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Sparta and Olympia By: Mary Kate Hannon and Jane Anne Darken = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Sparta =

Government The Spartan government was much admired by contemporaries. It consisted of monarchical, oligarchical, and democratic elements, which made it a mixed constitution. Two kings served as the head of the government One was each drawn from the prominent families of the Agiads and the Eurypontids. This system reflects an effort to resolve the tensions that arose when the villages united to form the town of Sparta. The two kings were competitive with one another, but equal in authority, served as a mutual check on the power of the monarchy. Sparta was “never without a leader” which avoided anarchy. Spartan kings exercised military, religious, and judicial powers. During war, one king served as a commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while the other supervised domestic matters at home and became in charge if his co-king was killed. Kings were not mere figureheads, but were important leaders who contributed to the military effeteness of the country.

Religion Believed in the same Pantheon of Olympus as the other Greek peoples. Each city, of course, had it’s own special gods; but the pantheon was more or less universal throughout the Greek world. The Greek religion was essentially Animistoc. The forces of nature were each controlled by a separate god whose intercession could be obtained through sacrifices. The Greek religion did not emphasize the importance of sprits and the supernatural. Many Greeks didn’t believe in afterlife.

 Economics Based off three classes of society. Spartans, Perioci and Helots. Sparta did not have a coin system because of the division in social class in Greece, instead the traded in Iron Bars. The Helots role in society were that of the salves doing farm work, laboring, made to fight with sling short in war, served whatever the Spartans asked of them. The Spartans themselves didn’t trade with anyone, the Kinds were responsible for the diplomacy between other nations.

Art/Architecture Greek life was dominated by religion, so the temples of ancient Greece were beautiful. The spartan homes though were very simple. Compared to Athens, Sparta didn't have very many public buildings or monuments. Sparta is still today used to describe anything austere.



Science/Tecnology Sparta was focused mostly on war and because of this they did not make very many addvancements in science. Though because sparta was focused on war they invented many tools that were useful on the battlefield. They invented the catapult and used very different war tactics than the people before them. The spartans also invented many boats that they used in naval battles.



Education The spartans unlike most of the other city states did not hire tutos or let the fathers raise their children. The boys went through a form of state education called agoge. They learned the reading and writing that was necessary, but focused on the military aspect of life. When they boys were seven years old they were removed from their parents and sent off to a scool with all the other boys so that they had the same disiplane and training. At age twelve They became meirakion or youth. They were kept in barracks and given little food in hopes that they would learn to steal if they were hungrey. When the children turned sixteen, they became members of krypteia, a lind of police force. During this time they lived in the wild and fended for themselves. Finally at age twentey they were done with their education, their duty to of state was not was finished. The men could only spend a few nights a year with their wives, even on their wedding night they would have to be back in their barracks by morning. At age thirty, the men were consitered full citizens. They then began to live thier "home life", but were still required to have a number of their meals away from home. Finally at age sixty, they were realesed from their millitary obligations. The girls did not go though any schooling. They learned what they knew from their mothers. They didnt undergo a training program though.

Social Life  The main objective of the spartans was millitary. At birth, each child was examined to see if they had any "imperfections". If the child did not meet the standards of the spartans then it would be sent to the hills outside of the city gates to die. As the healthy childern grew up, the boys went to school and served their millitary duties. The girls on the other hand, did not go to school, but were physically trained, and their main job was to give birth to healthy sons. Marrige was a big aspect of the spartan life because they all want to have childern to continue their name. Unlike many other city-states women had freedom and could participate in political life. In sparta, the state was more important than the induvidual.

=<span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">OLYMPIA =

1.The first olympics were held in Olympia in 776 B.C. 2. Women and slaves were not only not allowed to participate but if they were fould to be in the arena they would be put to death. 3. In the first olympics there were only ten events. 4. Olympia is the site of the main sactuary of the greek god zeus. 5. Inside there was a giant statue of him that was made of gold and ivory 6. People would come from all over Greece to visit the sactuary. 7. This temple was one of the seven wonders of the world. 8. In olympia, they used doric http://www.showroom411.com/entry/purchase-exterior-accents-direct/spartan-architectural-columns.html http://www.showroom411.com/entry/purchase-exterior-accents-direct/spartan-architectural-columns.html architecture. 9. No buildings have survived from the earliest period of use. 10. The remains of a Homo Heidelbergensis body were found at Olympia

=<span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 23px;">﻿Conclusion = After learning about both the spartan and olympia culture i think that there are some similarities between our cultures, but for the most part i think that they are different. The spartans focus on war and the olypians focus on sports. We as a culture, i don't think focus on one thing in particlar. We have sports that we like to watch and play, we have wars that we fight, but i don't think that either of them consumes our culture. Another aspect of our cultures that are different is the fact the men and boys are better than women and girls. Women today have just the same rights men do, but back then that is not how it was. There women could not become educated. The spartans were more lenient than most of the others because the men were at war the whole time the women took care of the house and could sometimes even own the land. For us, it is not rare for a women own the land or even be in politics. Another difference is the governments. The spartan govenment was part democratic which is like ours, but it also had two other parts. There are definatly some similarities between our culture and the culture of the acient greeks, but i also think that they are very different.


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