Architecture
The Athenians were among the most talented architects of the ancient world. They built their
most famous structure, the Parthenon, during the rule of the statesman Pericles. The Parthenon, a
temple in honor of the Goddess Athena, was built to celebrate the end of the Greek war with
Persia. Although only partially intact, the Parthenon is considered the most glorious building
from the ancient world – a stunning reminder of Athens’ cultural achievements. It stands atop the
Athenian Acropolis overlooking the city. Constructed almost completely out of marble from a
nearby mountain, the Parthenon is 237 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 60 feet high. It features eight
columns in front and back and 17 columns along each side. The architects and sculptors who
created the building spent more than 12 million units of Greek currency, called drachmas, on its
construction, over four times the annual budget for all of Athens. This huge, marble-columned
structure – part of which is still standing today – has survived for nearly 2,500 years because of
its superior workmanship.
The architects designed the Parthenon to allow for optical illusions. The height of each column
was five times its diameter so that the columns appeared slender. Builders also slanted the roof
of the building, creating a triangular piece on either end of the building called a pediment. The
east pediment showed a scene of the birth of Athena. The west pediment depicted the contest
between Athena and Poseidon, the God of the Sea, which determined who would be the patron of
Athens. Another distinctive feature of the Parthenon was a 525-foot band of sculpture, or frieze,
which surrounded the top of the temple. This frieze depicted the Panathenaic Procession, an
annual Athenian festival that celebrated the birthday of Athena.
The Parthenon also contained a 35-foot high gold and ivory statue of the Goddess Athena.
Athenians believed that worshipping and leaving offerings at the foot of the statue would ensure
Athena’s protection of Athens and its people.
Commerce and Trade
Athenians conducted most of their commerce at the Agora, the huge marketplace at the base of
the Acropolis. On the eastern side of the Agora, merchants sold their goods from small stands.
Citizens could purchase foods such as lettuce, onions, cucumbers, sardines, olive oil, and wine.
They could also buy household items such as pottery, furniture – chairs, chests, and sofas – and
clay oil lamps, which provided the only source of light in Athenian homes. While most
Athenians made their clothes at home, leather sandals and jewelry were popular items at the
market. In addition, Athenians bought and sold slaves at the Agora.
In an effort to make commercial transactions more efficient, the Greeks began using coins in the
600s BCE. Each city-state had its own system of coinage, though they all used metals such as
gold, silver, bronze, and a gold/silver mixture called electrum. Initially coins were stamped on
one side, but later Athenians imprinted images on both sides. The most popular coin in Athens
was the tetradrachm, which was worth four drachmas. It had an image of Athena on one side and
Athena’s bird, the owl, on the other.
Athenians engaged in a great deal of trade with other Greek city-states and foreign lands to
obtain many goods and resources. This was necessary because the Attica plains were not fertile
enough to provide sufficient food for the Athenian population. Farmers could raise only olives,
so Athenians had to trade for their essential food items. One major Greek trading partner was
Egypt, from which the Greeks obtained valuable grains grown in the Nile valley. Another
important trade good, timber, was imported from Sicily, Thrace, and the northern Black Sea
coast. In exchange for the goods they imported, the Greeks traded their beautiful painted pottery,
woolen goods, and olives.
Drama
Theater was an important part of Athenian social life. In the 400s and 500s BCE, Athenians
developed two types of plays that we still have today: tragedy and comedy. Tragic plays
presented the downfall of a great hero. Extreme arrogance toward the gods, or hubris, usually
caused this downfall. The somber lesson of the tragic plays was that humans should act with
respect toward the gods, and that dishonorable behavior had severe consequences. Comedy did
not contain serious messages, and it provided entertainment for Athenian audiences. Comic plays
made fun of, or satirized, Athenian politicians and other well-known personalities.
Athenian plays were staged in outdoor marble theaters, which were built into the sides of hills. In
a typical theater, stone rows, or tiers, of seats were arranged in a semicircle around the stage
area. Behind the stage area, wooden or marble columns, which were draped with cloth, formed a
tent. Actors changed their costumes and masks in this tent, and extra scenery was stored when it
was not in use. Sometimes painted scenery was hung in the front of the tent to provide the
backdrop for a play.
