Mr. Dave Must C This

Athens vs. Sparta

Was Athens a greater city-state than Sparta? The Athenians had a democracy and the Spartans had an oligarchy. Spartans really cared about the military and the Athenians paid attention to their citizens and provided them with great hospitality. Athens was a greater city-state than Sparta because the Spartans focused more on the state and the Athenians focused more on the citizens.

Athens was a democracy and the geatest city-state in Greece. The Spartans were a monarchy, oligarchy and had a militaristic culture. The Athenian citizens got to choose who led their state and who was in the Council of 400 which was like a congress. Spartans got to choose who was in their council, but not their leader. The population of Athens was 140,000; 40,000 were male citizens, 40,000 were slaves, and 60,000 were foreigners. There were 8,000 Spartans and there were 100,000 enslaved in Sparta. Freedom in Sparta seems few and far between for most people who live there. In Athens democracy, a majority of the people were free.

The Spartans and the Athenians had a very different way of life. In Sparta, if you were the smallest bit deformed, they would throw you in a pit and you would die. They did this because they were a militaristic culture and need perfect soldiers, not soldiers that have a weakness. In Athens you could survive and live a full life no matter how you looked. In Sparta, when boys turn 7 years old, they send them out into the wild with just a spear and barely any clothing. They would sometimes be sent out in winter and it seems incredible how some survived and not get hypothermia. They do this try to teach them survival skills. They basically said come back with your shield or on your shield. In Sparta, if you are a male, you have to go through the brutal training they have and then serve in the military until you are too old and elderly. This never happens in Athens. They could choose if they wanted to be in the military. Athens and the United States of America are democracies because it is better overall for the citizens and much more luxurious. Speaking of luxury, Spartans did not believe in luxury because they believed it showed a sign of weakness. They slept on rocks with maybe a few thin sheets and ate pork, blood, salt, and vinegar. Athenian way of life is much less brutal thus making it a better life.

We in the United States of America believe in the Athenian way of life because it seems more humane than the Spartan way of life. The Spartans were considered barbaric by the Athenians because of the boys being taken at age seven. Americans treasure luxury because we believe it is a way of rewarding ourslves for the hard work we do and that it is really nice to have. That is a main reason why we side with the Athenians over the Spartans. We are also a democracy like Athens and our founding fathers chose a democracy for America because we did not want one person to have all the power. We believe the citizens should have a say on who gets to share the power and we also have many different levels of power like city, county, state, and national. Americans favor Athens' way of life over Sparta's way of life because of the luxurious life most of us get to have.

Athens is an overall better city-state than Sparta because Athens cared more for the citizens than they did the whole state. The Spartans cared more for the state than they did the people. In Athens, they had luxuries and get to eat different and quality food. They also get to sleep on soft, cozy beds unlike the Spartans who slept on rock hard beds. All the Spartan men get to do is prepare their whole life for battle and war. Because of the government, freedoms, and culture in Athens, living in Athens sounds so much nicer than living in Sparta.

Ancient Greek Food

Alessio Sarraf

Dave Whitson

Humanities 9 R

12/3/09

Ancient Greek Food

In classical Greece, food was an important part of life. Around 500 B.C. the Greeks diets consisted of healthy meals. Their food was raised in rocky terrains of Greece. Depending on their life style, different foods were eaten by the rich, the lower class and athletes. Most Greeks kept a healthy way of eating food.

The Greek athletes ate much differently than other Greeks. They ate a huge amount of meat in their heavy diet. The athletes usually ate pork and other rich meat to fill their strong appetite. The need to have protein to build muscles and carbohydrates to have energy was extremely important. Fish was the main source of protein for athletes so they would have good stamina. Once they became an Olympic athlete, they no longer had to depend on eating bread, fruits, and vegetables. Food was essential to the athletes of Greece.

The privileged in ancient Greece had more options to better foods. The wealthier Greeks would mostly eat lamb, pork, olives, and cheese. A minor cereal was a basic food in ancient Greece, especially for the Athenians. The cereals were mostly made from wheat. “The two most common cereals in ancient Greece were einkorn and emmer.” (Joan P. Alcock). The Greeks also ate barley and used olive oil in their foods. For lunch the Greeks would eat bread dipped into wine. Olives were also a huge part of the Greeks’ food diet. Supper was the main meal of each day, consisting of fruits, fish, vegetables, and honey cakes. The wealthy class enjoyed an abundant amount of food.

