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10-3
ATHENS
INTRODUCTION
A. Located on the Aegean coast
 B. About 750 B.C. nobles, merchants, &
manufacturers established an oligarchy (form
of government in which a few people have the
ruling power)
 C. Solon (594 B.C.), a rich merchant, wrote a
constitution (set of principles & rules for
governing)

SOLON’S CONSTITUTION
A. Set a limit on how much land one could own
 B. Landowners now had the right
to vote in the Assembly
 C. Erased all debts
 D. All slaves were freed
 E. Offered citizenship to artisans who were not
from Athens
 F. Ordered fathers to teach their sons a trade

I. A DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION
A. In 508 B.C., the Spartans, who had taken
over Athens, were overthrown by Cleisthenes
 B. Cleisthenes put into effect the world’s first
democratic constitution
 C. Democratic – favoring the
equality of all people
 D. Cleisthenes reforms lasted
for over 300 years

E. Assembly was opened to males over 20
 F. The Council of 500 handled daily business

 1.
members were chosen each year
 2. chosen randomly
 3. could only serve 2 terms max

G. Did not believe in elections because they
thought the rich would buy their way into the
council & they thought everyone was smart
enough to take part in the council
H. Citizens were required to educate their sons
 I. Boys studied writing, math, & music,
practiced sports, & memorized the works of
Homer & other poets
 J. When they turned 18, they became citizens

II. THE PERSIAN WARS
A. In 490 B.C., King Darius sent 600 ships and
his army to Greece
 B. They fought in Marathon
 C. When the Persians were boarding their
ships, the Athenians came down from the
mountains & attacked…defeating the Persians
 D. A messenger ran to Athens to declare
victory…he yelled “Nike!” which is the goddess
of victory…& then died

E. The Greeks prepared for the Persian return & in
480 they did.
 F. Darius’s son Xerxes conquered northern
Greece.
 G. 20 city-states banded together to defeat the
Persians (Sparta led the army & Athens led the
navy)
 H. The Persians set Athens on fire
 I. The Persian ships were destroyed
 J. This marked the end of the Persian Wars

III. THE DELIAN LEAGUE & THE ATHENIAN
EMPIRE
A. City-states formed a defensive league
(protective group) to prevent future attacks
 B. Sparta did not join the group
 C. As time grew, Athens became more
powerful and created their own empire
 D. Pericles was the ruler of Athens

 1.
rebuilt the temples and palaces on
Acropolis
 2. built the Parthenon
 3. led for 30 yrs.