Suggested Lesson Sequence:

 Present the PowerPoint on Sparta and Athens and

have the students take notes from the green boxes
in their note-taking graphic organizers.
 Have the students use the Venn Diagram to further
analyze the similarities and differences between
Athens and Sparta.
 Have the students read the handouts on Athens and
Sparta to generate detailed notes for the graphic
organizers for each city state.
 Present the essay question to the students as a
culminating activity for the mini-lesson. Review the
process for writing an A+ essay.
 Have the students write the essay comparing and
contrasting Athens with Sparta.
Athens Vs. Sparta
Totalitarian Sparta
Totalitarian Sparta

1. Warrior
Warrior society (all
all resources go into
training soldiers).
soldiers
 Totalitarian Sparta

“Spartans are willing to die for their city

because they have no reason to live.” –
Non-Spartan
-

2. Militarism
Militarism – the glorification of military power
power.
Totalitarian Sparta

3. Totalitarianism – government regulates

regulates all
all
aspects of society: (Strict
strict government control =
no personal freedom)
freedom
 Spartan military training
se n Physica
Cho l
l i ve abuse e
to Ign or

Ke p t p ain
g ry
hun
Mili Militar
murd y
scho tary er skills
ol a g
e7
 300 Spartans at
480 B.C.
300,000
Persians
Thespartans
Battlefield today
300

Thermopylae 480 B.C.

Democratic Athens
England 1600’s United States 1776

1. Ancient Athens = 1st Democracy

democracy in history!
Democracy
Athenian Democracy

What’s wrong with this picture?

Direct Democracy – government in which
2. Direct
Male
male citizens participate directly rather than
through elected
electedrepresentatives
representatives .
 It’s a man’s
Right on
world you
Bro!
know!

Aristotle
“The loom is women’s work, not
debate. The man is by nature fitter
for command than the female, just
as an older person is superior to a
younger, more immature person.
-Aristotle

3. Limited
Limited Democracy: Only men
men could participate
participate;
not women or slaves.
 “We alone regard a man who
“Our constitution is called a democracy
takespower
because no interest
is in theinhands
public not of a
affairs,
minoritynot butas
of athe
harmless but
whole people.
When asit aisuseless
a questioncharacter.”
of settling private
disputes, everyone is equal before the
laws. When it is a question of putting
one person before another in positions
of public responsibility, what counts is
not membership of a particular class,
but the ability the man possesses. We
alone regard a man who takes no
interest in public affairs, not as a
harmless but as a useless character.”
-Pericles

Pericles – leader during Athens golden age

4. Pericles
(civilization’s peak
peak).
 Greek “Cultural” Unity

Apollo
zeus Hera
aphrodite

athena

Poseidon

1. Worshipped the same gods.

Greek “Cultural” Unity

2. Greek alphabet.
Greek “Cultural” Unity

3. The Olympic Games.

Greek “Cultural” Unity

The Persians
4. Fear of the Persian Empire.
 Golden age of athens
o so phy Art & architecture science
P h i l
t h e ma tics
literature ma
 ? ?
? ? ?
? ?

Philosophy
Philosophy Greek thinkers used observation
& reason
reason to understand the world
world around them.
Humanism
Humanism – focus on worldly
worldly rather than religious
religious
subjects and the potential of the human
humanmind
mind.
 Socrates
Be skeptical
question
everything and
seek the truth!

“The unexamined life is not worth living”

-Socrates
1. Use logical
logical questioning
questioning and reason
to seek the truth
truth (Socratic Method
Method).
 The de
ath of
socrate
I shall carry out the s
death sentence myself!

