Download Monarchy Oligarchy Tyranny Democracy How many people have

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.