s is proved by the beautiful types of
manhood preserved for us in Athenian art, the Athenians believed that
the truest beauty was to be reached only by the development of the mind.

Hence Athens brought forth great men like Pericles, Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle, she created a literature that has influenced the world, she
developed art to its highest excellence, and gained for herself a
permanent and high place in the world's history. Sparta did none of
these things, therefore her ruin was sure and speedy; while the decline
of Athens was slow and her influence still lives.

The spirit of Athens was liberty, while that of Sparta was tyranny. It
is true that Athens had slaves; indeed, only one fourth of the
inhabitants were free; but even the slaves had a large share of freedom,
and enjoyed some means of education. We learn that children of the
wealthy were committed to trusted slaves, called _pedagogues_, who
escorted them to school, instructed them in many things, and had a
right to punish them for disobedience. This could not have been allowed
by parents with such high ideals had the slaves been debased as were
those of Sparta.

In Athens we find for the first time the democratic idea of government;
this was by no means so completely realized as it is in modern times,
especially in the western world. The "Age of Pericles" (B.C.
480-430) forms the most brilliant period of Athens, a period hardly
surpassed in some respects by any other in the world's history. Solon
(B.C. 638) was the great lawgiver of Athens. His wise laws had
much influence on the prosperity and intellectual development of the
people.

=The Home.=--In Athens the child was left with the mother until the
sixth or seventh year. The toys were greater in variety than with any
other people of antiquity. They were much the same in character as those
of modern times, and their purpose was to amuse the children rather than
to furnish a definite preparation for life, as in Persia and Sparta.
Play, therefore, was recognized as an important factor in the child's
life, and the toys in use stimulated and encouraged the joyous element
in the child's nature. That toys are a potent influence toward healthful
mental and physical growth is an educational truth that has been fully
recognized by us only within recent years. And yet the Athenians
appreciated it in the home, twenty-five centuries ago.

The training was intellectual and humane, though strict obedience w