2. Tried and sentenced to death for promoting radical

radical
ideas and challenging the government of Athens.
 Plato
Plato
socrates
“Man is of all animals the most divine
and most civilized; but if he be ill-
educated he is the most savage of
earthly creatures.”
-Plato
1. The wisest
wisest and mosteducated
educated individuals
should rule society (anti-democratic).
 Ethics
Aristotle Anatomy
Government Astronomy
Metaphysics Embryology
Politics Physics
Psychology Zoology
Rhetoric Philosophy
Poetry Aesthetics
Mathematics Economics

Multifaceted genius
genius (symbolic of the spirit of humanism
humanism).
Literature

1. Theater, plays and the literary

themes of tragedy
tragedy & comedy
comedy.
2. Homer – Wrote the epic poems
the Odyssey & the Iliad
Iliad.
The Iliad

Troy

Helen
The Odyssey
Art & Architecture

1. Desired beauty & balance

balance in their artwork.
Art & Architecture

Lifelike art – portray the body in perfect

2. Lifelike perfect form.
Art & Architecture

Lincoln
Memorial

3. Parthenon
Parthenon – most famous
famous Greek building
Art & Architecture

3. Parthenon – most famous Greek building

Art & Architecture

3. Parthenon – most famous Greek building

 • Military Society
• Laws Made by an
Assembly • Women • Monarchy With Two Kings
Obey Men
• Trade With Other
• Common •
City-States Girls Trained to be
Language Mothers of Soldiers
• Only Male Citizens • Olympic
Could Vote Games • Trade & Travel
Not Allowed
• Limited Direct • Polythe-
• Military Training
Democracy istic
For Boys
Strive For an A+
Formal Writing! Introduction, Body
Paragraphs and a Conclusion!

This information can be weaved into

your introduction but your intro cannot
be copied word for word! It must be
original!
This part tells you what you need to do
in the body paragraphs! Be the
Historian on this part of the essay. Load
up your paragraphs with as much
historical detail as possible.

Finish with a good conclusion. Restate

the theme of the essay and add your
own final original thoughts/opinion on
the topic!
This part is a final check list for you to
use to make sure that you have done
everything you need to get a 5!
 Suggested Lesson Sequence:
 Present the PowerPoint on Sparta and Athens and
have the student take notes from the green boxes in
their note-taking graphic organizers.
 Have the students use the Venn Diagram to further
analyze the similarities and differences between
Athens and Sparta.
 Have the students read the handouts on Athens and
Sparta to generate detailed notes for the graphic
organizers for each city state.
 Present the essay question to the students as a
culminating activity for the mini-lesson. Review the
process for writing an A+ essay.
 Have the students write the essay comparing and
contrasting Athens with Sparta.
 Note!
The following slides are the student
reproducibles for this mini- lesson!
 Important! Slides 41-48 should be printed as
“portrait” under the design ribbon above
under slide orientation!

 Important! Slides 49-51 should be printed as

“landscape” under the design ribbon above
under slide orientation!
 1. _______ _______ (___ resources go into training
________).
2. __________ – the _____________ of military _____.
3. _______________ – government _________ ___ aspects of
society: (______ government _______ =
no personal _______)

Idiotes!

1. Ancient ______ = 1st _________ in history!

2. ______ Democracy – government in which
____ citizens participate ________ rather than
through _______ _______________.
3. _______ Democracy: Only ___ could ___________; not
4. ________ – leader
women during Athens ___________
or slaves.
 1.

2.

3.

4.
__________ Greek ________ used ___________ & ______ to
understand the _____ around them.
________ – focus on _______ rather than _________ subjects and the
potential of the _____ ____.

1. Use _______ ___________ and ______ to seek the

_____ (Socratic ______).
2. Tried and sentenced to _____ for promoting _______ _____ and
challenging the government of Athens.
Socrates
1. The ______ and most ________ individuals should ____ society
(anti-democratic).

1. Multifaceted ______ (symbolic of the spirit of Plato

________).
Aristotle

1. Theater, plays and the literary themes of

_______ & ______.
2. _____ – Wrote the epic poems the _______ &
the _____.
1. Desired ______ & _______ in their artwork.
2. ________ art – portray the ____ in _______ form.

