Ancient Greece Key Terms and Concepts
Chapter 26: The Rise of Democracy
City-states
• An early city that was like
a small independent
country with its own laws,
army, and government.
Even though the Greeks
knew that had many
things in common
(language), they did not
think of themselves as
one country. Instead they
identified their city state
as their “homeland.”
Government
• The people or groups that
rule a particular region.
The Greeks
experimented with
several forms of
government to run their
city states (monarchy,
oligarchy, tyranny, and
democracy) When they
found unhappiness with
one they tried another.
Monarchy
• A single ruler, such as a
king, queen, or emperor,
who holds all the power in
a country. From about
2000 – 800 BCE most
Greek city states were
ruled by monarchs. The
king usually inherits the
throne and eventually
power was went to the
king’s oldest son. They
had many powers such
as making laws, leading
the army, and religious
ceremonies.
Aristocrat
• A member of the most
powerful class in ancient
Greece society. They
advised the king.
Eventually most
aristocrats realized they
had even more power
than the king and wanted
at least a share of the
king’s power. Eventually,
in most city states, kings
were overthrown by these
aristocrats and by 800
BCE kings no longer
ruled most city states.
Oligarchy
•
A form of government in which the
ruling power is the hands of a few
people. By 800 BCE most citystates were ruled by oligarchs who
were mostly aristocrats. They lived
the life of luxury while the poor
suffered in the fields all day. The
rich got richer and poor got
poorer. The oligarchs ignored the
needs of the people and passed
laws the poor did not like. They
used their army to enforce their
laws. Eventually, the poor turned
to leaders who promised to
improve their lives. These leaders
would overthrow the oligarchs.
Tyranny
• A form of government in which
the ruling power is in the
hands of one person who is
not a lawful king. A tyrant was
different from a monarchy
because they did not have the
legal right to rule and they did
not usually hand power down
to their sons. Many tyrants
were popular as they made
changes to help the poor,
cancelled farmer’s debt, and
harassed the aristocrats.
Tyrants normally seized
control.
•
Hippias…the last Tyrant of Athens was
forced out of power after he turned to
harsh rule after his brother was killed by
rivals…Democracy was up next!
Citizen
• A member of a
Democracy, who has
certain rights and
responsibilities. In the
ancient Greek
democracy, the citizens
shared the ruling power
as they were able to vote
on all issues. In Athens,
only freemen who were
over 18 and born in
Athens were considered
citizens.
Democracy
• A form of government in which
the ruling power is shared by
all citizens. Around 500 BCE
the people of Athens decided
to try governing themselves. In
this Direct Democracy every
citizen could vote on every
issue. The city had an
assembly, or law making
group. Any, and only free
man could speak in the
Assembly and vote on a new
law or a proposal to go to war.
Free men also ran the day to
day business.
Council 500
• A group of 500 Greek
citizens that ran the day
to day business of the
government and
suggested laws. This
ensured that every citizen
had the opportunity to
take part in the city’s
government. Each year,
the names of all Greek
citizens over 30 were
collected and 500 were
chosen in a random
drawing
•
Bouleuterion. The Council of 500
(Boule) held its regular meetings
here.
Assembly
• A group of citizens in an
ancient Greek democracy with
the power to pass laws that
had been suggested by the
Council. The Assembly met
every 10 days to debate on
and pass laws. At least 6000
citizens had to be in
attendance in order for the
meeting to take place. If there
were less than 6000 slaves
were ordered to round up
enough so the meeting could
take place. (Red Paint) Every
citizen had the right to speak at
the assembly