Athens v. Sparta
Γ The Greek Polis: Comparing Athens & Sparta
OVERVIEW: You have been assigned a partner. One of you will read about Sparta, one will read about Athens. Together, you will compare these two city-sates of Ancient Greece.
DIRECTIONS: As you read your article, fill in the chart below. Then share the information with your partner. When you’re done, you should have a completed chart. Next, write a 2-minute skit that shows both the similarities and differences between Athens and Sparta. You will share these with the class tomorrow.
FOR HOMEWORK: Draw a political cartoon that makes a statement about the relationship between Athens and Sparta.
| |ATHENS♦ |SPARTA� |
|What kind of government did | | |
|this polis have – oligarchy, | | |
|monarchy, democracy or a | | |
|combination? | | |
|What role do citizens play in | | |
|the government? | | |
|How does education in this | | |
|polis reflect what’s important | | |
|in the polis? | | |
| | | |
|What is the polis’ attitude | | |
|towards outsiders? Why? | | |
Γ The Greek Polis - Sparta
As trade and population increased in the years 800-500 BCE, growth centered on the many small city-states that had emerged across Greece. The Greeks called each city-state a polis. A polis consisted of a city as well as the agricultural lands surrounding it. Each polis had its own government and al the inhabitants of the territory of the polis were expected to obey its laws and leaders. The city was the center of all political, social and economic activity. Citizenship often had to be earned. It was not enough to simply be born in a polis.
Suppose this was your life: you have only one garment to wear, going barefoot even in the winter, you sleep on a homemade bed of reeds, you eat little, and what you do eat is unappetizing, you must always walk in silence with your eyes to the ground, and you receive regular whippings in public in order to prove your toughness. Suppose that because your infant brother happened to be sickly, the helpless baby was left to die, uncared for, on a mountainside. Suppose that from the age of seven you lived in an army school where you spent day after day drilling and singing military songs. Suppose that punishments were handed out not for stealing, but for getting caught. Such would be your life, if you were a boy, in the aggressive military state of Sparta. In Sparta, schools stressed courage, endurance and absolute obedience.
Spartan men had their lives mapped out for them by the government. At age twenty, a Spartan was a fully trained soldier. At thirty, he was considered an active citizen and a member of the lawmaking body. He was then required to get married and raise a family to serve the government. Even then he had to eat in the army mess hall rather than at home. If he were not killed in battle by his sixtieth birthday, he was then permitted to enjoy home life.
Spartan Women Hang Tough
According to a Spartan legend, a Spartan woman had five of her sons killed in a single battle. When this news was broken to her, she said, “All I want to know is: did Sparta win?” This indicates how Spartan women had also been trained to consider their personal feelings less important than the welfare of the state. Spartan girls were taught to wrestle, hurdle, and throw the spear and discus. The purpose of this health education was to develop mothers who would bear strong children, who in turn would grow up to be strong soldiers. Spartan women were not allowed to vote. However, in most other respects, they enjoyed equality with men. They could own property in their own names, even after marriage.
Spartan Government: Balancing Power
Sparta was ruled by an Assembly, made up of all male Spartan citizens over the age of thirty. The Assembly elected officials and voted on proposed laws. The Assembly was not allowed to debate issues. A Council of Elders, chosen for life by the Assembly, proposed all the laws and policies on which the Assembly voted. The Council of Elders had the following members:
2 Kings, whose positions were inherited and who served as commanders and judges
28 other leading citizens over the age of sixty, who had distinguished themselves as soldiers
There was also a body of 5 Ephors, or overseers, who were elected by the Assembly each year. The Ephors could reprimand a king or Elder, punish anyone in the polis, and conduct foreign policy.
The Spartan government was designed to discourage change, since unanimous agreement between the Assembly, Council of Elders and Ephors was required for any major action.
A Very Focused Society
Spartans feared that contact with any outside people would weaken obedience and discipline. Therefore, Spartan citizens were not permitted to travel and foreign visitors were discouraged. Spartans came to have a contempt for trade and industry. The self-satisfied Spartans felt that they had nothing to learn from other people. Nor did they encourage independent thinking or new ideas among their own people.
Spartans were trained to reject all luxuries and pleasures that might distract their attention from the goal of achieving military superiority. Even to this day, people who live simple and self-disciplined lifestyles are referred to as “Spartan”. From the Spartan point of view, poetry or philosophy was of little value unless it helped one become a well-trained, disciplined soldier.
