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Part 2: Ancient Greece
Rise of City-States
Post-Dark Ages
By 800-750., the Dark Ages in Greece ended.
As people lived in the valleys & countryside and farmed, food became plentiful again & the
population grew
As the population grew, people will move to other areas looking for fertile land/farmland (it was
limited)
Greeks will expand up & down the coastline, known as the Colonization Age
An Un-unified Greece
The Greeks began to move & new cities were created as a result
Because of the landscape, they became fiercely independent of each other
They were separated by their own geography; saw each other as foreigners & often fought with one
another, even though they were all “Greek”.
We know the Greeks traded with Mesopotamia & Egypt; these cultures sometimes seemed closer to
them than the other city-states around them
There will be no unified Greek empire or one Greek nation as a result
All city-states saw themselves as independent nations, even though they all shared a common
language, culture and religion.
The Polis
As their world expanded, the Greeks evolved a unique version of the city-state called the polis
(means city)
City was built on two levels
On a hilltop, stood the acropolis (means high city), with great marble temples for their gods &
goddesses
On the flatter ground below lied the walled main city with markets, theaters, homes & gov’t
buildings. In the center was the agora, it was both a market & area where people would gather
The Early Gov’t in the City-States
Between 750 B.C.-500 B.C., the Greek city-states developed 3 main types of government:
1. In the beginning there were monarchies
2. Over time, power shifted from the king to the nobility (landowners). These men were also the military
defenders of the state. Over time they won more & more power. They were called an aristocracy
wealthy, privileged, elite upper class
3. Third type of gov’t to develop in Greece was an oligarchy.
--An oligarchy is where the majority of power rest in the hands of a few men (usually 5-10)
--Sparta will have an oligarchy and monarchy.
Changes in Warfare Help Create Powerful City-States
By 650 B.C. bronze was replaced with iron
Ordinary citizens could acquire this metal (not limited to the upper classes any longer), increases the
size of the military
New fighting style emerged called the phalanx. This new formation relied heavily on foot soldiers—
meaning they needed a certain amount to make the formation work. These soldiers were called hoplites.
Over time, this reduces class differences & creates a strong unity among soldiers
Ancient Greece: Part 2 continued
Sparta and Athens
Athens
Started out as a small rural city-state but became large & wealthy because of trade (mainly olives & olive
oil)
Athens was the first democracy in history—the idea was revolutionary. But it only lasted a 100 yrs or so.
Because of the freedom it allowed, Athens became a cultural center—artist, philosophers, writers,
musicians all went to Athens to think and create
Fraternity means brotherhood in Greek, concept created in Athens
Our model of citizenship today originated in Athens as well
Problems in Athens
Like many city-states, Athens was originally a monarchy. It developed into a society ruled by an
aristocracy.
Every social class in Athens grew more and more discontent and wanted change—their needs were not
being met by the gov’t
Example:
Farmers--during hard times they were forced to sell their land to nobles.
Many farmers had to sell members of their family or themselves into slavery to pay their debts.
Democracy & Cleisthenes
As this discontent spread & revolution came closer, Athens moved towards
--a gov’t where “all the people” have say, not just a few.
CLEISTHENES: important in Greek history, he helped make democracy a reality in Athens. He was from
the Athenian aristocracy, a leader of Athens at the time, 508 B.C.
Cleisthenes accomplishments:
* Athens became a full democracy
*created the Council of 500, this is where men were chosen by lottery/random to serve in the
gov’t.
*Created a true legislature (lawmaking body)
* All free male citizens over 30 were in the assembly
Athens was a Limited Democracy
Only male citizens could participate in gov’t
Slaves and women could not vote or participate in the gov’t
Even though it was limited, Athenian men had more freedom & political voice then most people during
this time period.
Education in Athens
Boys had well-rounded educations if family could afford it
Taught to sing, play an instrument, read, write and debate
Young men did receive military training but was not as important as academics.
Girls were not educated (other than domestic tasks), they were not allowed to leave their homes without
their husband or male family member.
Sparta
Sparta was located on the Peloponnesus peninsula-Southern part of Greece
They conquered areas around them and enslaved the conquered peoples.
These conquered people were called helots ; they were owned by the state. The helots were forced to
farm & turn the majority of their crops over to the Spartans.
The helots greatly outnumbered the Spartans, so to keep population under control they had the young
Spartans “practice” military tactics on the helots.
Sparta’s Govt
Two groups helped govern Sparta
1. Assembly: all male citizens were part of this, had to be Spartan born and 30 yrs old
2. Council of Elders: it proposed laws that the assembly voted on, over age of 60
The Oligarchy:
Ephors: enforced the laws, ruled over education & prosecuted court cases, held the real power in
Sparta (only 5 men).
The Monarchy:
the king (had 2 kings) ruled over the military. This was their primary job.
Spartan Eugenics
Eugenics: the practice of eliminating undesirable traits from a group of people or animals
The Spartans were first in history to practice this; they “eliminated” defected babies (boys and girls) at
birth
The test: they bathed the baby in wine instead of water. They believed if the baby was weak, it would
convulse and die. If it passed the wine test, the baby was inspected by the elders.
If the elders found the baby to be weak, etc. they would abandon the baby in the hills to die
Spartan Military
At age 7, mothers turned over their sons to the state; all boys were sent to live in the barracks until they
were 18.
They were treated cruelly to make them tough. Most boys did not make it to the age of 14-15
At age 20, they entered the regular military
Came home at age 30, but stayed in the military until 60
These men were to die in war or live as victorious warriors. Surrendering was not an option.
The idea of individuality did not exist in Sparta—everyone lived, worked and died for Sparta.
Spartan Women
Women were expected to be healthy, athletic & birth strong healthy sons
They trained & strengthened preparing for the day they would be mothers
They were expected to obey their fathers & husbands, however women had more rights than most
females in the ancient world.
Sparta & the Outside World
Spartans isolated themselves completely from their neighbors
They looked down on trade and wealth
Did not allow their citizens to travel
While many admired and respected their disciplined lifestyle, many did not envy them and definitely
did not want to join them.