Download ArchaicGreece - Harrisburg Academy

What is the Archaic Age?
• Transitional period between 750 and 500
BCE when the Greeks began to look at
their place in the world.
• It led to the explosion of invention that
became the Golden Age!
Greek & Phoenician Colonization:
750-500 BCE
Experiments in Local
Government
• Early in the Archaic age, the Greeks still
lived in small villages
• Each community had an “archon” which
was the Greek word for “ruler”
• The archon depended on advise and
support from warriors
As the communities continued to expand,
they grew into city-states. The Greek word for
city-state is polis.
The Rise of the Greek Polis
Athens
Naxos
Eboea
Larissa
Syracuse
Corinth
Three largest city-states:
Athens, Sparta,
Thebes
Athens:
Located in Attica,
this city-state had
so many people it
had to begin
trading for grain
and developed a
wealthy merchant
class. It later
became a center
for learning and
the arts.
Sparta:
The Dorians invaded
this region, where
they enslaved the
local Mycenaean,
(and later
Messenian) farmers,
whom they called
“Helots.” They
became a tightly-run
military state and did
not trade.
Sparta was conservative
• Started out interested in trade
• They even had a poet named Alcman who
wrote love poetry!
• But when their helots (slaves) revolted, it
took 17 long years to get them under control
• The Spartans took drastic measures to
ensure a revolt would not happen again and
became a militaristic state
• They avoided contact with the outside world
Thebes
Located in the fertile plains of
Boeotia, merchants in this city once
traded with the Minoans.
Corinth
This polis had a strategic location on the narrow
isthmus connecting the Peloponnese to the rest of
Greece, which brought its people great wealth
through trade. They valued craftsmen more than
soldiers.
Ionia:
Directly east of
Greece across
the Aegean Sea,
this region traded
to ports around
the Black Sea
and became an
international
center for many
cultures to mingle
and exchange
products and
ideas.
Ionian people also improved
on the Phoenician alphabet.
Lydia
A kingdom to the east of the Ionian colonies; it was
the first ancient culture to mint gold and silver
coins.
Forms of Government
• Aristocracy – Means “rule by the best.”
Usually means the wealthiest
– Cratos means “power” in Greek
• Monarchy – Means “rule by one.” Usually
a king
• Oligarchy – Means “rule by a few.” This
was the form of government they had in
Sparta
Athenian Democracy
• Archon Eponymos –
Most important man
in the community.
Leader of the nine
archons selected to
lead the polis.
In 621 BCE, the Archon
Eponymos was Draco
“Draconian”
• Means a rule or law that has harsh
penalties
• Comes from the Archon Eponymos,
Draco, who would punish even the
smallest crimes with death
• He did create the first written constitution,
which was posted throughout the polis so
everyone would be aware of the rules
Solon’s Reforms
• Removed death penalty for all crimes but
murder
• Set up court system
• Said that farmers who fell
on
hard times would no
longer be imprisoned
Solon’s Reforms, continued…
• Created the “Boule,” also known as the
Council of Four Hundred. This group of
men voted on issues to be discussed by
the “Ecclesia,” a larger body of citizens
• Strengthened the economy by
encouraging export of olive oil and pottery
• Divided the Athenians into classes based
on wealth
Cleisthenes – Founder of
Democracy
• Divided Attica into Demes, which are
electoral districts following property lines
• The Demes prevented clans from
becoming to powerful
• Gave each citizen the right to
vote for men to represent them
in the Boule
• Gave a voice to the entire polis
Our Alphabet:
From Phoenician to Greek
The Greeks
added symbols
for vowels and
increased the
letters to 24