Those Crazy Helots
In ancient Sparta the soldiers were the highest class. The soldier-citizens of Sparta owned all the land and did most of the fighting, but none of the work. There was a middle class called freemen, who were not citizens of Sparta but lived there and carried on the trade and industry the soldier-citizens thought beneath them. The lowest class of helots, or government-owned slaves, worked the farms of the soldiers. Helots were badly treated and often rebelled. This posed a great danger, since helots outnumbered soldier-citizens. All rebellions were savagely crushed. Government spies roamed the country at night, murdering any suspicious helots. Any helot who showed signs of leadership or military skill was publicly executed.
This demanding type of society helped Sparta’s army become the main military power in Greece. The Spartans were the head of the Peloponnesian League, a military alliance of Greek city-states not unlike NATO. The goals of the society were very clear, and there was little crime or other civil strife.
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Γ The Greek Polis - Athens
As trade and population increased in the years 800-500 BCE, growth centered on the many small city-states that had emerged across Greece. The Greeks called each city-state a polis. A polis consisted of a city as well as the agricultural lands surrounding it. Each polis had its own government and al the inhabitants of the territory of the polis were expected to obey its laws and leaders. The city was the center of all political, social and economic activity. Citizenship often had to be earned. It was not enough to simply be born in a polis.
This particular moment in history shows that there are still some people out there who don’t like democracy. We take it pretty much for granted, and accept democracy as the best and only way to run a country. But it’s taken a long, long time for the idea of democracy to catch on. Athens was the first place to give it a try.
An International City
Athens had long had a history as a commercial center. Traders from all over the Mediterranean world stopped at Athens to do business, see a play, hear a speech, see some impressive architecture or get a good meal. Athens welcomed traders, merchants and travelers from all over the world, and embraced new ideas and arts.
Every Athenian Citizen a Lawmaker
Athenian citizens had come to realize that if a person wants good government, he must take an active part in it himself. Forty times a year, about five thousand Athenian citizens – every male citizen over the age of twenty - met in an enormous open-air assembly to make laws. The lawmaking body, called the Assembly, was the heart of the Athenian government. In it, any citizen could speak. In order to get the floor and hold it, however, he had to be a good speaker. He could not afford to be sensitive – the audience was perfectly happy to boo and heckle a poor speaker. After a debate, the citizens voted. If the majority favored the bill or proposal, it became a law.
In Athens a body called the Council of Five Hundred proposed laws for the Assembly to discuss. Candidates for membership in the Council of Five Hundred were picked at random, like in a lottery drawing.
Every Athenian citizen had the opportunity to hold a government job or serve as a juror. Athenian courts were not unlike our own – each side would tell their story, and then each juror would cast a vote. If no one believed the accused, then he was punished. Unlike our system, the accuser could be punished if no one on the jury believed him. This discouraged false charges.
Athens: City of Smarties
The many opportunities given to Athenian citizens to participate in their government made Athens strong. Knowledge of government increased. Athenian citizens were willing to assume duties to make their government better. Wealthy citizens were glad to contribute their own money to pay for government buildings, theaters, temples, schools and warships. Call it pride of ownership: the Athenians wanted Athens to be the best.
Education in Athens set the standard for the kind of education you get now. Because the success of Athens depended on the wisdom and speaking ability of each citizen, boys were taught language and speaking skills from a young age. Male tutors would teach small groups of boys math and music skills. The cornerstone of Athenian literary knowledge were the works of Homer and Hesiod – boys would be expected to memorize long passages from the Iliad, Odyssey and other works. Physical education was also important for the health of the future of Athens.
The emphasis on knowledge and expression made Athens famous. Philosophers like Plato, Socrates and Aristotle taught in Athens.
Athenian women, since they could not participate in government, received almost no education. Their husbands were selected for them. They were not even permitted to accompany their husbands to parties. Nor could they inherit property.
For Citizens Only
Most people in Athens were not citizens. Only those who could trace their Athenian ancestry far, far back could claim to be citizens. Non-citizens included slaves and foreigners, and those whose ancestry was not quite pure. Only citizens could participate in government, vote or bring a case to court. Each year the Athenian Assembly had the opportunity to vote to ostracize somebody, which meant that anyone who was thought to be a threat to democracy or Athens could have his citizenship taken way.
This led to some pretty tough prejudices. Athenian law recognized slavery. Since slaves were there to do the work, many Athenians began to feel contempt for labor. Even some famous Athenian philosophers justified slavery. To them the less intelligent people were born to serve the more intelligent. They believed that the barbarian (by which they meant stranger or foreigner) was born to serve the native Athenian. These men had little faith in the masses of people. To them only Athenian citizens were capable of ruling.
Although the spirit of democracy existed in Athens, and along with it advances in education and the arts, there was still a long way to go.
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