Oakland Unified School District
6th Grade – Ancient Civilizations
Assessment Pilot
Spring Semester, 2007 – 2008
Topic: Greek Democracy
Sources and Student Work Packet
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #1
Introduction: Getting Started
Think about your life at school.
Who is part of your school’s
What are some of the school
community?
rules?
Who makes the rules?
Democracy is defined as government by the people. Using this definition, how democratic is
your school? Complete the following sentence and defend your opinion.
My school is (circle the statement that best completes this sentence.…

√+ very democratic. (a government by the people)

√ sort of democratic. (government by some of the people)

√- not at all democratic. (the people have no voice in the government)
Defend your opinion - To what extent is your school a democracy?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Looking Ahead:
In this unit, you will explore a part of the history of democracy and decide to what extent
you think the government of ancient Athens could be described as a democracy.
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #2
Part I – Sources A & B: Who lived in Athens and what rights did they have?
Source A: Graph of Population of Athens: 451 B.C.
(total population – about 240,000 people)
Citizens - Anyone born of parents who were citizens of
the polis. While both men and women were counted as
citizens, only men had political rights (the right to vote
and serve in Athens government). Citizens comprised
the major fighting force for the city.
Male Citizens
(30,000)
13%
Women citizens
had no political
rights and could
not take part in
public, could not
vote or attend
the assembly.
Women were
protected by al
other laws.
Metics were foreigners
who were very important
to the Athenian economy
because they were
involved in many kinds of
businesses. Had to serve
Metics/Foreigners in military and pay taxes,
but could not become
(40,000)
17%
citizens or participate in
governing Athens.
Citizens' Wives
and Children
(90,000)
37%
Slaves (80,000)
33%
freeman – all male
citizens
Source B: Chart of Class Divisions in
Ancient Athens
Aristocrats –
(highest class of
citizens)
Women
Small farmers
were
(middle class of
citizens
citizens)
but had
no
Thetes - urban
political
craftsman and trirme
rights.
rowers
(lowest class of
citizens)
Metics
Slaves were acquired in a
number of ways, the most
common being capture in war,
purchase, or as punishment for
crimes. Slaves were often
non-Greek, usually from the
North, what is now Eastern
Europe and Turkey. There is
no evidence for the use
\ of
African slaves in classical
Greece. Many slaves had
special skills, such as nurses
and teachers, while others had
the hardest work to do. It was
common for a rich household
to have many slaves.
Slaves
On the next page is an activity that asks you to write about information in the above graph and
chart. Use the information to complete the activity.
Number 1 is completed for you so you have a better idea of what to think about and write.
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #3
SAY
MEAN
MATTER
What does the graph and chart
say?
How do I interpret this
information?
Why is this important in
understanding Ancient Greek
democracy?
1. According to source A,
13% of the population
in Athens in 451 BCE
were male citizens.
This means that only a small
portion of people living in
Athens had the right to vote.
This matters because I now
understand that Athens may
have had a different definition
of democracy than I have. I
think more than 15% of the
people should be able to vote.
2. According to the source
A, _____ % of the
population were metics.
3. According to source B,
_______ were citizens,
but had no political
rights.
4. According to source A,
slaves were _____% of
the population of
Athens.
5. According to source B,
___________ were the
highest class of citizens.
6.
(develop a statement of your own
and say what it means and why it
matters)
7.
(develop a statement of your own
and say what it means and why it
matters)
Based on information in the above graph and chart would you say the government of
Athen’s was

√+ very democratic. (a government by the people)

√ sort of democratic. (government by some of the people, etc.)

