Western Civilization - Blog Post #12 - Greece

February 11th, 2020

Warring City-States

Terms

Polis - city-state; made up of a city and its surrounding countryside
Acropolis - a place where citizens gathered to discuss city government
Monarchy - government ruled by a single person called a king
Aristocracy - a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families who often gained political power after serving in a king's military calvary
Oligarchy - a government ruled by a few powerful people
Tyrants - powerful individuals, usually nobles or other wealthy citizens, sometimes seized control of the government by appealing to the common people for support
Democracy - ruled by the people
Helots - peasants forced to stay on the land they worked
Phalanx - a battle formation where soldiers stand side by side while holding a spear and shield
Persian Wars - wars between Greece and the Persian Empire
Draco - a nobleman who took the first steps towards a democracy in Athens
Debt Slavery - debtors worked as slaves to repay their debts
The Council of Five Hundred - proposed laws and counseled the assembly; members chose at random

Book Notes

  • 750 B.C. - polis was the fundamental political unit in Ancient Greece 
  • Most city-states controlled between 50 to 500 square miles of territory
  • Often had less then 10,000 residents
  • Greek city-states had many different forms of government including monarchies, aristocracies, oligarchies, tyrants, and democracies
  • Tyrants were often looked upon as leaders who would work for the interests if the ordianry people and often set up building programs to provide jobs and housing for their supporters
  • Athens went through power struggles between rich and poor, but avoided major political upheavels by making timely reforms
  • Athens was ruled by a democracy, therefore citizens participated directly in political decision making
  • 621 B.C. - Draco developed a legal code based on the idea that all Athenians were equal; the code also dealt very harshly with ciminals, making the death penalty for almost every crime; held practices like debt slavery
  • 594 B.C. - Solons came to power introducing more far-reaching democratic reforms; abolished debt slavery; organized Athen into 4 social classes based on wealth; introduced the legal concept that any citizen could bring charges against wrongdoers
  • c. 500 B.C. - Cleisthenes organized citizens into 10 groups based on where they live, not wealth; increased the power of the assembly by allowing all citizens to submit laws for debate and passage; created the Council of Five Hundred; allowed citizens to participate in a limited democracy

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