01/14 The Rule of Pericles and Athenian Life

01/14 The Rule of Pericles and Athenian Life

A Social Studies Lesson

Athens: The Golden Age

• When the Persian wars ended, Athens became a powerful city-state.

• From 461 b.c. to 429 b.c., Athens enjoyed a golden age as the economic and cultural center of Greece.

Athenian Government

• The government of Athens was a direct democracy, which means that all citizens of Athens met to debate and vote on government matters.

• In the United States, we have a representative democracy, where citizens elect a smaller group of

  people to represent the citizens who make laws and govern on behalf of citizens.

Multiple Choice

What is a direct democracy?

• Citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf.

• Kings and tyrants rule.

• Citizens meet to participate directly in government and help pass laws.

• Nobles take control and rule.

Multiple Choice

What is a representative democracy?

• Citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf.

• Kings and tyrants rule.

• Citizens meet to participate directly in government and help pass laws.

• Nobles take control and rule.

Multiple Choice

Athens has a...

• oligarchy

• monarchy

• representative democracy

• direct democracy

Multiple Choice

The United States has a...

• oligarchy

• monarchy

• representative democracy

• direct democracy

Athens: Direct Democracy

• In ancient Athens, direct democracy worked because of the small number of citizens.

• At the assembly meetings, citizens made policy on war and foreign affairs, passed laws, and elected officials, known as generals.

Multiple Choice

Why would a direct democracy be hard in the United States?

• Not enough people agree on things.

• Changing government would be hard.

• We have too many citizens.

• The United States is communist.

Multiple Choice

Why would a direct democracy be hard in the United States?

• Not enough people agree on things.

• Changing government would be hard.

• We have too many citizens.

• The United States is communist.

Multiple Select

Select all the good things Pericles did.

• didn't care about social classes

• brought noble Athenians into government

• gave people positions based on their abilities

• rebuilt Athens

• supporter artists, writers, and teachers

Athenian Life

• At its height, about 285,000 people lived in Athens.

• Not all these people were citizens.

• Only about 43,000 males had political rights.

• Women, foreign-born men, and enslaved people could not be citizens and had no political rights.

Athenian Men

• Athenian men worked as farmers, artisans, and merchants, worked mornings, and exercised in the afternoons.

• In the evenings, upper-class men discussed politics and philosophy during social dinners.

Athenian Women

• The women of Athens had different lives.

• Girls married early, often in their mid-teens, and their duties were to have children and take care of the households.

• Women in poor families did farm work or sold goods at the marketplace.

• Women in upper-class homes spun, dyed, or wove cloth.

• Upper-class women rarely left their homes, and when they did,

  they had to be with a male relative.

Multiple Choice

How were the duties of Athenian men and children different?

• Men were expected to work and women were expected to raise children.

• Women were expected to work while men just ate dinner with each other.

• Women had to raise children for the military while men had to be in the military.

• Women were slaves controlled by men.

Athenian Women Continued

• Athenian women could not attend school.

• Many, however, learned to read and to play music.

• Educated women in Athens were not considered equal to men.

• Women could not participate in politics or own property.

• Greek women were always under the care of males.

Multiple Choice

Athenian women had the same rights as men.

• True

• False

Foreign-Born Women

• Foreign-born women were not treated the same way as Athenian women, however.

• One such woman was Aspasia: she was known for her intelligence and charm, taught public speaking, and her ideas were popular among Athenians.

• Pericles was influenced by her.

Multiple Choice

How was Aspasia different from Athenian women?

• She was prettier, better, and smarter.

• She was in love with Pericles so she got special privileges.

• People respected her ideas and she was allowed to do things like teach.

• She was born in a foreign place so people liked her more.

Slavery in Athens

• Slavery was common in ancient civilizations and most Athenian

  households had at least one enslaved person.

• Many enslaved people were prisoners of battles and included both Greeks and non-Greeks.

• Enslaved men worked on farms and in the shops of artisans, while some worked at hard labor.

• Enslaved women were cooks and servants in wealthy homes and sometimes they were teachers to upper-class children.

• The treatment of enslaved people was different from place to place.

• Slavery helped Athens develop a thriving economy.

Multiple Choice

How did slavery help the Athenian economy?

• They sold slaves for money.

• They used them to find treasures.

• They worked in farms and shops, which helped create money for Athens.

• They had them steal precious items from other city-states.