THE RISE OF GREEK CITIES

Lesson 2

VOCABULARY Polis Acropolis Agora Citizen Oligarchy Monarchy Democracy colony

•Athens•Sparta•Mount Olympus

Places

THE BIG PICTURE

Each community usually revolved around one city. The Greek word for this kind of city- state was polis

A GREEK POLIS

Most city- states were built around an acropolis Acropolis- was a large hill where city residents could

seek shelter and safety in times of war

In a near by clearing farmers would gather to trade with craft workers. The clearing, called an agora often served as a marketplace and meeting place

ACROPOLIS

AGORA

DEVELOPING GOVERNMENTS

Each city- state had a different type of government In each type, the leaders had to be citizens of their polis

Citizen- is a person who has certain rights and responsibilities in his country or community

In ancient Greece, only men could be citizens Women and slaves were not citizens- they have few

rights Slaves (helots) were usually conquered neighbors.

Being a citizen did not make men automatically a part of the government

In many city- states a small group of the richest, most powerful citizens controlled decision making (oligarchy) The city- state Athens was governed by an oligarchy Before the oligarchy, Athens was a monarchy ( government

ruled by one ruler or king). The word monarchy comes from the Greek words “rule by one”

SPARTA

SPARTA In 700 B.C Sparta covered much of the southern

Peloponnesus and was Greece’s largest city- state In the Agora was where Sparta’s leaders made

decisions that shaped the polis Most of Sparta’s farmers were slaves

Sparta had many more slaves than other city- states 7slaves to 1 Spartan

THE SPARTAN MILITARY

Around 600 B.C Spartan slaves revolted. Spartans managed to over power them.

Spartans wanted the strongest military They wanted to make sure that neither slaves nor another polis could

ever gain control of Sparta

Spartan's wanted to make their polis strong Spartan children played a role in the polis

Age 7- boys and girls began training (boys had more training) Girls practiced running, throwing spears (javelins), and playing

ball games Girls trained not to become solders but strong mothers of strong

children

Some time was spent learning to read and write

ATHENS

“SEE LITTLE, HEAR LITTLE, AND ASK NO MORE QUESTIONS THAN ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY”

ATHENS Athens lay on the peninsula of Attica, northeast of Sparta Athenian girls did not practice sports Girls stayed home to help their mother

They carried out such duties as weaving cloth from sheep’s wool Farm girls helped harvest the fields

Many Athenian boys worked each days in the fields or in pottery or stone shops

If parents could afford school- boys learned to read and write After classes they would practice wrestling or boxing at a local

gymnasium

GOVERNMENT IN ATHENS

Athenians did not spend as much time and energy building a strong army

600 B.C Athens’ government was a oligarchy Leaders families belonged to noble families (they were rich and

powerful)

the poor demanded to have more say in the government and how it was run Noble’s were forced to share some power

They had to form a new government where all of the citizens could take part in decision making. This became known as a democracy Democracy- Greek word meaning “rule by the people”. It means that

citizens vote to make government decisions

Historians trace our own ideas of democracy back to Greece

BEYOND GREECE

After Greek festivals and Olympics were started, athletes from far away Greek colonies came to participate

Colonies were made up of groups of people who lived apart from, but kept ties with, Greece

Colonies became important trading partners with Greece. They grew grains that were in demand Greek ships sailed down Egypt’s Nile Delta

SHARED CULTURE

SHARED CULTURE

Every month there were a few days that were saved to honor their gods Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses The most powerful gods and goddesses were said to

live on Mount Olympus

SPECIAL FESTIVALS

Each polis honored at least one special god or goddess as its special protector In Athens, people worshiped Athena (goddess of wisdom)

Every summer a festival is held in her honor They would walk to the top of the Acropolis, where a priest would kill cattle in

her name/ honor

All people from Greece worshiped Zeus (most powerful god) City- states came together in competition in athletic competitions

A GREEK POET

People in all city- states loved to hear stories of the poet Homer

Many stories described Greece’s past Most famous poems- The Iliad and the Odyssey. Tell stories of

war and adventure The Iliad describes what happened when a prince from Troy,

an ancient city, kidnapped Helen a Greek Queen. It also tells how the gods created Greek cities