Where would you rather have been?

To view our movie on Athens V.S. Sparta, click HERE!

A View on Athens

By Samira Akrouk

Ancient Athens is very interesting. There are many things to study like: their government, armies, women’s rights, education, culture, way of living, and economy. In this report I will talk about all of these different topics.

To start off, Athens is located in Attic, which is just north of the Peloponnese. The government was evolved from a monarchy into an aristocracy. Under the aristocracy, Athenian wealth and power grew. Merchants and soldiers resented power of the nobles.

Solon, a wise trusted leader in 594B.C., was a chief official. He outlawed debt slavery and freed those who had already been sold into slavery for debt. He also opened high offices to more citizens, granted citizenship to some foreigners, and gave the Athenian assembly more say in important decisions. Finally, he introduced economic reforms as well.

The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus seized power in 546B.C. He helped formers by giving them loans and land taken from nobles. In 507B.C. Clesisthenus, broadened the role ordinary citizens in governments. He made the assembly a genuine legislature.

Athenian democracy was quite limited. Only male citizens could participate in government. Ten of thousands were slaves who had no political rights or personal freedom.

The women had it pretty hard. They had no share in public life. Aristotle saw women as imperfect beings who lacked the ability to reason as well as men. In the home women had a scheduled existence. They managed the entire household, which ment they spun and wove, cared for the children and prepared the food. The slaves or children were sent to buy food and to fetch water from the public well. Poorer women worked outside the home, tending sheep or working as spinners, weavers or potters.

Sparta

By Ian Wolf

The Spartans were Dorians who conquered Laconia, an ancient region in Peloponnesus.  Sparta lies in the Peloponnesus, the southern part of Greece.  The Helots, who were state-owned slaves, greatly outnumbered their rulers, forcing the Spartans to set up a brutal system of strict control.

Their government included two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs.  An assembly made up of all citizens approved major decisions.  The assembly also elected five ephors, who were offcials that held the real power and ran day-to-day affairs.

In Sparta’s way of life, citizens were male, native-born Spartans over the age of 30.  At the beginning of childhood, Spartans should be prepared to be part of a military state.  Their are officials that examine every newborn child.  If there are sickly children, they were abandoned to die at birth.  They were needed to be healthy in order for them to become soldiers.  Young boys, at the age of seven, started to train for a lifetime in the military.  To develop cleverness and supplement their diet, they were even told to steal food, but of they were caught, they were severely beaten.  A man would be able to marry at the age of 20. And at the age of 30, he would take his place in the assembly, after further specialized training.

Women were expected to produce healthy sons for the army, being told to exercise and strengthen their bodies.  They had to obey their fathers or husbands. Under Spartan law, they had the right to inherit property.  They also took responsibilities such as running the family’s estates.