Ancient Greece and the
Development of Greek City-States
Location, location, location!
Friday Five: Answer in complete
sentences.
1. How were Sparta and Athens different? Give
one example.
2. What are 3 geographic features of Greece?
3. Why did Persia invade Greece?
4. Who was Pericles?
5. What is a tyrant?
What are they? Why are they
important to ancient Greeks?
What is it?
Detention
• Why are you here?
• How did your behavior affect others and you?
• What are you going to do to avoid being in
detention again for this reason?
• Geographic Features
• Peninsulas…lots of them!
• Mountains…Pindos
Mountains
• Natural barriers kept
early people isolated
from each other
• Narrow, rugged coastlines
• Ionian Sea and Aegean
Sea…part of the
Mediterranean Sea
Peninsulas of Greece
The peninsulas resemble
your hand, fingers are the
many peninsulas.
How did they make a living?
• Many Greeks earned their living from the sea
• Expert sailors
• Developed trade networks with other cultures
around the Mediterranean Sea
• Set up colonies: small groups of people who
relocate to build a settlement and increase
trade with mother country
How did the Greeks make a living?
• Some farmed in the plains areas between the
higher plateau and mountain ranges
• Travel over land was very difficult
• Some of the products raised on farms include
grapes, figs and olives. They are resilient to
the harsh conditions of the lands of Greece.
Minoans
• The Minoans lived on the island of Crete from
approximately 2000 to 1600 BC.
• They were expert shipbuilders and sailors.
• Minoan ships carried goods such as wood,
olive oil, and pottery all around the eastern
Mediterranean. They traded these goods for
copper, gold, silver, and jewels.
• There were pros and cons about the location
of Crete.
Minoans
• Crete gave the Minoans open access to trade all
around the Mediterranean Sea
BUT…
• Sometime in the 1600s BC a huge volcano
erupted just north of Crete. This eruption created
a giant wave that flooded much of Crete.
(tsunami)
• In addition to tsunami, ash covered everything on
Crete.
• The civilization of the Minoans did not survive
this eruption.
Mycenaeans
• The first people to speak Greek, and therefore
the first to be considered Greek, were the
Mycenaeans.
• While the Minoans were sailing the
Mediterranean, the Mycenaeans were
building fortresses all over the Greek
mainland.
Mycenaeans
• The decline of the Minoan civilization gave the
Mycenaeans a chance to gain power and control
trade around the Mediterranean Sea.
• They set up colonies in northern Greece and Italy
from which they shipped goods to markets
around the Mediterranean and Black seas.
• The Mycenaeans didn’t think trade had to be
conducted peacefully. They often attacked other
kingdoms.
Fact or fiction?
• Some historians believe the Mycenaeans were
the Greeks who went to war against the city of
Troy, starting the long fabled Trojan War.
Guess what happened next?
• By the end of the 1200s BC, the Mycenaean
civilization lost power when their leaders
could not protect themselves from invaders
from Europe.
• Following these invasions, Greece fell into a
Dark Age of chaos and disorder, with people
fighting for control and power….
Invasion by an
outside force
(leaders not
watching their
backs)
Empire
becomes too
large to govern
and protect
Rise and
Fall
of
Civilization
Internal conflict
(common
people are
growing poor
and hungry)
Economic
instability-not
supporting the
people
financially due
to trade issues
Empire
becomes too
large to
govern and
protect
Invasion by
an outside
force (leaders
not watching
their backs)
Rise and
Fall of
Society
Internal
conflict
(common
people are
growing poor
and hungry)
Economic
instability-not
supporting
the people
financially
due to trade
issues
Development of city-states in Greece
• Dark Ages lasted about 300 years.
• People started to gather together for
protection.
• As time went on, these groups built citystates.
• Although they all spoke the same language
(Greek), they considered themselves separate
cultural groups.
Why did city-states develop?
• Mainly because the people were isolated due
to geographic features making natural
barriers.
• They were seeking protection and stability
after so many years of disorder and fear of
attack.
Development of City-States in Greece
• All the people did not live within the city walls.
• For examples, farmers lived on the small fields
around the city.
• In times of danger, the women, children and
elderly living outside the city walls were brought
in for safety.
• The city-state became the foundation of Greek
civilization.
• Besides providing security for its people, the city
gave them an identity.
What is a polis?
• A polis is the Greek term for city-state.
• The English word politics comes from the
Greek polis (fun fact  )
• City-states were built around a hill, or
acropolis. The important buildings such as
temples and other public buildings were built
on the top of the hill.
What is an agora?
• Each Greek city-state had an open area of the
city that was kept free of large buildings.
