Untitled Flashcards Set

Greeks City-States Athens vs. Sparta

Rise of the city-state

• BY 750 BCE, the city state was the political unit of Greece

• Polis-city-state

• Made up of a city and its surrounding villages

• Acropolis-Hilltop

• Agora-Marketplace

Political Systems

• Monarchy-ruled by a single person (a king)

• Aristocracy-ruled by a small group of noble, land owning families 

• Oligarchy-a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution

Athens

• Name comes from goddess Athena

• Originally, a monarchy then a democracy

• Assembly-where aristocracy made laws

• Where an aristocracy before democracy

• Athenian democratic system became foundation for modern democracies

• Direct democracy-people vote on everything

Era of Tyrants

• Clashes over power were very common

• Tyrants-Powerful individuals who would seize control by appealing to the common man

Citizenship in Athens

• Only FREE ADULT MALE PROPERTY OWNERs who were BORN IN ATHENS were citizens

  • Had political rights and responsibility of civic participation in government

• Woman and foreign citizens did not have many rights

Education

• Only wealthy sons received formal education ages 7-18

• Studied grammar, poetry, history, math, and music

• Also trained in logic and rhetoric-public speaking

• Athletics

• Military school

• No school for girls

• Taught by mother/women

• Learned child-rearing, weaving cloth, cooking, managing the house, etc. 

• A few learned to read and write

Sparta

• Located on the Peloponnesus 

• Cut off from most of Greece by the Strait of Corinth

• Helots-peasants forced to work on the land

• Council of 30 elders

• Two generals ran the military (called kings)

Spartan Society

• Social order made up of several groups

  • 1st-descendents of original inhabitants

  • 2nds noncitizens who were free-commerce and traders

  • 3rd-helots (conquered and enslaved people)