• Athens is located in a region called Attica. The area borders the Saronic Gulf to the south.

• Athens emerged as the first democracy in the history of the world. Democracy means rule of the people.

• The laws were proposed by the senate. It was made up of 500 citizens.

• The citizens’ assembly, or ekkelesia was made up of citizens who chose to attend.

• The assembly approved or disapproved laws proposed by the senate.

• In ancient Athens, the purpose of education was to produce citizens trained in the arts, to prepare citizens for both peace and war.

• Until the age of 6 or 7, boys were taught at home by their mother or by a male slave.

• Boys attended elementary school from 6 or 7 until they were 13 or 14

• Part of primary school training was gymnastics. The younger boys learned to move gracefully, do calisthenics, and play ball and other games.

• The boys also learned to play the lyre and sing, to count, and to read and write. Literature that was at the heart of their schooling.

• The national epic poems of the Greeks – Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad were a vital part of life for the Athenian people. As soon as their pupils could write, the teachers dictated passages from Homer for them to take down, memorize, and later act on.

• At 13 or 14, the formal education of poorer boys ended and was followed by apprenticeship at a trade.

• The wealthier boys continued their education by studying with philosophers.

• At the age of 18 boys were required to train in the military for two years.

• The men spent their time talking politics and philosophy in the agora, or marketplace.

• They exercised in the athletic fields, performed military duty, and took part in state festivals. Some sat in the assembly or served on juries.

• Girls were not educated in school, but many learned to read and write at home, in the comfort of their courtyard.

• Girls were trained to run the household.

• The women stayed at home, spinning, and weaving, and completing household chores. They never acted as hostesses when their husbands had parties and were never seen in public. Women might attend the theatre and certain religious festivals.

• No one knows for sure, but historians estimate that there were as many as 100, 000 slaves that lived in Athens.

• Most households could not run without slaves. They cooked and served food, tended children, and wove cloth.

“Having knowledge but lacking the

power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.”

- Pericles

Pericles and the Rise of Athens

The ManDemocracyHis Impact

State of life in Athens

• Defeat of the Persians– Influx of wealth, power

• Entered Golden Age 477 - 431 B.C.• Organized the Delian League

– Included nearly 200 city-states– Athens became the center

• A man named Pericles became leader

Pericles

• Born in 495 B.C.• From powerful,

political family• Fought Persians at

Salamis• Intelligent, an

inspiring speaker, and skilled politician

• Soon became a great leader of Athens

Pericles

• Came to power after Cimon ostracized from Athens– Cimon favored

Oligarchic ideals

• Elected strategos - in charge of military– 29 years

• Built walls between Athens and Piraeus

Pericles and Democracy

• Increased number of salaried public officials– Encouraged participation

• Direct democracy evolved– Direct democracy: a form of government in which

citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Democracy in Athens

The Assembly - Ekklesia• Assembly involvement based on attendance• Open to every 18+ male citizen• Responsible for:

– Making executive announcements– Electing some officials– Some legislating (making and passing laws)– Held some trials (this role shifted to courts)

• Ten fixed meetings per year• Voting process

– Speeches addressing both sides of an issue– Vote by hand count, majority rule

The Assembly

The Council (of Five Hundred)

• 500 members– 10 different geographic groups “prytanies”– 50 members from each

• The presidency of the boule rotated monthly between geographic groups– Boule = month, 10 months in their calendar

• Epitastes - selected to run the council meeting, assembly for one single day

The Council (of Five Hundred)

• Responsibilities– Execute wishes of the assembly– Administration of the State: key to treasury,

worked with foreign ambassadors, key to city– Served as an executive committee for the

assembly– Oversaw activity of magistrates– Coordinated activities of various boards– Selected members for its own boards: issues

ranging from religious to naval

• Little ability to pursue own initiatives

The Courts - Dikasteria of Heliaia

• Centered around jury courts, “dikastes” = juror

• Jurors must be 30+ and full citizens

• Large juries– Selected from a

panel of 600 from each tribe

– 6,000 total possible

• Two kinds of suits– Dike -smaller, private suit

• Minimum jury size was 201

– Graphe - large public suit• Minimum jury size was 501

– Really important public suits

• Increased in increments of 500

• Could have thousands of jurors

The Courts

• Jurors under oath• Must represent the

word of the people• People represented

themselves in court• Cases lasted no

more than a day• Could not appeal• Some crimes had

instant punishment

The Impact of Pericles

• Very proud of Athens• Around 444 B.C.

became main ruler• Dominated the Delian

League• His goals:

– Make Athens a naval power

– Make Athens beautiful

Pericles Builds Naval Power

• Used money from Delian League

• Impact of strong Navy:– Safety– Access to trade– Access to resources– Used power to

acquire provinces

Pericles Beautifies Athens

• Sought truth and beauty• Used Delian League money for gold, ivory, marble• Contracted artists, architects, workers

Strengthen Athenian Empire

• Strengthened Athens’ navy– It was the most powerful navy in the

Mediterranean• Athens’ strong navy ensured the safety of its

empire

Glorify Athens• Pericles rebuilt

Athens after the destruction of the Persian Wars

• Built the Parthenon using marble, gold and ivory.

Parthenon• Temple of Athena,

the patron Goddess of Athens

Greek Art• Sculptors tried to

create graceful, strong and perfectly formed art.

• Tried to capture movement and sculpted bodies in what they thought was perfect physical form

• Greek art reflected:– A. Order

– B. Balance

– C. Proportion

• This is why Greek art works are examples of CLASSICAL ART

Greek Art