√- not at all democratic (the people have no voice in the government)
Defend your opinion:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #4
Part II – Citizenship: What were the rights and responsibilities of citizens in Athenian
democracy?
Preview:
Today, citizens of the United States have some rights and responsibilities that non-citizens do not
have? What are those rights and responsibilities? Identify at least two.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
Source C:
In Athenian democracy, all citizens were expected to participate in governing Athens.
Citizens in ancient Athens had responsibilities, but also special training, and special rights
or privileges. As you read, circle
the six rights that Athenian citizens were given.
By the 4th Century BC in Hellenistic Greece, a potential citizen spent 2 years in the
gymnasium, and 2 years training in the military...Citizens had rights, which for the most
part were limited only to themselves. Namely, a citizen could own land, have heirs, own
slaves, belong to the assembly, and could have some political sway. Citizens also played
a large part in the year-round religious festivals of Athens.
(http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/culture/classesofathens.html
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #5
PART III: Who participated in Athenian Democracy? Methods and Responsibilities
Source D (examine this chart and complete the activity on the next page)
Who participated and
Responsibilities – What
how?
did participants do?
 Passed laws, set taxes,
and voted on war or
peace
An assembly of citizens was
created to govern Athens.
The columns to the right
contain information on who
participated in the
assembly, how they
participated, and assembly’s
responsibilities.

Open to all male citizens
at least 20 years of age

Every citizen had the
right to speak or vote
directly on what their
government did

Met 40 times a year,
needed 6000 citizens for
a meeting to be held

Began with the question,
“Who wishes to speak to
the Assembly?”

From its members the
Assembly selected by lot
a Council of 500 that
served one year terms.
Council members could
not be chosen again.

If the crowd was too
small, citizens were
rounded up by officials
and made to attend

Held special elections to
choose
 10 generals that
would lead Athens
in times of war
 Military officers,
temple designers,
ship designers,
treasury managers,
diplomats

Filled one-year jobs by
lottery. Based on the
belief that all citizens are
qualified to lead. Jobs
included
 Jury service for
citizens over age of
30– hearing all
court cases and
voting on verdicts
 Council of 500 for
citizens over age of
30 – organized
matters to be
discussed before the
assembly
 Serving with other
citizens over age of
30 on groups that
collected taxes, set
food prices, checked
the safety of
buildings and
managed prisons.
based on: http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/democracy_overview.pdf.
http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/dunkle/athnlife/politics.htm
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #6
Using source D –
#1 - Comparing U.S. Congress and the Athenian Assembly
United States Congress – Who participates?
Methods and Responsibilities
1.
In the United States all citizens, man or
woman over the age of 18, have the right to
vote for their representatives to Congress.
2. In the United States citizens vote for
representatives to their assemblies (for
example, the United States Congress).
These representatives, not the people, vote
on laws, taxes, war and peace.
Athenian Assembly and Council of 500
1. In Athens _______________ had the right
to vote.
2. In Athens all ________________ made
the laws.
3. Congress has 535 members.
3. The Athenian Assembly had ___________
members.
4. The 535 members include 435
representatives elected for two-year terms
and 100 senators elected for six- year
terms. Both representatives and senators
can be reelected for as many times as the
voters select them.
4. In Athens council members served for
_____________ year.
5. That members of Congress have to be
elected by the people suggests the belief
that some citizens are more qualified to
serve than others.
5. In Athens council members were chosen
_________ because_________________.
6. Being a member of Congress is a full time
job. Congress meets almost everyday of
the year.
6. The Athenian assembly met __________
times per year, because members held
other jobs.
7. In the United States people who are not
citizens do not have the right to vote.
7. In Athens ________________ were not
allowed to participate in government.
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #7
Using Source D –
#2 - The United States is called a representative democracy, ancient Athens is called a direct
democracy. Using information and your work in the above chart write a definition of the
two terms.
Representative democracy:
Direct democracy:
______
Based on these definitions what are some advantages of direct democracy over representative
democracy?
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OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #8
Part IV: How did people rule?
Term Limits:
In our country we have rules about how long elected leaders can serve, for example the President
of the United States can only be elected to two four-year terms. Ancient Athens also had rules
about how long people could serve in government. Below are two of those rules.
Source E: Term Limits
No one could be on the Council of 500 for more than one year. Council members were chosen
randomly by lot. However, the ten generals could be reelected to the council and they often
were.
kidsvoting.org
SAY
What does this source say?
MEAN
What does the source mean?
MATTER
Why is this important in
understanding Ancient Greek
democracy?
Source E.
Given this idea of term limits, how would you assess Athenian democracy?

