CHAPTER 5: THE GREEK CITY-STATES
Section 1: Early Greeks & the Rise of City-States
I. The Sea & the Land

the sea was an important part of Greek lives

Greece’s geography made it hard for its early people to develop a sense of unity; short mountain
ranges cut up the Greek mainland, & short rivers did not aid travel & trade between villages
o
so separate city-states arose inside of an empire
II. Early Greek Peoples
A. The Minoans

the Minoan civilization developed on the island of Crete by 2000 B.C.; it was the earliest
Greek civilization

the Minoan civilization was named after the legendary king of Crete, King Minos

palaces and homes had running water

several-storied houses

frescoes - paintings done on wet plaster walls

because of Crete’s poor soil, many Minoans became sailors & traders

in about 1628 B.C. tidal waves caused by a volcanic eruption on a nearby island destroyed
many coastal settlements on Crete & weakened the Minoan civilization

the Mycenaeans from the Greek mainland conquered the Minoans in Crete in about 1400
B.C.
B. The Mycenaeans

the Mycenaeans controlled mainland Greece from about 1600 B.C. to about 1200 B.C.

clans and tribes headed by a warrior – warring people

by 1200 B.C. earthquakes & warfare had destroyed most of the Mycenaean cities

after conquering Crete, the Mycenaeans adopted many elements of Minoan civilization,
including the Minoan system of writing called Linear B ( an early form of Greek writing)

syllabic form of writing with 89 characters
III. The City-States of Greece

during the 800s & 700s B.C. the Greeks formed a number of independent city-states

polis - Greek word for city-state, which developed around a central fort

the concept of the polis was based on 3 basic & closely related ideas:

o
the geographical territory of the city-state
o
the community that it represented
o
the political & economic independence that it produced
over time, the polis came to represent the center Greek identity, & its inhabitants were
intensely loyal to it
o
covered a small area of land
o
population of fewer than 10,000; most slaves and non-citizens
o
only free adult males had citizenship rights

acropolis - hill or mountain in Greece that included a fort as well as temples & other public
buildings

agora - marketplace in a city-state in Greece

each city-state setup its own government, had its own money, and its own calendar

all ancient Greeks:
o
spoke the same language
o
tended to regard people who did not speak Greek as barbarians
o
shared many religious ideas, cultural characteristics, & social patterns
Section 2: Greek Government & Society
(evolution of government in city-states from tribes and chiefs  kingdoms  democracy)
I. Greek Culture in the Homeric Age

few people could write during this period, so most communication was oral, or spoken
A. The Iliad & the Odyssey

epic – long poem about heroes and great events

Iliad - Homer’s great epic that tells the story of the Trojan War (10 years)

Odyssey - Homer’s epic that tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus on his way home from
the Trojan War (10 years)

Homer - according to tradition, the blind poet who was author of the Iliad & the Odyssey

today the word “odyssey” refers to any long, adventure-filled journey
B. Greek Religious Beliefs

the ancient Greeks looked to religion for 3 things:
o
to explain nature (lightening, thunder, change of seasons)
o
to explain the emotions that sometime cause people to lose self-control
o
to bring them certain benefits here & now (long life, good luck, bountiful harvest)

Greeks believed that the spirits of almost all people went to an underworld ruled by the god
Hades; it was not viewed as a place of either punishment or reward

myths - traditional stories about gods, goddesses, & heroes (to explain world)
o
gave human characteristics and personalities to their gods

oracles - special places where the ancient Greeks believed gods spoke through priests &
priestesses

pleasing the gods (by showing strength & bravery) was an important part of Greek life

Olympic Games - originally, ancient Greek festival including contests of sports, music, &
literature; the modern revival of these games as international athletic competitions

the Olympics were held every 4 years in honor of Zeus & were probably held for the first time
in 776 B.C.
II. Greek Government: From Kings to Democracy

nobles gained power and overthrew the ruling kings

aristocracies - Greek city-states controlled by nobles (means “rule by the best”)

by the 600s B.C. non-aristocrats began to participate in politics

hoplites – heavy infantry who carried long spears and fought in closely spaced rows
o
demanded more say in the daily government

tyrants - in ancient Greece, rulers who seized power by force but who ruled with the people’s
support; later came to refer to rulers who exercise brutal & oppressive power

between 650 B.C. & 500 B.C. tyrants ruled many city-states

popular government - idea that people can & should rule themselves

democracy - government in which citizens take part
o
full rights were only allowed to a small part of the population
o council of citizens would continue to limit individual powers in monarchies and
aristocracies
Section 3: Sparta & Athens

Athens – laws and government

Sparta – physical strength and discipline (memorize laws)
I. Sparta: The Military Ideal

helots – conquered people

unlike other city-states, Sparta was located in a valley, not on a hill; moreover, walls for defense
did not surround it

the isolated & mountainous Peloponnesus may explain why Sparta developed very differently from
Athens, becoming a rigid & highly militarized society
A. Spartan Society
Equals
Half-citizens
Helots
descended from invaders
controlled the city-states
free persons who paid taxes & served in the army
no political power
slaves of the Spartan city-state
hated the Spartans who controlled them by force (outnumbered)
B. Government in Sparta

