Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome
THE ACE OF GREECE Ancient Greece was an area but never one nation The people lived in city states that were independent and were often at war with each other Although they were sometimes competitive all the city states shared the same language and customs Because of the rugged land most people settled in river valleys or along the coast In time the population grew too large for the food supply so Greek city states began to set up colonies in other places Greeks sailed around the Mediterranean Sea in search of locations for new settlements A landless Greek could go to a colony and become a landowner Others just wanted to go for the adven ture The colonists took a sacred flame from the hearth of the city state When the new colony was built and secure it broke ties with the city state Two city states became the most important and powerful Sparta and Athens They were both homes to Greek citizens who spoke the same language wor shipped the same gods and were located only one hundred miles apart Yet life was very different in these two city
MAP OF ANCIENT GREECE Macedonia Mr Olympus baris Crotone Delphi Athens Carthage Sicily A Sparta Rhodes Africa Crete Mediterranean Sea ANCIENT CREECE SPARTA People in Sparta wanted order and stability Nearly every part of life was controlled by the law and the city state was ruled by kings Most Spartan citizens didn't work they lived off the proceeds from the pub lic lands worked by slaves and noncitizens At about age six children were sent to live in training bar racks Boys learned military arts and virtues like dis cipline obedience toughness and endurance Girls learned things they needed to know to run a home and take care of a family when they grew up Girls also spent a lot of energy on sports and athletics Spartans wanted girls to be strong so they would bear strong children When boys reached the age of
twenty they entered the army They could marry but they couldn't go live with their wives and families until age thirty At thirty they earned the right to vote in the assembly They served in the Spartan army until about age sixty Spartans ate simple foods black broth and mush They wore simple plain clothing unless going into battle when they wore a scarlet tunic and a polished bronze helmet Spartans were forbidden to work in stores or trade and couldn't make crafts or art because they needed to spend their efforts keeping fit and strong No other army ever entered Spartan territory They were the best soldiers anywhere ATHENS The citizens of Athens enjoyed freedom and liked change and creative living They didn't work much either having slaves do everything Athens received profits from silver mines outside the city so few citi zens had to worry about money Citizens were paid to serve on court juries or hold elected office Atheni ans loved going to the theater to see plays and pageants The government paid admission for the poor so everyone could attend Athens had an army but it was nothing like the Spartan army Athens also had a big navy with more than two hundred ships Citizens were paid to be in the navy
Citizens of Athens voted for their government offi cials Aristotle was an Athenian who thought that the system of voting in a democracy could become just like having a king He said that politicians would flat ter and make promises to the voters just like the members of a royal court did to a king Then once in office they would serve their own interests instead of the country's He thought laws provided a more fair system of government than election by a majority vote Athens had a system of laws but the citizens voted too They cast their votes on pieces of broken pottery Sometimes they voted to send a politician away for several years however he could come back later and run for office again Athens was a democracy but only for free male cit izens Women couldn't vote own property or become citizens They had to spend nearly all of their time inside their homes men even did the shopping Only people born to parents who were citizens could become citizens At age eighteen boys applied to become citizens of Athens If there was doubt whether a boy was freeborn a panel of five judges determined whether he could become a citizen or not If it appeared he had no right to become a citi zen the city sold him into slavery When a boy was approved as a citizen he went into the army and learned to fight march and drill At the end of the second year the soldiers were sent out to patrol the country and live at guard posts During the two years
