Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Monarchy How many people have political power? How did they get political power? How did this government work? Draw a symbol to represent this type of government. Oligarchy Tyranny Democracy Monarchy Tyranny A monarchy is a form of government where the ruling power is in the hands of a single person. The Mycenaeans ruled Greece from 2000 to 1100 BCE and established monarchies in each city-state. The people paid taxes to the king, obeyed his laws, and depended on him for defense. Usually the king would keep his political power for life and when he died his eldest son would succeed him on the throne. The Mycenaean monarchies survived until around the 1200s BCE when many of their trade routes began to close because of fighting. As a result, the Mycenaeans could not obtain any raw metals to make weapons and conquer other lands. Eventually they began to fight amongst themselves. Finally, a people from the northwest called Dorians invaded Greece, destroyed the monarchies, and replaced them with a system called oligarchy. A tyranny is a form of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of an individual who has seized control, often by illegal means. Over time, a person who ruled by tyranny, a tyrant, became known for holding onto power by cruel and abusive means. Tyrannies in Greece arose in the 600s BCE as many middle class merchants became angry with their rulers. Various individuals – mostly former military leaders – responded to the demands of the middle class and promised to make the changes they wanted. Backed financially by the middle class, these individuals seized power from the ruling groups, and once in power, often reformed the laws, aided the poor, canceled debts, and gave citizens other than nobles a say in the government. Many tyrants ruled for short periods of time. In some places, tyrants grew greedy and harsh and were overthrown. Once the last tyrant was forced to leave Greece, a new form of government replaced him. Oligarchy Democracy An oligarchy is a form of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of a few leaders. Between 1100 and 800 BCE, small groups of people began to share the ruling power in several Greek city-states. The power was usually shared among aristocrats, wealthy families, and a king. Overtime, however, oligarchies changed to where the political power rested with just a few wealthy individuals. The leaders, called oligarchs, enforced their rule by using the military. Oligarchies began to disappear in Greece for various reasons. In Athens, dissatisfaction with the oligarchs arose as a peasant population increased and food shortages became common. The power of the oligarchies also weakened when powerful and wealthy individuals assembled armies of hired, or mercenary, warriors, and used them to intimidate political leaders. By the 400s BCE, a stable oligarchy ruled only one city-state, Sparta. A democracy is a form of government where the ruling power is in the hands of all the people. Democracy developed in Ancient Greece around 500 BCE in the city-state of Athens. The main governing body of the Athenian democracy was the Citizens Assembly which was open to all adult male citizens. Assembly members reached all their decisions through public debate and vote. A smaller, important executive body, the Council of 500, was responsible for the day-to-day running of the state and enforcing the Assembly’s decisions. These members were chosen yearly in a lottery-type drawing. An important aspect of Athenian democracy was that its public officials did not have much individual power. Nearly all government officials were paid for their services which allowed both poor and rich male citizens to fully participate in the Athenian government.