√+ very democratic. (a government by the people)

√ sort of democratic. (government by some of the people, etc.)

√- not at all democratic (the people have no voice in the government)
Defend your opinion:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Ostracism: Sources F and G
Today, when we talk about people being ostracized by their friends, we usually are talking about
those times when their friends ignore them or do not let them do something.
In Ancient Athens, ostracism was official, a function of the government. It was chosen as a way
to help Athenians deal with power and people.
Read the following two sources and complete the activity that follows.
Source F - …
Ostracism was not the punishment of any crime. Instead, it was to reduce and get rid of too
much greatness and power. It was, in fact, a gentle relief, to make people less jealous and
envious. Thus, people were allowed to let out their feelings, but without hurting anyone too
much; [the only consequence was] ten year’s banishment.
(Plutarch, Life of Aristeides chapter 7)
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #9
Source G –
The process of ostracism is as follows:
1) The people vote at an Assembly meeting whether they will have an ostracism or not.
2) If yes, the Agora is fenced off with blockades. Ten entrances are kept open, through which
people entered, and deposited their votes face-down to hide the name they had written.
3) Whoever received the largest number (at least 6,000 votes), was required to pay a penalty,
and to leave the city within 10 days. Then he had to stay away for 10 years.
4) He still received income from his property, but could not come nearer to Athens
than…Euboea [the island nearest to Athens]…
(Philochorus, Book III)
SAY
What does this source say?
MEAN
What does the author mean?
MATTER
Why is this important in
understanding Ancient Greek
democracy?
Source F
Source G
Based on the practice of ostracism, how would you assess Athenian democracy?

√+ very democratic. (a government by the people)

√ sort of democratic. (government by some of the people, etc.)

√- not at all democratic (the people have no voice in the government)
Defend your opinion:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #10
Citizen Responsibilities and Truancy Officers:
In our society people are not required to participate in government, they can choose whether or
not to vote. This was not true in Ancient Athens.
Source H:
Meetings started at dawn, and the sometimes reluctant citizens were swept up from the Agora
(marketplace) by slaves. The slaves held the ends of a long rope that was wet with red paint.
The paint would mark the clothes of anyone who was caught. Then, anyone with red paint on
his clothes would have to pay a fine, because it showed that they were late, or had attempted to
escape the call of duty. kidsvoting.org
SAY
What does this source say
MEAN
What does the author mean?
MATTER
Why is this important in
understanding Ancient Greek
democracy?
Source H:
Based on what responsibilities Ancient Athens had for its citizens, how would you assess
Athenian democracy?

√+ very democratic. (a government by the people)

√ sort of democratic. (government by some of the people, etc.)

√- not at all democratic (the people have no voice in the government)
Defend your opinion:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #11
Summary: Democracy in Athens
Who participated?
How did people participate
Based on who participated and how people participated, how would you assess Athenian
democracy?

√+ very democratic. (a government by the people)

√ sort of democratic. (government by some of the people, etc.)

√- not at all democratic (the people have no voice in the government)
Write a sentence that you could use to answer to the question, “how democratic was
Ancient Athens?”
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #12
Draft Essay Prompt: Democracy in Athens
You are a citizen of another ancient Greek city-state. You have traveled to ancient Athens
and when you return, the people in your community ask you to give a speech about
Athens. They have heard that Athens has an interesting system of government. In your
speech explain how the government in Athens works. Most importantly, tell them if you
think the system of democracy in Athens is “very democratic,” “sort of democratic,” or
“not at all democratic.” Be sure to give reasons for your opinion. As evidence to support
your opinion explain who gets to participate and how they participate.
Write your speech below:
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #13
OUSD 6th Grade History Pilot / source documents and student writing / Spring Semester, 2008 / page #14