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Greek Government
By Kevin Torres
Forms of Government
There were three types of government in Ancient Greece:
 Mornarchy – To rule by a king. One city-state whose government was the citystate of Corinth.
 Oligarchy – To rule by a small group. One city-state whose government was an
oligarchy was the city-state of Sparta.
 Democracy – To rule by the citizens, voting in an assembly. One city-state whose
government experimented for about a hundred years with democracy was the
ancient city-state of Athens.
Intro. And Ending To Monarchy
 The Mycenaeans, who lived during 2000 to 1100 B.C., where the people who first
introduced Monarchy as a style of government. The king of each city-state lived in
a palace, in the capital city. Beyond the capital city where villages filled with
people who depended on their king to provide them with protection. The king,
however, depended on heavily-armed soldiers to handle any threats that were posed
to the kingdom. The king usually retained his power throughout his whole life.
After the king’s passing, his eldest son, the prince, would take over. If there was
no direct male successor, the king’s closest military advisors would battle to become
the new ruler.
 The Monarchy type of government lasted until the 1200 B.C.’s, whenever their
trade routes between Asia Minor, and themselves, diminished. They were unable to
attain(obtain), any more raw metals, leading to their loss against the Dorians, and
loss of their government. Monarchy later “died out” as a type of government, and
later was replaced by the system of government, Oligarchy.
Intro. And Ending To Oligarchy
Between 1100 and 800 B.C., small groups of people began to share their power to
rule in several Greek city-states. Political power was often shared among
aristocrats, who inherited wealth and power from their families, or the king. Much
like the monarchs, oligarchs had good lives and enforced their rule with military
support. They lacked political rights, though, such as voting. Therefore, most of the
citizens of an oligarchy had very little say in how to rule Greece.
 As time passed by, oligarchies in Ancient Greece began to disappear for many
different reasons. One of those reasons was, that the oligarchy ruled harshly and
the citizens later overthrew it. The power of oligarchies was also weakened when
powerful and wealthy individuals, called hoplites, assembled armies to intimidate
political leaders. By the 400 B.C.’s, only one city-state had a stable oligarchy,
Sparta.

Introduction to Democracy
 Democracy was developed in Ancient Greece around 500 B.C., in the city-state of
Athens. The main governing body of the Athenian democracy was the Citizens
Assembly. It was open to all 40,000 male citizens, but usually only 5,000
attended. The assembly welcomed both rich and poor citizens. The male citizens met
at least 40 times a year to direct foreign policy, revise laws, and approve, or
condemn, the conduct of the public officials. Assembly members reached their
decisions through debate and votes. Later, the Council of 500, was responsible for
the day-to-day running of the state. The council administered the state’s finances,
received foreign ambassadors, and oversaw the maintenance of the Athenian fleet.
One important aspect of Democracy was the fact that it’s public officials didn’t have
much individual power. There was no president office in Athens. Nearly all
government officials, including generals, assembly and council members, as well as
citizens who served on juries, were paid for their services. This allowed both poor
and rich male citizens to fully participate in Athenian Government.