During ancient Greek plays, two or three male actors performed both male and female roles on
stage. They were joined by a chorus of 15-24 men who stood at the side of the stage and helped
explain the action of the plays. The actors and chorus wore huge masks with exaggerated
expressions to indicate the personalities of their characters. The feelings of the characters were
shown through the use of colored costumes. Bright colors indicated happiness, and black showed
despair.
Many plays were staged at the Theater of Dionysus, built in honor of the god Dionysus. This
theater could hold more than 14,000 people. All classes of society, except slaves, attended the
performances. Athenian playwrights presented their new plays in competitions held during the
spring religious festivals. A panel of nobles judged each play for excellence and quality of
performance.
Law
The Greeks had a well-established legal system. In the days before the Greeks invented their
alphabet, they handed down their laws by oral tradition. This meant that officials and their
assistants had to memorize entire legal codes. However, by 600 BCE, writing had spread
throughout the Greek world, and laws were written down for easy reference. Law codes covered
both civil and criminal cases. Civil cases between citizens could involve disputes about
inheritance and land boundaries, while criminal cases might involve charges of murder or theft.
Legal codes were different in each of the Greek city-states.
The main lawmaking body of Athenian democracy was the Citizens Assembly, which was open
to all adult male citizens. A smaller executive body, the Council of 500, was responsible for
proposing laws and for voting on important political issues. Many people considered politics so
important that they walked as far as 20 miles to participate in the debates.
In Athens, there were no lawyers. Any male citizen could bring criminal or civil charges against
another citizen. Each citizen argued his own case, but he could ask for help from a friend who
had better speaking skills. Large juries – numbering anywhere from 201-2501 members – heard
the cases. Jury members were chosen by lottery and were paid for their services. The jury used
small tokens to cast their innocent or guilty verdicts. Since there were no judges in the Athenian
courtroom, the jury was responsible for interpreting the law and for deciding on a verdict. Athens
did not have prisons, so other punishments were enforced. The punishments for civil cases
included fines or confiscation of property. In serious criminal cases, the guilty person could be
exiled or sentenced to death.
Education
A proper education was highly valued by the people of Athens. By approximately 600 BCE, the
majority of Athenian male citizens were able to read and write. Young children were taught at
home until the age of 6-7, when they began school. Both boys and girls attended school, but they
were schooled separately. Schools for girls were not as numerous, nor was the schoolwork very
demanding. Since schools were private, parents were required to pay for the education their
children received. For this reason, many children from poor families left school immediately
after they learned basic skills, which usually took 3-4years. Children from wealthy families
continued their education for as long as 10 years.
Athenian children attended three different schools. At one school, teachers called grammatistes
taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and literature. Students memorized long passages from the
epic poems of Homer, and from tragic plays. At a second school, coaches, called paidotribes,
taught sports such as wrestling and gymnastics to strengthen the students’ muscles. At the third
school, kitharistes taught music – specifically singing and playing the seven-stringed lyre to
accompany the reading of poetry.
At the age of 18, Athenian males began two years of military training. After this service, a
wealthy young male might resume his education by studying with traveling philosophers called
sophists. These tutors charged high fees, and they gave lessons in debate and public speaking to
young men eager to enter politics.
Religious Beliefs
The ancient Greeks were a polytheistic people – that is, they believed in many gods rather than
just one. They believed the gods played a strong role in the course of human affairs. According
to the ancient Greeks, gods could affect everything, including the annual sprouting of crops, the
spread of terrible diseases, and victory or defeat in war and in sporting events. Since they were
generally a very religious people, the Greeks looked upon religion as a public, not private,
matter. People who did not believe in the gods could be publicly accused of offending the gods,
or impiety. Athenian juries that convicted people of this charge often sentenced them to death.
There were 12 major Greek gods. Each had a power over one or more aspects of human life. The
Greeks called them Olympians because they believed the Gods lived in a palace atop Mt.
Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Zeus was the king of the gods and the god of justice.
Hera, Zeus’ wife, was the goddess of marriage. Poseidon was the god of the sea, Hades was the
god of the underworld, Apollo was the god of the sun, and Ares was the god of war. Athena was
the goddess of wisdom, the arts, and military victory. Artemis was the goddess of the moon and
wildlife, while Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Hermes was the
messenger of the gods, Hephaestus was the god of blacksmithing and crafts, and Hestia was the
goddess of the home.
To earn the favor of the gods, most people prayed, made sacrifices, and built sacred places to
honor them. These sacred places, called sanctuaries, were built in areas of great natural beauty.
For example, the Greeks honored Zeus at a place called Olympia. Located on a beautiful, wide,
level plain, the Greeks used the site to hold the Olympic Games. Another sacred site was Delphi,
where the Greeks built a shrine, or oracle, to Apollo. At this shrine, they looked for advice from
the gods to guide their actions on Earth.
Slaves
Slaves made up a large portion of the Athenian population. Historians believe that during
Athens’ Golden Age (c. 460-429 BCE) there were 75,000 slaves living in Athens, a number
equal to the number of non-slaves living there. Most slaves were captives from the north and east
whom Athenians had imprisoned during wartime. The children of these war captives were
especially valued because they could provide many years of service to their owners.
Athenian slaves performed work in many areas. Female slaves were often domestic servants.
They wore their hair and their clothing short so nothing would interfere with their rigorous tasks.
Male slaves were often factory workers, shopkeepers, ship cargo handlers, miners, and farmers.
Both male and female slaves worked in factories making beds, knives, and other household
goods. In addition, the city owned slaves – mostly male – and used them as coinmakers,
policemen, clerks, and executioners.
A small numbers of slaves were allowed to work independently of their owners. They practiced
trades, or managed shops, and then delivered the profits to their masters. Some slaves managed
large estates for absentee owners, overseeing farmhands and selling the produce. Some educated
male and female slaves even worked as tutors in Athenian schools.
Many slaves, however, endured great hardships. Often they worked in terrible conditions. Some
of the worst conditions were in the Laurium silver mines, just outside of Athens. Slaves,
including children, worked ten-hour shifts, in tunnels 300 feet below the earth’s surface. The
tunnels were only three feet high and two feet wide, and had little air. Slaves were shackled in
chains day and night, and they were often whipped if they stopped to rest.
Women
Women had very specific roles in Athenian society. It was believed that all women were under
the protection of Hera, the queen of the gods, and Hestia, the goddess of home and hearth. An
Athenian woman was also under the guardianship of a man – whether it be her father, husband,
or brother.
Young girls were often raised together, apart from the male members of the household. Most
Athenian women married at a young age – as early as 14 – in marriages arranged by their
parents. They bore several children, and were often trained as midwives and nurses to help their
sisters, cousins, or female servants give birth. Married women were expected to wear more
loose-fitting clothing than unmarried women. They also wore their long hair pinned up with
elaborate hairpieces, while unmarried women often wore their hair loose in long curls.
According to Athenian society, a respectable woman’s main responsibility was overseeing the
household. Wealthy wives were responsible for the care and education of their children, tending
to their husbands, supervising and nursing the servants, spinning wool, and weaving cloth for the
family’s use. Wealthy women often had female slaves to gather produce from the garden as well
as buy food from the marketplace. These slaves were also responsible for cooking and cleaning
in the household. Women in less wealthy households often worked at humble jobs outside the
home, in addition to performing household tasks themselves. They sold goods at the market or
baked loaves of bread. Few skilled trades were open to women, but there were female potters and
leatherworkers.
Athenian women from all classes participated in the religious celebrations in the city. Some
women were religious figures, or priestesses. These priestesses conducted religious rituals,
recited prayers, and looked after the sacred objects stored in sanctuaries. Priestesses had high
social and legal status, and were not under the guardianship of their fathers, husbands, or
brothers.