3. _________ – most ______ Greek building

 EYESReading
ON TEXT
History
Athenian society
Athens was the intellectual center of Greece. It was one of the first city-states of its time, and is
still world renowned as one of the most famous cities in the world. It was named after Athena, the
goddess of wisdom and the city's patron

In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that
he called demokratia, or “rule by the people.” Although this Athenian democracy would survive
for only two centuries, Cleisthenes’ invention was one of ancient Athen’s most enduring
contributions to the modern world. In 508 BC, Athens became one of the first societies in ancient
times to formally establish a democracy. This form of government was used at a meeting place
which the Athenians called the Assembly. Here the citizens of Athens met monthly and discussed
the affairs of state. There were no decisions made by government without first asking the
The ancient Athenians were a unique people. They believed that individuals should be free as
Assembly.
long as they acted within the laws of Athens. This allowed them the opportunity to excel in any
direction they chose. Individuality, as the Athenians viewed it, was the basis of their society. The
ability to strive for excellence, no matter what the challenge, was what the Athenians so dearly
believed in. This strive for excellence was the method from which they achieved such
phenomenal accomplishments. These accomplishments astound us to this day. They also
believed in the balance of mind and body. Although many of them strove to become soldiers and
athletes, others ventured into philosophy, drama, pottery and the arts. The two most important
concepts which the ancient Athenians followed were found inscribed on the great shrine of
Delphi, which read "Nothing in excess" and "Know thyself". This philosophy greatly impacted
Athenian society.
 Spartan society
In sharp contrast to Athens was its rival Sparta. Sparta had not joined the other Greek cities in
trade and colonization but had expanded instead by conquering and enslaving its neighbors. To
guard against revolts by the state slaves (helots), who worked the land for their conquerors,
Sparta deviated from the normal course of Greek political development and transformed itself into
a militaristic totalitarian state.
To this end, the state enforced absolute subordination of the individual to its will. State officials
examined all newborn children, and any found sickly or deformed were abandoned to die.
In ancient Sparta, boys at aged seven years old left their homes and entered the public educational
system to devote the rest of their lives to the state. The goal of this system of education was to
produce a well-drilled military machine composed of soldiers who were "obedient to the word of
command, capable of enduring hardships and victories in battle."

The Spartan system of education was organized by the state and each boy was assigned to a group
known as the agela. They lived in a communal style and were made to undergo a curriculum of
training that was rigorous and often painful. Enormous discipline was placed on these children as
they passed through the hands of teachers, gymnastic coaches and military instructors. The goal
of this program was to produce men who were not only physically fit but psychologically
disciplined. The Spartan male's education did not end till he reached the age of thirty. In this
educational regime, literacy and the arts were not a priority. When they reached the age of eleven,
Spartan boys were moved up to the next level of their education.

Sparta's position in the ancient Greek world was that of the lead member of the Peloponnesian
league. Through most of it's existence, Sparta was engaged in wars with various states including
Persia. By the 6th century BC Sparta was engaged in military excursions in Greece and as well as
Asia Minor. The militaristic culture of Sparta fostered values which emphasized the production of
"strong, violent, disciplined, unquestioning and ruthless young men, and more or less similar
young women" They "prided themselves on brute strength, courage and brevity of speech," and
even their religious festivals were characterized by violent competitions where, though unarmed,
young men were known to be flogged to the point of unconsciousness, and gangs of youths went
at each other with no holds barred.
 Name:________________________________

Venn diagram: Athens v. Sparta

Athens SPARTA
 Athenian society
 Use the Readings, Your Packet and Your Knowledge of
Ancient Greece to Complete the Graphic Organizer!

 Describe and Give Specific Details About the Type of Government that Existed in Ancient Athens:
 ___________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 Describe the Duties of a Citizen  Describe the Values That Were  Describe the Accomplishments
in Athenian Society : Important in Athenian Society: of Athenian Society:

 __________________________  __________________________  __________________________

_ _ _

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

 Spartan society
 Use the Readings, Your Packet and Your Knowledge of
Ancient Greece to Complete the Graphic Organizer!

 Describe and Give Specific Details About the Type of Government that Existed in Ancient Sparta:
 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
_

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
__

 Describe the Duties of a Citizen  Describe the Values That Were  Describe the Accomplishments
in Spartan Society : Important in Spartan Society: of Spartan Society:

 __________________________  __________________________  __________________________

_ _ _

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________

______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________