Time to
go!
What is a
Polis?
Athens Sparta
What is a City-State?

Which of these places are city-states, or polises?
The Polis

The idea of citizenship was developed in
the Greek city states.
 Polis: City State, similar to a tiny,
independent country
 Every polis had a main gathering area,
usually safe from invaders and atop a
hill. This area was called an acropolis.
 The acropolis was also a religious center
to honor the gods and goddesses of Greek
culture.
What did the center of the
polis look like? Click to find
out.
Click to enlarge!
Athenian Citizenship

 Only men were free citizens in Athens.
 Women: Athenian women could not inherit or own
much property. They could not vote or attend the
Assembly. Most could not even choose their own
husbands.
 Slaves: There were many slaves in ancient Athens.
Most Athenians who weren’t poor owned at least
one slave. Some people were born into slavery.
Others were forced into slavery as captives of war.
Athens

 Named after the Goddess, Athena
 Location: Central Greece
 Only 4 miles away from Aegean Sea
 Birthplace of Democrac y
 A people of travelers
Life In
Athens
Democracy
Blooms
Economy
 Click to see the map of Athens
Where is Athens?
To proceed, click the map

Democracy Grows in
Athens

 Ruled by land-owning nobles (oligarchy) during the
600s BCE
 Becomes a democracy in 500 BCE
 Only free men can participate in politics (over 18)
Council of 500
Council of 500

 Council of 500: in Athens, a
group of 500 citizens (men)
chosen to form a council
responsible for running the
day-to-day business of
government
 Met every single day!
 Must be 30+ years
 Come up with ideas for laws,
but only ideas  the ideas
then go to the Assembly of
Athens
School Life in Athens

Boys
Girls
 Boys became citizens, so they
 Stayed at home
went to Athenian Schools
- Learned how to “keep
- Students learned reading,
house”  spinning,
writing, arithmetic
weaving, cooking
How would life for boys and
- Sports
- Few of wealthy were sent
girls be different today?
to school and learned how
- Music:  Lyre
to play the Lyre
- Belief: Boys should have a
- Wealthy: arranged
healthy body and intelligent
marriages around age 15
mind
- Poor: more choice in
- Military training age 18
marriage
Athenian Economy

 Economy based on
trade
 Sold: Honey, olive oil,
silver, beautifully
painted pottery 
 Bought: lettuce,
onions, foods,
furniture, clay oil
lamps
Agora: the marketplace where
merchants sold goods
What about
citizenship in
Athens?
Temple for worship and central city
activities

Located on a hill for
Fortification (400 ft)
Sparta

 Dramatically different from Athens
 Emphasis on military power and physical
strength
Life in
Sparta
Spartan
Government
Economy
Click to
see a map
Spartan Map

School Life in Sparta

Boys
Girls
 Boys grew up with one goal: to
be a brave soldier
- Begin training for battle at
age 7, and no retiring from
military training until 60!
- In school, you learned how
to suffer without
complaining
How did life differ
for adults?
 Girls also learned military
training at age 7
- Wrestling
- Boxing
- Racing and gymnastics
Spartan Government

 Oligarchy  The Council of Elders
 2 most important things to the Oligarchs:
 Military power
 Keeping the oligarchy in place
Council of Elders: small group of Spartans who
made all the important governing decisions
-- at least 60 years old
-- Men only
-- Noble heritage/Aristocrats
-- Served for life
Spartan Life

 Simple life – no decorations, plain clothing
 What matters most: Strength, health
Spartan women actually had
more rights than most Greek
women, because husbands
were usually out at war.
Sometimes Spartans declared
war on rebellious, unruly
helots (don’t know what a
helot is yet? Click here).
Women could own property
and marry someone else if
their husband was away for a
long time in war.
Some helots could marry
whomever they wanted, sell
crops, and pass their name
along future generations.
Spartan Economy

 Relied on farming and conquests of other people
 Fertile soil, but not a lot of it
 Took land from neighboring city-states and villages
 Conquered villagers became slaves called helots
 Discouraged trade so that Spartans would not
receive new ideas that could weaken the
government.
If you’re not
Spartan, and you’re
in Sparta…watch out.
Helots and Noncitizens

Helots
 Allowed to live in
own villages
 Give almost all food
grown to Sparta
Non-Citizens
 Free, but not Spartan
 May participate in
military…but no
government.
 Creators of shoes,
soldiers’ cloaks, iron
tools like knives,
spears; pottery
Parting Thoughts

1.
What is a city-state?
2.
How did you see governments in
the city-states?
3.
Who are these two figures in the
picture? By looking at the cartoon
to the left, what predictions can
you make about what will happen
when these cultures interact?