Saturday, September 24, 2011

Athens vs. Sparta

Ok, so we have examined the Persian empire (and don't worry, we will recap on Monday!)...now we are going to take a look at those crazy city-states that eventually brought an end to the great Persians!


Do a web search on the differences and similarities between the two major Greek city-states...Athens and Sparta.  I am not including any videos for this assignment, but you are more than welcome to view YouTube videos on Athens and Sparta!  Be prepared to give information for each city-state for the following topics:  location and population, government and political organization, social structure, allies, military strength, lifestyles and values, education, role of women, and cultural achievements and legacy.  Be prepared to fill out the following chart!


Put the answers in the blanks. Note: Some may be found in both.ATHENSSPARTA
Which had the largest Population?
GovernmentWhich was a limited democracy?
Which was a military oligarchy?
Which had two kings?
Which had an assembly?
Social StructureWhich had citizens as the upper class?
Which had foreigners as a working class?
Which had slaves?
AlliesWhich was the leader of the Delian League?
Which was the leader of the Peloponnesian League?
Military strengthsWhich had the strongest navy? Which had the strongest army on land?
Life style and valuesWhich had militaristic values? Which had democratic values?
Role of womenWhich limited women's role in politics? Which gave the most freedom to women?
EducationWhich valued choral dance and music?
Which valued athletics?
Which gave more education to girls?
Which gave the most education to boys?
Cultural achievements and legacy - what are the achievements and the legacy of each?
Other

After researching this information..you will need to respond to the following questions...

1.  Discuss the conclusions that you came to regarding the comparison chart.


2.  Based on the advantages and disadvantages of different social roles in each city-state (ex. noble, women, boys, girls, peasants, slaves, etc)..which city-state would you prefer to live in?  Why?  Give examples to back up your decision!  


3.  As always...after you respond...you will need to read another student's comment and then respond to their comment!


Good Luck!
Mrs. Russell :)

10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. 1. Spartan and Athenian society were very different in many aspects. However, at the same time, the two shared a myriad of characteristics in common. The differences are what set the two apart, while the things they shared in common are what united them as Greek city-states. Sparta and Athens shared similarities and differences in their systems of government, militaristic focuses, judgment and views of women. In addition to this, the social gatherings of Athenians and Spartans both had affinities and contrasts.

    There was a drastic difference in the cultures of the two cities. Sparta became a military stronghold by emphasizing only on expanding their power and gaining control over other kingdoms while the Athenians grew in the fields of infrastructure and culture in the ancient times. The Spartan belief of total loyalty to the state was sole reason for their existence while the Athenians believed in the fair share of the power for the people. However there were some things in Athens and Sparta which had a striking similarity such as the worship of Greek gods and goddesses and the bravery on the war-front.

    Overall some of the major differences were that women were treated equally in Sparta and heavily judged on beauty in Athens, and the fact that Sparta was more of a military-oriented culture while Athens was based on economics and cultural growth.

    2. I would prefer to have been born in Athens rather than Sparta due to the fact that it is more similar to today's culture than Sparta. If I had to move to either ancient civilization from here in the present times, however, I would no doubt pick Sparta for the sole reason that I enjoy drastic changes and being immersed in new environments.


    Posted by Anton Bartusov
    (this is the re-written version of my first answer to this prompt)

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  3. Some of the major differences between Athens and Sparta would be the different types of government, life style and values, role of women, and education.
    Athens was a limited democracy while Sparta was a military oligarchy that had two kings. Sparta had militaristic values while Athens had democratic values. The major difference, and reason why I would rather had lived in Sparta, would be because of the difference in the way women were treated. In Sparta women had freedom and were able to own land as well as attend school for a good education. Athens didn't allow any freedom to the women living there. Athens forced a strong education on boys while Sparta gave more education to girls while allowing the men to train for the army, which happened to be the strongest army on land at the time.
    Based on all this information, I would much rather live in Sparta, obviously there are things I would disagree with but the most important aspect of life to me is freedom. Therefore, I would rather live in Sparta where women were free to much more than most Greek women back in those times. I would still have the opportunity to get a good education and live a pretty basic, simple life.

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  4. athens and sparta had diffrent view in life. sparta believing in war as there strong hold. and athens believed you can have a choice in life and maybe persue a diffrent life style. but the closest to common thing was the freedom between the woman. the only diffrence was sparta woman were free from chores and athens woman were not.

    but if i were to choose a place to live it would be hard cause sparta seem like more pride and honor, and thats why your born a soldier. but then athens let you chose the way you wish to live....but i chose SPARTA!!!!!ahhhwooo!ahwooo

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  5. Anton- I wouldn't necessarily say that women were treated equally in Sparta. They had much more rights, but they definitely were not treated equally. They weren’t able to vote and were still expected to pretty much do as they were told by their husband’s.

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  6. Athens and sparta have similarities and differences. They were both city states in ancient greece. Athens had more of a population. however,women had less freedom than sparta,. the women in sparta were made to be fit like men. Women in athens took no part in politics - usama

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  7. There are many differences between the Athens and the Spartas. Which had the largest Population?
    GovernmentWhich was a limited democracy?
    Which was a military oligarchy?
    Which had two kings?
    Which had an assembly?

    Social StructureWhich had citizens as the upper class?
    Which had foreigners as a working class?
    Which had slaves?

    AlliesWhich was the leader of the Delian League?
    Which was the leader of the Peloponnesian League?

    Military strengthsWhich had the strongest navy? Which had the strongest army on land?

    Life style and valuesWhich had militaristic values? Which had democratic values?

    Role of womenWhich limited women's role in politics? Which gave the most freedom to women?

    Education Which valued choral dance and music?
    Which valued athletics?
    Which gave more education to girls?
    Which gave the most education to boys?

    Cultural achievements and legacy - what are the achievements and the legacy of each?
    Other

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  8. There are many differences between the Athens and the Spartas.Athens military had the srongest navy.And Sparta had a strong ary to protect them selves from helots (slaves). They were both much educated Athens education was very much more important.It had a much more formal education. Sparta had military training services.The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits.Sparta,was recognized for its military strength.. At age of seven, all Spartan males entered a military school.They also learned toughness,discipline and tthe tolerance of pain.At age twenty, men entered the military. At this point, the young Spartan might became a hoi homoioi, or a "Similar", one of the "warrior elite", If hhe was accepted into a certain unit.. At age thirty, although still in the military, a Spartan man was allowed to live at home, with his wife and family. In the Athenian military, a soldier's rank was decided by his social or economic status before he entered the army.Athenian women were forced to stay indoors at all times.They were controlled by their fathers through childhood and by their husbands after marriage.They spent their time managing the household and slaves. They did not get to learn how to read.They were only allowed to leave the house to attend certain religious festivals. Spartan women led a free life and were allowed to leave their houses. They were required by state policy to have an academic and physical education.
    Physical training helped prepare them for having healthy children. If a woman's husband did not accept her baby because of its weakness or deformity, the child was left to die outside the city.

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  9. I disagree very much with osama because spartan women were more free that athenian women nbecause they accually got to go outside and do things while athenian women did not they had a little freedom thay had to stay inside all day lond and be bored.

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  10. There are many differences between the Spartas and the Athens. The Athens has person to run their whole empire while the Spartas have two kings to run their empire. Also when the spartains beat their opponent they take their slaves and make them their own slaves. But the Athens dont capture or have slaves at all. The Spartas treat their women good they give the women more freedom than the Athen but the Athens limited their women right alot.

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