Athens By Brenton Madison, Elsa Buehler, Rachel Carver, Erik Krahling, Robert Littell, Alexis Brown, Jake Clayton.

AthensBy Brenton Madison, Elsa Buehler, Rachel Carver,

Erik Krahling, Robert Littell, Alexis Brown, Jake

Clayton

Brenton - Role of military, Powerpoint setup

Elsa - Food

Rachel - Role of women

Erik - Government and Education

Robert - living quarters

Alexis - allies

Jake - Size of population and social structure

Group - Skit / Interactive Extra

Breakdown

Population size: 140,000

Social Structure: There was an obvious social ladder consisting of a well defined upper class, middle class, and lower class. Then even lower than that were slaves who held no rank in society.

Size of population and social structure

Athens was a direct democracy meaning the people choose how to run their government.

Each year 500 names were drawn from all citizens of athens, the 500 chosen would become the lawmakers for that year.

Every citizen of athens was required to vote on all new laws created by the 500.

Women, children, and slaves were not allowed to vote as they were not considered citizens.

Form of Government

Not good at land based combat, but made up for it in naval combat.

The Triremes was a Superfast galley that was different from others because it could ram into other ships.

It was often explained as a “Spear” to other ships.

Role of the military

• Athens made allies with Corcyra,Rhegium,and Leontino. After the thirty year peace treaty with sparta that was created in 446 BC.

• athens and sparta were allies during various times but most of the time they were enemies

Allies

Women were inferior to men, and so ever since they were young they were controlled by their father until he chose a suitable husband for her.

Then she was under the control of her husband.

Their role was to take care of the household duties, such as taking care of children, spinning and weaving, and overseeing slaves.

They could not vote or own property.

They were to never be seen in public or to leave the house.

Role of Women

● Athens valued education very highly.

● Most boys went to school from ages 7-14.

● Girls did not go to school, however they were sometimes given private tutors by their parents.

● Teachers were often retired military men and beatings were given frequently for mistakes.

● The three main subjects they studied were grammar, music, and gymnastics.

● Boys were often accompanied by a trusted slave whose job it was to protect the boy from undesirables and help him choose the right friends.

Education

video

● Most people ate a very simple diet of bread, olives, cooked vegetables, and fish. Cheeses, fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil were used as seasonings for most dishes.

● Meat was available, but expensive. The remains of ceremonial meat offerings were eaten by the religious class and the fat and bones were given to the gods who allegedly “preferred” them...how convenient.

Food in Athens

● The average family had a small plot of land on which they could grow grains, fruits, and vegetables.

● They ate coarse grains (mostly barley) due to the poor soil.

● They ate three to four small meals a day. Fruits and nuts were dessert food.

● Ate lots of things dried, salted, or preserved. Fresh was more expensive.

Food At Home

● Water was the most popular drink. It was a woman’s job to fetch spring water each day. Spring water was preferred and thought to be nutritious because it caused plants and trees to grow.

● Athenians grew grapes for eating and wine making. A bowl called a krater was used to water down wine at the table. Aside from medicinal uses, society frowned upon women drinking wine.

Common drinks

Living quarters: A normal athens house would be made of mud bricks for walls and small windows and had wooden shutters. the floors where just beaten down earth so just dirt. the door was basic wood but it was valuable because wood was hard to come by then. it was always hot in athens so the shutters where always open except for the winter.

Living quarters

Living quarters: since it was so hot the majority of the time they all were outside so a lot of houses had a good size front yard

Living Quarters

Famous People

Video 1

● Socrates (Alexis): Believed ones deeds were a result of a person's intelligence level and ignorance. Created the Socratic method (series of linked questions leading to the answer) frequently used in education today. Died from hemlock poison. (Comment: I am Socrates and I believed that the unexamined life is not worth living. I was sentenced to death because my ideas went against many people’s beliefs. I cooly agreed to be my own executioner and drank hemlock poison, which was a slow and painful death.)

● Cleisthenes (Elsa): “The father of Athenian democracy.” Nobleman credited with the founding of democracy in Athens. Believed to have introduced ostracism. (Comment: I brought democracy to Athens and created ostracism. Ostracism was a way to vote, using pieces of pottery, and cast an unwanted person far away.)

Famous People● Themistocles: Athenian politician and general who rose to

power in the early years of democracy. Because he had gained too many enemies and too much power, he was exiled through ostracism and declared a traitor to Athens. (Comment: I don’t think I did anything wrong, but the people of Athens do.*reenactment of his ostracism*)

● Pericles: Grandson of Cleisthenes, and was an important political and military leader of Athens. He passed many laws in the favor of the poor. (Comment: I am Pericles and I stand for the lower class! I declare that the poor will be allowed to attend theatrical performances for free!)

End of PowerPoint

Video 1 - Philosopher song

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Education video

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