1. ANCIENT
CULTURES
Athens and Sparta
Maram Khatib
Dania Aburouss

2. ATHENS:
 the capital and largest city of Greece, it is one of the
world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around
3,400 years. It is widely referred to as the cradle of
Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy ,
largely due to the impact of its cultural and political
achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the
rest of the then known European continent .
Athens was the host city of the first modern-day
Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it
welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics.

4. Religion:
Ancient Greek theology was based on
polytheism ; that is, the assumption that
there were many gods and goddesses.
There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus,
the king of the gods, having a level of
control over all the others, although he was
not omnipotent. While being immortal, the
gods were not all powerful. They had to
obey fate, which overrode all.

5. Macedonian era:
 After the Golden Age, in 431 BC Sparta declared
war on Athens and after many years of fighting,
Athens was finally defeated. The Peloponnesian War,
as it was called, had weakened most of Greece,
enabling Philip II of Macedonia to subdue the
majority of the Greek states, including Attica. Later,
Philip's son, Alexander the Great consolidated all
of Greece and established his empire, conquering
areas in Africa and the East, spreading the Greek
language and culture. During Alexander's reign,
Athens remained an intellectual center.

6. SPARTAN LIFESTYLE:
 Spartan boys were sent to military school at age 6 or 7. They
lived, trained and slept in the barracks of their brotherhood. They
were taught survival skills and other skills necessary to be a great
soldier.
 Although students were taught to read and write, those skills were
not very important to the ancient Spartans. Only warfare mattered.
 The boys were not fed well, and were told that it was fine to steal
food as long as they did not get caught stealing. If they were
caught, they were beaten. The boys marched without shoes to
make them stronger.
 Somewhere between the age of 18-20, Spartan males had to
pass a difficult test of fitness, military ability, and leadership
skills. Any Spartan male who did not pass these examinations
became a perioikos.

7.  If they passed, they became a full citizen and a Spartan soldier.
 Spartan citizens were not allowed to touch money. That was the
job of the middle class.
 Spartan soldiers spent most of their lives with their fellow
soldiers. They ate, slept, and continued to train in their
brotherhood barracks. Even if they were married, they did not live
with their wives and families. They lived in the barracks.
 Military service did not end until a Spartan male reached the age
of 60. At age 60, a Spartan soldier could retire and live in their
home with their family.
 Known to be descendants of Hercules himself the Spartans had
warrior in their blood.

8. EDUCATION OF ATHENIANS:
• Purpose:
The Athenians wanted their sons to have a "rounded"
education so that they would know something about a wide
range of subjects and be able to "appreciate" many things.
They were not concerned with specialization or preparation for
any specific job.
• Schools:
- most boys went to school roughly from age 7 to age 14 (girls
stayed at home and learned the skills of housekeeping and
motherhood, but some families hired private tutors to educate their
daughters – there were some very well educated Athenian women)

9. • All schools were private schools - parents had to pay to send
their children to school but the fees were so low that even
poor citizens could usually afford to have their sons educated
and most did so because they valued education .
• The academic part of the school day began at dawn and lasted until
about noon .
• Teachers were often retired military men - discipline was
strict, beatings were given not only for misbehaviour but also
for careless mistakes
• Boys were mostly accompanied to and from school by an educated and trusted
slave called a PEDAGOGUE, whose job it was to protect the young man from
undesirables, help him to choose good friends and oversee his behavior and his
progress in class (the slaves sat at the back of the class and observed) .

10. • The three main subjects that they studied
were: Grammar, music and Gymnastics.
• After the young man finished his basic education,
he might go for higher education to one of the
schools of philosophers or the sophists.
• From the ages 18 to 20, all able-bodied Athenian
youths were to take military training for the army or
navy. Athens was justifiably known as the "School of
Hellas" (Greece) because of their high standard of
knowledge and respect for education.

13. GOVERNMENT IN SPARTA:
 Sparta had two kings, who came from two different families. But these
monarchs did not have absolute power. They shared power with each
other, and they also had to answer to council of elders.
 They were all male citizens over the age of sixty. There were twenty-eight
of them. These elders were elected and they served for life.
 Below them comes the assembly, which consisted of all male citizens over
the age of thirty. They voted on proposals that originated in the council of
elders.
 To complete the system of checks and balances, the Spartans created a
judicial position called ephor. At any given time, there were five citizens
serving in this role. Ephors were citizens over the age of thirty. They were
elected to serve one-year terms. An ephor could bring charges against
anyone in Sparta—including one the city-state’s kings.

14.  Sparta was therefore not as much of a totalitarian state. Sparta’s
elaborate system of checks and balances prevented any one individual
from becoming absolute dictator over the polis. This did not make
Sparta any less absolutist—but at least it was not a one-man
dictatorship.
 The government enforced various isolationist measures. Foreigners
were discouraged from visiting Sparta. Outsiders would likely bring
ideas that could upset the Spartan system.
 The Spartan government also discouraged pursuits that
had no direct relationship to the military. As a result, the
Spartans did not make significant achievements in art,
literature, and philosophy. Nor did they leave much
architecture. The Spartan leadership regarded most aspects
of culture as frivolous and possibly corrupting.

15. IN ATHENS:
Only in Athens, and only for a short time, "rule by many"
meant that all citizens had to be willing to take an active part
in government. That was the law.
Each year, 500 names were drawn from all the citizens of
Athens. Those 500 citizens had to serve for one year as the
law makers of ancient Athens.
All citizens of Athens were required to vote on any new law
that this body of 500 citizens created. One man, one vote,
majority ruled. Women, children, and slaves were not
citizens, and thus could not vote.

16. SPARTAN AND ATHENIAN WOMEN:
 "With it or on it." We've all heard that Spartan mothers
said it while giving their sons shields before their first
battle. With it = victorious hero; on it = fallen hero;
without it = coward.

17. 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.