Athens and Sparta

The hill above a Greek city on which temples are built.

A marketplace in ancient Greece.

The temple built on the acropolis above Athens, honoring the goddess Athena.

A long, narrow body of water between Europe and Asia.

Sparta

Athens

Sparta

Athens

Sparta

Athens

Sparta

Athens

Hellespont

Crete

Persian Empire

Peloponnesus

Council of Athens

Council of 500

Council of Congress

Council of Elders

Council of 500

Council of Congress

Council of Sparta

Council of Elders

Athens was ruled by a king.

Athens was ruled by strong military leaders.

Only a few Athenians held all the power.

Every citizen in Athens had the right to vote and speak at the assembly.

Sparta was ruled by a king who was viewed as their leader for government and religion.

Sparta was ruled by an exclusive group of elders.

Sparta allowed all men and women to vote on the issues.

Sparta elected officials to make decisions for them.

Athenians traded with other city-states to get all they needed.

Athenians were hunter-gatherers and obtained everything they needed from the land.

Athenians would force weaker city-states into giving them what they needed.

Athenians grew most of what they needed.

Spartans were known for extensive travel across the Mediterranean and often traded with cities in North Africa.

Spartans discovered gold on the Peloponnesus and used it to purchase goods from the Athenians.

Spartans got everything they needed from the sea.

Sparta had fertile soil so they relied heavily on farming.

Athenians believed the purpose of education was to produce both men and women who were capable of protecting Athens, so boys and girls both received a similar, militaristic education.

Athenians believed only the wealthy were capable of running a democracy. Therefore, boys and girls from the upper class received a private education while others were not allowed to be educated.

Athenians believed boys needed both a healthy mind and body, so book learning and physical training were equally important. Girls received very little education because they could not become citizens.

Athenians viewed children much like slaves and few received any education. Those that did, earned money as they got older and paid for their own private education.

While boys and girls were taught to read and write, those skills were not considered as important as military skills. Girls were taught to wrestle, box, run, and do gymnastics while boys received extensive military training starting at age 7.

Starting at a young age, families wealthy enough to own slaves would have their children educated in the home by one of their slaves. Most of the focus was on physical education.

Boys were taught in their homes by their mothers starting at age 7. Reading, writing, math and the arts were all important. Because girls could not become citizens, they were not allowed to learn to read or write.

Both boys and girls were taught reading, writing, math and the arts in their homes until around age 12. At this point boys were taken from their homes and began receiving extensive military training for the next six years.

While there were many slaves with no rights in Athens, women were treated as equals to men, which was uncommon for the ancient world.

Women and slaves were not viewed as equals to men but did have many rights and through hard work could move up in social classes.

Women and slaves were not considered citizens and had very few rights.

Slavery was illegal in Athens but women had very few rights and were not considered citizens.