Sparta and Athens

Tyranny in the City-States  Nobles, who owned large farms, seized power from the Greek kings  Farmers had to borrow money from nobles, and often could not pay back the debt –Farmers lost their land, worked for nobles, sometimes sold into slavery  Unhappy farmers wanted change  rise of tyrants (people who take power by force and rule with total authority)

 Tyrants overthrew nobles during 600s B.C.  Rule of the nobles were cut short because the tyrants had the backing of the common people  Popular- built marketplaces, temples, walls  Greeks didn’t want one person to rule, so oligarchies or democracies were formed –Oligarchy = a form of government in which a few people hold power –Democracy = a form of government in which all citizens share power  Sparta- oligarchy, Athens- democracy

Sparta  To obtain more land, Spartans conquered and enslaved their neighbors, calling them helots  To keep helots from rebelling, they created a strong military of boys and men  Boys entered military at age 7  Age 20- entered regular army and lived in barracks for 10 years  Age 30- returned home but served in the army until age 60

 Spartan girls were trained in sports to become healthy mothers –Were freer than other Greek women (could own property and go where they wanted)

 Spartan government was an oligarchy in which 2 kings headed a council of elders –Council presented laws to an assembly, which voted on the laws –Assembly- all Spartan men over the age of 30  Government kept foreign travelers out  Discouraged its own citizens from traveling so that government could maintain control of the country

Athens  Boys in Athens attended school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic –Played sports, learned to sing and play musical instruments  Girls learned household duties from their mothers –Some wealthy girls learned reading, writing, playing the lyre

 The government of early Athens was an oligarchy  A noble named Solon reformed the Athenian government in 594 B.C. –Canceled debts, freed slaves –Allowed all male citizens to participate in the assembly and law courts –Refused to give away wealthy nobles’ land

 The tyrant Peisistratus seized power 30 years after Solon’s rule –Divided large estates among landless farmers –Loaned money to poor and gave them jobs

 Cleisthenes took power in 508 B.C. –reorganized the assembly so it could play the central role in governing –Created a democracy –Gave the assembly more power (all males citizens could debate matters openly, hear court cases, appoint army generals, vote on laws) –Created a new council (500 citizens) to help the assembly carry out its duties  Members of council were chosen by lottery

Acropolis/ Agora