THE RISE OF GREEK CITIES
Lesson 2
VOCABULARY
Polis
Acropolis
Agora
Citizen
Oligarchy
Monarchy
Democracy
colony
Places
• Athens
• Sparta
• Mount Olympus
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
In
city- state had a different type of government
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
Slaves
and slaves were not citizens- they have few rights
(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
 They
wanted the strongest military
wanted to make sure that neither slaves nor another polis could
ever gain control of Sparta
 Spartan's
 Spartan
 Age
wanted to make their polis strong
children played a role in the polis
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
girls did not practice sports
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
The
Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses
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
Homer
Many
in all city- states loved to hear stories of the poet
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