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Athens and Sparta were both Greek cities and their people spoke a common language. In every other respect they were different. Athens rose high from the plain. It was a city exposed to the fresh breezes from the sea, willing to look at the world with the eyes of a happy child. Sparta, on the other hand, was built at the bottom of a deep valley, and used the surrounding mountains as a barrier against foreign thought. Athens was a city of busy trade. Sparta was an armed camp where people were soldiers for the sake of being soldiers. The people of Athens loved to sit in the sun and discuss poetry or listen to the wise words of a philosopher. The Spartans, on the other hand, never wrote a single line that was considered literature, but they knew how to fight, they liked to fight, and they sacrificed all human emotions to their ideal of military preparedness.

No wonder that these somber Spartans viewed the success of Athens with malicious hate. The energy which the defense of the common home had developed in Athens was now used for purposes of a more peaceful nature. The Acropolis was rebuilt and was made into a marble shrine to the goddess Athena. Pericles, the leader of the Athenian democracy, sent far and wide to find famous sculptors and painters and scientists to make the city more beautiful and the young Athenians more worthy of their home. At the same time, he kept a watchful eye on Sparta and built high walls which connected Athens with the sea and made her the strongest fortress of that day.

An insignificant quarrel between two little Greek cities led to the final conflict. For thirty years the war between Athens and Sparta continued. It ended in a terrible disaster for Athens.

During the third year of the war the plague had entered the city. More than half of the people and Pericles, the great leader, had been killed. The plague was followed by a period of bad and untrustworthy leadership. A brilliant young fellow by the name of Alcibiades had gained the favor of the popular assembly. He suggested a raid upon the Spartan colony of Syracuse in Sicily. An expedition was equipped and everything was ready. But Alcibiades got mixed up in a street brawl and was forced to flee. The general who succeeded him was a bungler. First he lost his ships and then he lost his army, and the few surviving Athenians were thrown into the stone-quarries of Syracuse, where they died from hunger and thirst.

The expedition had killed all the young men of Athens. The city was doomed. After a long siege the town surrendered in April of the year 404. The high walls were demolished. The navy was taken away by the Spartans. Athens ceased to exist as the center of the great colonial empire which it had conquered during the days of its prosperity. But that wonderful desire to learn and to know and to investigate which had distinguished her free citizens during the days of greatness and prosperity did not perish with the walls and the ships. It continued to live. It became even more brilliant.

Athens no longer shaped the destinies of the land of Greece. But now, as the home of the first great university the city began to influence the minds of intelligent people far beyond the narrow frontiers of Hellas.

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read and/or listen to the story.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary terms.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Answer the review questions.

Synopsis

Although Athens and Sparta were both cities of ancient Greece, they had little in common. Athens was busy and outward looking, while Sparta was insular. Athenians loved literature and poetry, while Spartans loved fighting and their military. A quarrel between the two cities led to thirty years of war. Partly due to the plague and failures in leadership, Athens lost the war to Sparta. The war diminished Athens as the center of the colonial Greek empire, and Sparta took over as the ruling body of Greece. However, the intellectual spirit of Athens did not die, its university continued, and it continued to influence the minds and spirits of the Greeks. Today, Athens is the largest city and the capital of Greece.

Vocabulary

Acropolis: A promontory (usually fortified with a citadel) forming the hub of many Grecian cities.
Athena: The goddess of wisdom, especially strategic warfare, the arts, and especially crafts, in particular, weaving.
Pericles: A Greek politician that lived during the ancient and the classical times.
Fortress: A large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town, such as a fort or a castle.
Plague: A terrible disease which in old times killed thousands of people.
Popular Assembly: A localized citizen gathering to address issues of importance to the community.
Raid: A quick hostile invasion in a battle.
Siege: A prolonged military assault or a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Lesson

  • After you read or listen to the lesson, narrate the events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Study the Story Picture

  • Study the story picture.
  • Hypothesize as to whether the person is more likely from Athens or Sparta and explain your reasoning.

Activity 3: Map the Story

  • Find Athens and Sparta on the map.
  • Which city faces the sea?
  • Which city is inland?

Activity 4: Choose Athens or Sparta

  • Imagine you are in ancient Greece and must choose between living in Athens or Sparta.
  • Where would you choose to live and why?

Activity 5: See the Acropolis

  • Many Greek cities had acropoles, or promontories build on high ground forming the hub of the city.
  • After the Persians burned and looted Athens and its acropolis, Athens rebuilt their acropolis as a shrine to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.
  • The Athenian Acropolis still stands today and includes the Parthenon, a former temple dedicated to Athena.
  • Study the Athenian Acropolis and find the Parthenon, the largest building surrounded by majestic columns.

Activity 6: Complete Copywork, Narration, Dictation, and Art   

Click the crayon above. Complete pages 43-44 of 'World History Copywork, Narration, Dictation, and Art for Third Grade.'

Review

Question 1

Which city favored poetry and literature - Athens or Sparta?
1 / 7

Answer 1

Athens favored poetry and literature.
1 / 7

Question 2

Which city loved fighting and the military - Athens or Sparta?
2 / 7

Answer 2

Sparta loved fighting and the military.
2 / 7

Question 3

Which city was built on the sea - Athens or Sparta?
3 / 7

Answer 3

Athens was built on the sea.
3 / 7

Question 4

Which city was built on an inland valley - Athens or Sparta?
4 / 7

Answer 4

Sparta was built on an inland valley.
4 / 7

Question 5

Which city won the thirty-year war - Athens or Sparta?
5 / 7

Answer 5

Sparta won the thirty-year war.
5 / 7

Question 6

What caused Athens to lose the war?
6 / 7

Answer 6

Athens lost the war with Sparta partly due to the plague and failures in leadership.
6 / 7

Question 7

Which is the capital and largest city in Greece today - Athens or Sparta?
7 / 7

Answer 7

Today, Athens is the largest city and the capital of Greece.
7 / 7

  1. Which city favored poetry and literature - Athens or Sparta? Athens favored poetry and literature.
  2. Which city loved fighting and the military - Athens or Sparta? Sparta loved fighting and the military.
  3. Which city was built on the sea - Athens or Sparta? Athens was built on the sea.
  4. Which city was built on an inland valley - Athens or Sparta? Sparta was built on an inland valley.
  5. Which city won the thirty-year war - Athens or Sparta? Sparta won the thirty-year war.
  6. What caused Athens to lose the war? Athens lost the war with Sparta partly due to the plague and failures in leadership.
  7. Which is the capital and largest city in Greece today - Athens or Sparta? Today, Athens is the largest city and the capital of Greece.

References

  1. 'Peloponnesian war alliances. (PD-US (US Gov))' Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peloponnesian_war_alliances_431_BC.png. n.p.
  2. 'Acropolis-Athens. ({CC0 1.0})' Wikipedia. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acropolis-Athens34.jpg. n.p.

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