The lower class didn’t have much money to eat meals so they lived on little food. They mainly ate maza which is a type of bread that was created at the bakery. Beef and pork were only available during religious festivals. During the festivals, the cows and pigs were sacrificed to the gods. Then the meet was cooked and passed out to the people. Many meals were without wine because it was too expensive. Although the poor Greeks didn’t eat well, they were able to survive.

Today, many of the recipes and traditions we know of came from ancient Greece. Greek food has been popular all the way back to ancient times. There was a distinct difference between the classes of people as to what they were able to eat. “The elite ate more and better food than the poorer classes.” (Joan P. Alcock). Even though the wealthy people enjoyed elaborate food, the lower class was able to eat as well. Food was a time of celebration, and all Greeks celebrated life no matter what they ate.

The Daily Life

Daily Life

In Ancient Greece their lived the Athenians and the Spartans. The Spartans were a very warlike civilization unlike the Athenians. The Athenians had many things going for them. They had great agriculture and were incredibly smart. The Athenians were also able to protect themselves along with being able to have wonderful and more improved systems than other groups. The Athenian society was very modern for its time, compared to other societies.

Athens men and women had very different roles in the society. The women were meant to stay at home, and take care of the house and children. It was also common for women to have very pale skin. This was in style because it showed that the women were wealthy enough to stay inside of the houses, ( Rymer, Eric.). The men were involved in politics and the public. The men attended public events and entertainments, such as dinners and parties, when the men went to such events the women stayed at home unwelcome.(Rymer, Eric.).

Every year Athens had festivals for all types of extra activities such as religion and sports and even more. Athens had a festival called the Dionysia festival that was in honor of the Dionysia god (No author listed). During this festival the men were able to drink and socialize. Some of the taxes that the citizens paid covered the cost of these festivals, but most of the time the citizens with more money had to help out and pay for them. The men were the only ones able to participate in these events but, also men from ages 20 - 50 were able to be enlisted in the military ( No author listed).

In this time period Athens was very up to date compared to Sparta, but even though it did focus on the military which was at some times mandatory to the men, It also focused on those other things. As mentioned there were the sports and other activities and to show and celebrate them they had the festivals. Ancient Greece did not interact with other societies very much but on their own they bypass many.

Blog Credit Check

For these first two posts, the grade is simply credit/no credit.

Victoria
Origins of Athens - Credit
Greece Links - Credit

Sam
Origins of Athens - Half-credit (only one of the two prompts is answered)
Greece Links - Partial credit (no explanations are provided)

Alessio
Origins of Athens - Credit
Greece Links - No credit

Let me know if you posted and I missed it.

Mondays blog

Here are my three favorites:

My first favorite was http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/aegean/. I liked this one because it showed you icons that you could pick and then learn information on that link. Also the wording was pretty easy for anyone to understand.

My second favorite was http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/ancientgreece.htm . This is because It is like a textbook. You choose which topic you want to look at and the link will take you to it. The also have pictures.

And my third choice would be http://history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/ancient-greece.htm. This one I just liked how they had the information laid out.

3 websites ancient greece

1. http://historylink102.com/greece3/index.htm

2. http://www.crystalinks.com/greece.html

3. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Main_Page/

The Hero’s Adventure

I agree with Campbell, because war back then basically decided who the hero’s were. In modern day, their aren’t as many heroes as their were in ancient Greece. In ancient Greece their were good people and evil people. In modern day, people don’t actually know who the heroes are. For example people thought that Michael Jackson was a good man, but actually Michael Jackson committed child abuse. That shows that people don’t know what heroes are in todays world.

The Origins of Athens

2. Their were many different important things in ancient Greece before Athens was established. Herodotus, from the History, it was the Spartans and the Athenians that were in ancient Greece. In the days of Kecrops and the first kings, the divided into communes. It also had to do with the history of the Peloponnesian War. Thesus, dissolved all the distinct statehouses, then Theseus gave the name Athens to the whole state, creating a common feast and a sacrifice.