Athenian Military and Man Power

• It is estimated that there were 40,000 male Athenians in 431BC
• About 1,000 men were estimated to be wealthy enough to be cavalrymen
• As many as 20,000 may have been eligible to serve as hoplites (the heavily armoured infantry men who formed the core of the army)
• Less than half of these would be called to fight at any given time
• Athens' forces were composed of allied citizens and mercenaries
• The Athenians excelled in naval power. They developed their navy after the first Persian invasion so that they would be prepared if the Persians tried to invade again (which they did)
• They contributed the most ships during the Persian war (147 out of 271)
• This meant that they could react quickly to any events overseas
• Their naval forces allowed Athens to dominate the Aegean sea
• However, managing a large fleet required a lot of resources that were difficult to acquire
• A trireme (ship) usually required 150-170 oarsmen, plus skilled sailors and steersmen, who were especially hard to find
• Using mercenaries to supplement their numbers was risky

Spartan Military and Man Power

• The Spartans were obsessed with military training.
• There were no occupations for Spartans other than that of the warrior. The city was maintained by slaves who worked the land.
• Training began in childhood.
• At 18 Spartans were given the right to attend meetings of the citizen assembly and go on military expeditions.
• They were famous for being the best warriors and never running from battle. It was Spartan law that retreat was not an option.
• Because of the brutish nature of the Spartans, as well as their reputation, they were renowned and feared.
• The Spartans were never of a massive population. It is believed that the greatest extent of the Spartan population was less than 10,000. By the start of the Peloponnesian war, there may have only been 5,000 Spartans left.
• The Spartans partially relied on the non-Spartan population of Lakonia, called the Periokoi, to help fight their battles.
• The Perioikoi worked for a living. They made the armour and weapons used by the Spartans, as well as pottery, furniture and cloth. They fought alongside the Spartans as hoplites.
• When Sparta needed a large army, they called on the allied states of the Peloponnesian league. The nearest were the cities of Arcadia, which weren't large, but could muster hundreds of soldiers. Larger contingents were contributed by more distant states (Corinth and Thebes)
• These allies provided the majority of hoplites in any Spartan army.

Spartan Society

• Spartan society was geared towards breeding and raising the finest soldiers.
• Every citizen was forced to devote their life to meagre and strict living in order to breed tough warriors
• Boys were taken from their mothers at the age of 7 and put through a brutal training regime called the agoge
• Reading and writing were considered unimportant and so were taught at a minimum.
• Education was all about physical endurance.
• Spartans lived in communal barracks until the age of 30 to promote comradery and obedience.
• They lived in almost a communist society. Food was rationed equally between citizens and equality was a major focus. Money and luxuries were outlawed and each citizen was given an equal plot of farmland.
• Men and women were considered to be equals.
• Spartan society was built on the back of slaves who were taken from neighbouring Greek land. These slaves were called Helots
• The Helots were treated brutally in order to keep them in line. This meant that the Spartans and the Helots hated each other. As the Helots outnumbered the Spartans 20:1, the Spartans lived in constant fear of a revolution. This, in turn, made Spartans hostile towards all outsiders, just in case they were to convince the Helots to revolt.

Spartan Government

• The Spartans had an unusual political system because it combined two different political systems. Unlike in Athens, Sparta was ruled by a monarchy.
• Sparta had two hereditary kings from separate families in order to avoid dictatorship.
• The monarchs were particularly powerful when one of them led the army as supreme commander.
• This constitution was designed to achieve Eunomia (balance or harmony)
• The Spartans saw democracy as being too radical. However, they understood that the monarchy was problematic due to the risk of tyrants. By combining the systems they hoped to create a balance.
• The Ephors could depose the kings if they became too powerful, and by having two they avoided giving all the power to one man.
• This system was designed to promote efficiency too, since in times of war a democratic approach would mean that decision making would be too time consuming.
• There were issues with this system, however, as the two kings often competed for power. There are numerous instances of them deposing one another.
• The Spartan's assembly voted by shouting and so was very easy to manipulate.
• Overall, Sparta had a reputation as being a conservative state, slow to make decisions and open to corruption.

Ancient Greece: General Background

Historical Periods:

• Archaic Greece - 3000 - 1600 BC
• Mycenaen Greece - 1600 - 1200 BC
• Dark Ages - 1200 - 800 BC
• Greek Renaissance - 800 - 600 BC
• Classical/ Hellenic Greece - 600 - 323 BC
• Hellenistic Greece - 323 - 31 BC

Developing Society: Archaic:

• The first important society to develop were the Minoans - on the Island of Crete
• Named after the mythical King of Crete, Minos - the island was named by Arthur Evans (English Archaeologist, who excavated Knossos)
• The estimated population of the Minoans was 250,000 (40,000 in Knossos alone)
• The Minoans traded with the people of the Fertile crescent and their palaces became centres of economic activity and political power
• It has been suggested that a large earthquake on the island of Thera may have created a tidal wave that engulfed the island of Crete

Settling Greece:

• Greece in a mountainous country full of valleys. It is also nearly surrounded by water
• Because of their geography, the Greeks were encouraged to settle the land in independent political communities - later known as city states
• Each city state had its own political organisation and was truly independent
• The largest and most powerful city-state to come about was Mycenae in 1600 - 1100 BC

The Development of Mycenae:

• An extremely wealthy, prosperous and powerful state
• Archaeological excavations of the area have uncovered swords, weapons and the remains of well-fortified city walls
• The Mycenaean city state was a community of warriors
• Each city state in the Mycanaean period was independent and under the rule of its own king. The only time the city states united was during the Trojan War

Under Attack:

• By 1300 BC, the Greek mainland was under attack by ships from Asia Minor?
• By 1000 BC, Mycenae was completely destroyed
• The attack became known as the Dorian invasion
• The Doric Greeks were supposedly tribes who had left Greece at an earlier time and then returned by 1200 BC

Grecian Dark Ages:

• During this period the Greek culture fell into decline
• Pottery became less elegant
• Burials were less ornate
• The building of large structures and public buildings came to an abrupt halt
• It did not, however, mark the end of Greek civilisation
• Some Greek technological skills survived
• The Greek language was preserved by those in areas unaffected by the Dorian invasion

Greek Renaissance:

• After 800 BC, a new optimism and adventure flourished
• Literature of the period was produced by the great epic poets who wrote of both mortal men and gods
• It was the starting point for the Olympic Games (776 BC)
• The most famous poet from this time was Homer. He wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

Classical Greece:

• When historians think of Ancient Greece it is inevitably the 5th century BC that comes to attention
• This is because it was the age of great historians (e.g Herodotus and Thucydides)
• It was the age when Greeks embraced direct democracy
• It was the age of human discovery and achievement 
• It was the age of Warfare, with the Persian and Peloponnesian wars

Rise of Classical Culture:

• The period from 500-323 BC is the Classical or Hellenic age of Greek civilisation
• The brilliance of the Classical Greek world rested on a blend of the old and new
• From the past came a profound religious belief in the just action of the gods and the attainment of virtue in the polis
• Such a history helped to develop a specific Greek 'mind' in which the importance of the individual and a rationalistic spirit were key
• In this period, it was Athens and Sparta who shaped Greek culture and history