How did life change for the Athenians during the Persian Wars?

Answer 1

The Spartans:

- Continued their simple lifestyle of overseeing their territory, gymnastic and military exercises, enlivened by religious festivals, athletic games and other cultural activities.

- They did not farm as they had a subject population of serfs to do that, but had to keep watch to pre-empt uprisings.

- If ever they sent out a military expeditionary force, they each took seven serfs as light infantry, which coincidentally reduced the number of serfs left at home to reduce the risk of uprising while they were away.

- The adult males met regularly to vote on significant political policiesissues

-Boys were allotted supervisors to begin their military training.

- Women had freedon to participate in life and gymnastic exercises.

The Athenians:

- Had an empire to rule and parasite on when they converted the anti-Persian league cities into suppliers of money.

- They had the money, so they could afford to garrison some parts, established colonies for surplus population, manning a fleet of 100 ships to extort the payments from the cities, provide the extensive public service and juries (each jury 500 or more - thousands engaged each day).

- The men also had the religious festivals with plays and games, and acted the female parts in plays; the city-dwellers roamed gymnasiums, the markets and hung about gossiping in perfume shops after the gymn.

- Except for prostitutes and courtesans, women were treated as serfs - kept in virtual purdah - confined at home to work running household and farm, and excaping only for occasional womens' religious festivals.

- The rural population worked their farms and had a life of grinding poverty, barely able to sustain their families. Like the city dwellers, they were also liable to military service and regular training exercises.

- Old males predominated in the juries, collecting pay for the job and flocking to the courts to be selected for the day's work.

- All adult males were liable for military service and cold be called out for service at any time. They also were expected to attend the fortnightly assembly meetings to vote on political

- The entire male population benefited from the money of the empire, half of them in public service and the navy, all supported by the money collected, by force if necessary, from the cities of its empire.

Answer 2

They could not defend the city against the Persian invasion so they evacuated their families to refuge in cities in the Peloponnese and took to the sea to fight the Persian Navy, and after it was defeated, joind in the Greek land forces. After the Persians lost, they fortified Athens against invasion and headed up the Delian League for 20 years until Persia agreed to stay away from the Greek cities.

Then they opportunistically converted the Delian League which they had led against the Persians into an empire of their own, continuing to levy the war funds but spending them in themselves, glorifying the city and putting half their citizens on the public payroll.