would produce strong
babies to become strong soldiers
SPARTA
❖AT AGE 18 - if a Spartan girl passed her skills and fitness test, she would be
assigned a husband and allowed to return home
(BUT if she failed, she would lose her rights as a citizen, and became a perioeci - just
like the men - this was humiliating for Spartans)
❖In most of the other Greek city-states, women were required to stay inside their
homes most of their lives
❖In Sparta, women had much more freedom because the men were not around
❖They were encouraged to have more than one husband (because their husbands
might die in battle)
❖Shaved their heads when they got married and kept their hair short from then
on
Horrible Histories - Don’t Tell the Spartan Bride
ATHENS
Athenian women were only a small step above slaves.
For Athenian women, life revolved around the home and family.
Upper class women supervised the household servants and worked wool into cloth.
Women rarely went out, except to funerals or religious festivals.
Even then, they could leave the house only if a male relative went with them.
Athenian women did not attend school, but many learned to read and play music at
home.
Women had no political rights and could not own property.
WHAT ARE WE GOOD FOR...MARRIAGE!
Athenian girls
married when they
were about 13-15
years old
to a man in his thirties
Marriages were arranged by the father
When the marriage was to
take place the girl gave away
all of her toys to the temple
of Artemis, and her hair was
cut.
WEDDING CEREMONY
Priests did not direct weddings in
ancient Greece. Instead, a set of
rituals was followed, after which the
couple would live together. The
rituals started with baths. The
groom then would go to the bride’s
house in a chariot or a cart. A feast
may be held at the bride’s father’s
house, after which the groom would
take his bride back to his parents’
house. They were greeted at the
door by the groom’s parents and led
to the hearth. There they were
showered with nuts and fruit. For
the wife to be fully accepted into the
groom’s family, a child had to be
born within a year.
Divorces were easily arranged. The man
would have to pay back, in cash, the
remaining dowry money to his wife’s
parents. Divorces were granted on many
grounds; for example, if the wife could
not bear children.
Horrible Histories - Athens/Sparta Wife
Swap
A DAY IN THE LIFE...
POLL TIME!
WHERE WOULD YOU
RATHER LIVE?
Vote as if you were going to be transported back in
time at this age and as your own gender