Ancient Greece

Greek City-States The central focus of Greek life and society was the polis

Polis = Greek city-state . community of people with a common identity and common goals Each polis developed independently of its

neighbors, own form of gov’t , laws, and customs Acropolis = fortified gathering place at the top of a

hill which was sometimes the site of temples and public buildings

Agora = an open area that served as a gathering place and as a market

Greeks were fiercely loyal to their polis and regarded themselves not as Greeks, but as members of a particular city-state

Make-up of a polis: Citizens who had political rights = adult males Citizens who had no political rights = women and

children Non-citizens = slaves and foreigners

Some cities develop democracy = gov’t by the people or rule by the many

Other city-states develop an oligarchy = rule by the few

New military system develops Based on hoplites = heavily armed foot soldiers Carried a round shield, short sword, and a

thrusting spear Formed a phalanx for protection

Phalanx = a wall of shields created by foot soldiers marching close together in rectangular formation

Greek colonies established, one of the most famous being Byzantium Spread of cultural and political ideas

Two prominent city-states emerge

Athens First ruled by kings, then aristocrats

Economy was largely based on farming and trade

Cleisthenes creates the foundation of Athenian democracy (world’s first democracy)

Standards for voting = must be a free male over the age of 20 who has completed military training and owns land - Accounts for 10% of the population

Duties of people allowed to vote: Vote in all elections and serve in office if elected Serve on juries and in the military during war

Athenian democracy consisted of three main bodies

1. Council of Five Hundred who proposed laws that would be voted on by the Assembly and supervised both foreign affairs and the treasury

2. Complex series of courts

3. Athenian Assembly – composed of all male citizens who were eligible to take part in the gov’t This assembly voted on and passed the laws Direct democracy = people participate directly in

gov’t decision making and vote directly on an issue

Family – primary function was to produce new citizens

Men – Were educated (started at age 6), discussed politics, sold things in the market, went to plays, tended their land (with the help of their slaves)

Women - could not own property and always had a male guardian when out. Were not educated Chief obligation was to have

children Were expected to stay at home

and out of sight, unless attending religious festivals or funerals

Sparta Located on the Peloponnesus, the large peninsula

of southern Greece

Like most city-states, Sparta needed more land, so they conquered neighboring peoples instead of starting new colonies The Spartans turned these conquered peoples

into helots = state slaves The helots were given to Spartan citizens to

work on farms Spartans were now free to spend all their time

training for war

Government structure Was an oligarchy headed by two kings who led the

army on its campaigns1. Ephors – a group of five men elected each year

Responsible for the conduct of all citizens and education

2. Council of Elders – composed of the two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60

Decided the issues that would be presented to the assembly

3. Assembly of male citizens – voted on the issues

Foreigners were discouraged from visiting and Spartans were not allowed to travel abroad

Kept out dangerous ideas and discouraged new thoughts

Spartans decide to create a military state to keep control over the helots

Helots outnumbered Spartan citizens by 7 to 1

Life in Sparta was rigidly organized Babies were examined at birth and if they were

found to be weak, they were put to death

Men Taught physical toughness by parents until age seven They then entered a school system designed to teach

them combat At the end of their training, boys were sent into

the wilderness and expected to survive At age 20 the boys became hoplites in the Spartan

army Allowed to marry, but had to live in barracks until

age 30 Could now live their own lives, but expected to

fight with the army when needed Allowed to vote in the assembly at age 30, retired

from the army at age 60

Women Expected to exercise and raise healthy children

Had greater freedom and power in the household due to separation from their husbands

Could own property Married - late teens-20 Wives would say to their husbands –

Come back with your shield or come back on it

WHY SPARTAN WOMEN WERE MORE DOMINANT IN SOCIETY THAN THEIR ATHENIAN SISTERS

Girls were given a good education in both the arts and athletics.

Women were encouraged to develop their intellect. Women owned more than a third of the land. There was less difference in age between husbands

and wives, and girls in Sparta married at a later age than their sisters in Athens.

Husbands spent most of their time with other men in the military barracks; since the men were rarely home, the women were free to take charge of almost everything outside of the army.

Mothers reared their sons until age 7 and then society took over. Fathers played little or no role in child care.