2 kings (one to lead the army, the other to take care of home matters) headed up the
government

a Council of Elders, comprised of 28 male citizens over age 60, proposed laws & served as a
criminal court

the assembly, comprised of all males over age 30, accepted or rejected proposed laws
proposed by Elders & elected 5 men (ephors – made sure the kings stayed within the law) to
hold kings in check
C. Life in Sparta’s Military Society

Sparta controlled the lives of its citizens from birth to death with one goal in mind: to make
every adult male citizen part of the military machine

the Spartans gave up their individual freedom in exchange for their power
o
birth
examined to make sure healthy (left to die if not)
age 7
left home for military barracks and training
18-20
trained specifically for war
20
began military service, can marry
30
can now live at home with wife
60
no longer in military service; work for public good
girls – physical training and taught devotion to city-state
II. Athens: The Birth of Democracy

Athens is located on the Attic peninsula, one of the least fertile areas in Greece; thus the
Athenians turned to the sea, & many became sea traders

Athens was a typical polis built around the rocky hill of the Acropolis
A. Athenian Society
Citizens
Athenian-born
Rrich aristocrats or poor farmers
merchants & artisans
Metics
others born outside of Athens
could not take part in gov’t or own land
Slaves
POWs (prisoners of war)
if freed they become metics
B. Early Government in Athens

after Athens’ monarchy ended, the city-state had an aristocratic government

archons – served one year terms in the assembly

Draco – an archon, believed to have created Athens’ first written law code around 621
B.C.; laws were so harsh and severe = Draconian Law

Solon – another archon, settled disputes between creditors & debtors by erasing the debts
of the poor & outlawing slavery for debt; U.S. bankruptcy laws are based in Solon’s
ordinances

Peisistratus – ruled over Athens as a tyrant; clashed with nobles
C. Athenian Democracy

in about 507 B.C., Cleisthenes seized power in Athens & turned it into a democracy

divided citizens into 10 tribes who elected 50 men for the Council of Five Hundred

direct democracy - form of democracy in which all citizens participate directly in making
decisions

representative democracy - form of government in which citizens elect representatives to
run the government for them, rather than each citizen serving directly in the government
Section 4: Daily Life in Athens
I. The Athenian Economy

most Athenian citizens were farmers who grew olives, grapes, & figs, which they planted on
terraced hillsides (terracing – carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides)

the Athenian assembly’s vote to send farmers & workers to set up overseas colonies helped to
spread Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean & promoted trade

import - good or service bought from another country or region (coming in)

export - good or service sold to another country or region (going out)

trade was the mainstay of Athens’ economy
II. Home & Family Life

Athenians built magnificent temples & other public buildings; however, most Athenian
families lived in simple homes

generally, most Athenians believed that money should be spent on buildings to benefit the
whole community, not on private homes

marriage & family life were very important to Athenians; parents always arranged marriages,
& the main purpose of marriage was to have children

legally & socially, Athenian women were considered inferior to men & could not own or
inherit property though they were citizens; women managed the household & slaves, & raised
children

boys went under the care of a pedagogue at age 7 – male salve who taught manners
III. Education & Military Service

most Greeks were poor & hardworking; wealthy men spent their time in the pursuit of
intellectual & physical excellence

Athenians placed great value on literacy & education

the Athenian ideal stressed a sound mind in a healthy body (grammar & music, gymnastics)

Sophists – opened schools for older boys

ethics - study of what is good & bad, & of moral duty

rhetoric - study of public speaking & debating (oratory)

education helped spread the Greek language & civilization throughout the Mediterranean
world (even today we use many words derived from Greek)

at age 18 Athenian males received a year of military training
Section 5: The Expansion of Greece
I. The Persian Wars

Persian Wars - conflicts between Greece & Persia that began about 500 B.C. & lasted until 479
B.C.
A. The Wars Under Darius & Xerxes

Darius crushed Greek revolts in Asia Minor, conquered Thrace & Macedonia, & invaded
Greece; the Persians had to withdraw from Greece after being defeated at the Battle of
Marathon

Xerxes won the Battle of Thermopylae & destroyed Athens

in 479 B.C. the Athenians & Spartans joined forces to defeat the Persians at Plataea,
northwest of Athens, thus ending the Persian Wars
B. Results of the Persian Wars

the Athenians rebuilt their city & entered a period of great cultural achievement

Athens began to create its own empire in the Aegean Sea

although the Persians had been defeated, the threat of invasion from the Persian Empire
continued, making Greek unity seem necessary

Delian League - alliance of city-states in ancient Greece, with Athens as a leader
II. The Age of Pericles

Pericles - great general, orator, & statesman whose leadership contributed to Athens

under Pericles, Athenian democracy reached its height, achieving probably the most
completely democratic government in history

Pericles strengthened & extended the empire that Athens had built

although government in Athens was democratic, the Delian League was not; Athens made all
the decisions
III. The Peloponnesian War

Peloponnesian War - war between Sparta & Athens that broke out in
27 years

the Peloponnesian War left Greece politically unstable
431 B.C. & lasted for