• This area, called an agora, was used as a
marketplace and the location of meetings by
the citizens.
• Think about a football field, with people
meeting in the field to trade or discuss
political issues.
Greek Colonies
• Before long, groups from city-states around
Greece began to set up colonies in distant
lands.
• After they were set up, Greek colonies
became independent. In other words, each
colony became a new polis.
• In fact, some cities that began as colonies
began to create colonies of their own.
Trade with the Colonies
• Once a group of people settled in a new area,
they sought to continue trade with city-states
on the mainland of Greece.
• The colonies sent metals such as copper and
iron back to mainland Greece.
• In return, the Greek city-states sent wine,
olive oil, and other products.
Trade
• Trade made the city-states much richer.
Because of their locations, some city-states
became great trading centers.
• By 550 BC the Greeks had become the
greatest traders in the whole Aegean region.
• Greek ships sailed to Egypt and cities around
the Black Sea.
City-states
• People thought of themselves as residents of a
city, not as Greeks.
• Because the city-state was so central to their
lives, the Greeks expected people to
participate in its affairs, especially in its
economy and its government.
Take 5: Minoans, Mycenaeans,
Athenians, Spartans
Minoans
Mycenaeans
Athenians
Spartans
Athens and Sparta
Two City-States
Two very different ways of life…
Definition
Examples
Characteristics
Not an example
Democracy
• A democracy is a form of government where
the citizens have a say in how it is run and the
decisions that need to be made.
Oligarchy
• Government run by a few wealthy people.
Tyranny
• A tyrant is the head of a form of government
called a tyranny.
• A tyrant was not always a cruel ruler.
• A tyrant is one man running the government.
• They are absolute rulers, meaning they have
all the political power.
• Some tyrants actually improved life, reformed
society and helped the poor.
Oligarchy, tyranny and democracy in
ancient Greece
• Government in Greece evolved from rule by a
single man or a few wealthy people to a form
of government that allows citizens to have a
say in political decisions.
Government of City-states
• Not all city-states were democracies!
• Athens was the first city-state to develop a
democratic form of government.
• Other city-states, such as Sparta, maintained
an oligarchy. A few wealthy powerful people
had absolute power, or made all the decisions.
Peloponnesian War…prelude
• The Persians built an empire on the east coast
of the Mediterranean Sea that extended
through Mesopotamia as far east as India and
southwest to include parts of Egypt.
• They wanted to take control of Greece,
because that would give the Persians control
of the Mediterranean World and all its trade.
• The Greeks were willing to fight to keep their
city-states safe.
Persian Wars
• The Persians attacked the Greeks in a series of
wars called the Persian Wars
• The Athenians and the Spartans had some
serious differences of opinions and did not get
along….
• However, they recognized they needed to join
together to defeat the Persians and maintain
control of Mediterranean Sea trade.
Persian Wars
• These wars lasted over 20 years and ended
with the defeat of Xerxes by a combined force
of the Spartan army and Athenian navy.
• Following the defeat of the Persians, a
messenger from the battlefield ran 26 miles
from Marathon to Athens, announced the
Greek victory, and dropped dead from
exhaustion!
Peloponnesian War pages 270-71
• After the Persian defeat in 480 BC, many of the
city-states decided to form an alliance, or an
agreement to join together against a common
enemy.
• Each city-state in the alliance gave money to a
common treasury to finance an military force in
the event of another war with Persia.
• The money was kept on an island called Delos in
the Aegean Sea, and those city-states who joined
this alliance were called the Delian League.
Peloponnesian War
• Athens had the strongest navy, which it sent to
protect the treasury on Delos.
• The Athenians started to boss the other members
of the alliance and misuse the funds; Athens was
the strongest city-state in the Delian League.
• They used the money in the treasury for building
projects and bullied other weaker city-states to
join the alliance and pay the dues for protection.
Peloponnesian War
• The Delian League was not the only alliance in
Greece.
• The Spartans and many of the city-states in
southern Greece formed an alliance also, called
the Peloponnesian League, named for the
peninsula on which these city-states were
located.
• Some of the weaker city-states in the Delian
League went to Sparta for help in dealing with
the bullying of the Athenians.
Peloponnesian War
• Sparta decided to teach Athens a lesson and
declared war.
• This was the Peloponnesian War, and it lasted
almost 30 years.
Persian Wars: Cornell Notes
1. Why did Darius swear to get revenge on the
Greeks?
2. What was the name of the place near Athens
where the Persian Wars began?
3. Why did Persia want to invade Greece?
4. What two city-states joined together to
defeat the Persians?