Athens became a democracy in 510 BC. The men came to a place in the center of the city and decided what to do. It was the first place in the world where the people decided what their country should do. They would talk and then vote on what to do at the Boule (the parliament). But the women did not vote. Athens had slaves. These slaves were owned by their masters and could be sold to someone else. The Athenian slaves were less free than the Spartan helots. Every year, Athenian citizens elected eight generals who led them in war.
In 499 BC, the Greek cities in Anatolia rebelled. They did not want Persia to rule them anymore. Athens sent 20 ships to fight the Persians on the sea. The Greeks in Anatolia were defeated. The Persian King, Darius decided to punish Athens. He sent soldiers and ships to fight Athens.
Athens asked for help from Sparta. Sparta wanted to help but could not; they had a religious festival at that time. Athens sent her soldiers against the Persian soldiers: at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) they defeated the Persians. Then the help from Sparta came.
At the Battle of Thermopylae The Spartans were led by Leonidas, and resisted the huge Persian army. After a couple of days, a traitor called Ephialtes led the Persians around the pass behind the Greek army. Realising that defeat was inevitable, Leonidas released many of his men. Those who stayed knew it would be a fight to the death. Leonides kept elite "hoplites" (foot soldiers) who had living sons at home. There were also allied Thespians and Thebans who volunteered to stay.
On the third day, Leonidas led his 300 Spartan hoplites and their allies against Xerxes and his mighty army. The Spartan-led forces fought this Persian force to their deaths in order to block the pass long enough to keep Xerxes and his army occupied while the rest of the Greek army escaped.
After Thermopylae many Greeks wanted to go south to the Peloponnese. Because the Isthmus of Corinth, the way into the Peloponnese, is very narrow, many wanted to fight the Persians there.
Athens was north of Corinth and she had a navy. Athens' leader Themistocles wanted to fight the Persians by the island of Salamis. Xerxes decided to send his fleet against the Greek fleet before the Greek ships could go to the Peloponnese. The Greek fleet defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. Xerxes then went home with many of his soldiers but a Persian army stayed in Greece. This army was defeated at the Battle of Platea in 479 BC.
After the Persians were defeated at Platea, the Spartans did very little. However, Persia was still dangerous. Athens asked the Greek cities on the islands in the Aegean and in Anatolia to join her. The cities agreed because they were afraid of Persia. These cities formed the Delian League and Athens was their leader. Many of the cities of the Delian League had to pay Athens tribute money. Athens used the money to build many ships and the Parthenon. Sparta was still strong on land, but Athens was stronger on the sea. Several times there was war between Athens and Sparta. Then Athens decided to send many ships to Sicily to fight against the city Syracuse. Sparta sent help to Syracuse, and Athens was defeated. None of the Athenian ships came back.
Now Sparta wanted to build ships to fight Athens. It took a long time for Sparta to defeat Athens, but then at the Battle of Aegospotami the Spartans destroyed most of Athens's ships. The Athenians used an advanced type of ship called triremes. These ships had their combat systems, and were propelled by oarsmen. On the front of the Trireme was a large bronze battering ram. The oarsmen would row the trireme at an enemy boat, and ram a hole into its hull. This was the most effective way for the trireme to destroy other boats. The soldiers (hoplites) on the trireme would board the enemy ship and capture it. Nevertheless, the Athenian fleet of triremes was destroyed in a battle in 405 BC. Athens surrendered the following year and the war was over.
Men, when not working, fighting or discussing politics, could (at festive times) go to Ancient Greek theatre to watch dramas, comedies or tragedies. These often involved politics and the gods of Greek mythology. Women were not allowed to perform in the theatre; male actors played female roles.
Women did domestic work, such as spinning, weaving, cleaning and cooking. They were not involved in public life or politics. Women from rich families however, had slaves to carry out domestic work for them.
The famous Olympic games were held at Olympia every four years. They were for men only, and women were not allowed to attend, even as spectators. The sports included running, javelin throwing, discus throwing and wrestling. The Games were unusual, because the athletes could come from any Greek city.
Another competition, the Heraean Games, was held for women. It was also held at Olympus at a different time from the men's event.
The rules for girls in Sparta were different from other cities. They were trained in the same events as boys, because Spartans believed that strong women would produce strong babies who would become future warriors. Their girl athletes were unmarried and competed nude or wearing short dresses. Boys were allowed to watch the athletes, in the hopes of creating marriages and offspring.
Later, in the Classical period, girls could compete in the same festivals as males.
Malaria
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite: it is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. People catch malaria when the parasite enters the blood. The parasite causes a deadly infection which kills many people each year (from 75 million cases in 1950s to 0.1 million cases in 1960s). However, due to the development of insecticide resistance among mosquitoes and other factors, it staged a comeback in the mid 1970s (6.47 million cases in 1976), and continues to prevail in endemic/subendemic proportions, so that 80% indian population lives in malaria risk areas.
Malaria is produced by 4 species of the protozoal parasite Plasmodium, is endemic in many tropical countries. It is one of the most common health problems. As per latest WHO estimates (2011)* between 149–274 (median 216) million clinical cases and ~ 0.655 million deaths occur globally due to malaria each year, 90% of which are in Africa. This amounts to one malaria death every minute. In India, the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP), started in 1958, achieved near complete disappearance of the disease in 1960s (from 75 million cases in 1950s to 0.1 million cases in 1960s).
The parasite that causes malaria is a protozoan called 'Plasmodium'. Protozoa are organisms with only one cell, but they are not bacteria. Bacteria are smaller and simpler than protozoans.
People usually get malaria from the "Anopheles" or "Culex" mosquitoes : they are the vectors of the disease. The "Plasmodium" gets into people by the bites of mosquitoes. The "Plasmodium" is in the mosquito's special saliva. The mosquito's saliva injects an anticoagulant into the person to prevent their blood from clotting. The person is then infected with "Plasmodium" as a by-product. This makes the person have the disease we call malaria.
Only the female mosquito gives people malaria, because only the female mosquito consumes blood. The male mosquito lives on the nectar of flowers. The female uses blood as a source of protein for its eggs.
Some people do not get malaria from mosquitoes. A baby can get it while inside its mother. This is called "maternal-foetal transmission". People can also get malaria from a blood transfusion. This is when someone gives blood to another person. Another way people can catch malaria is by using a needle that someone with the disease used before them.
There are several species (kinds) of "Plasmodium" that cause malaria in humans:
"P. vivax" and "P. falciparum" cause the most malaria in people. "Falciparum" malaria is the worst kind, and kills the most people.