This quarter we learned about ancient Greece. One of my favorite things we learned about was Sparta. We learned about their military training, women’s rights, the Olympic games, their beliefs, and we also learned about other city-states such as Athens.
In Sparta they had harsh military training. If you were a boy you were tested to see if you would be good in the military. For example, when you were born, if you were sick, or unhealthy in any way the government would take you out of Sparta and leave you in the wilderness to die. Spartans made harsh rules because they did not want a slave riot.
Women in Sparta had more rights than women in other city-states in Greece. One reason was because men were always away at battle, or training for battle. Women in Sparta where more physically fit because when the men were gone the women had to do all of the work. Unlike women from other city-states, Spartan women did not weave. They had to take care of children, clean, cook, and do the jobs that the men would usually do in Sparta.
We learned about the Olympic games. We learned that if you cheated you would be disqualified and your name would be carved into a stone block that would bring your city-state shame for centuries to come. If you won, you would bring great honor and joy to your city-state.
People in ancient Greece thought everything happened because of the gods. For example, if someone drowned, it happened because Poseidon (god of the sea) was upset with he/she and decided to kill them and if there was a storm and men at sea died it was because Poseidon was angry, or he was mad at the sailors. When there was an earthquake it was because Poseidon was in a really bad mood. When there was lightning it was because Zeus was angry, and when your crops grew and flowers bloomed it was because of Persephone and Demeter.
Finally, we learned about government in Athens. Early Athens was an oligarchy. An oligarchy is a group ruled by few people. Later in time a tyrant named Peisistratus over ruled the oligarchy and it eventually was ruled in tyranny. Finally around 500 BC Athens became a democracy. Democracy means the city state was ruled by the people. In their democracy they voted with pieces of broken pottery. To keep their city-state safe every so often everyone took a piece of broken pottery and carved down someone’s name and whoever’s name came up the most would be vanished. I know, doesn’t it sound so harsh! Well if I had a city-state, guess I would do what ever it takes to keep safe.
