Ancient Greece Greek Politics Ancient Greece claims the

Ancient Greece

Greek Politics Ancient Greece claims the distinction of creating the worlds first democracy. Democracy meaning “rule of the people” comes from the Greek words demos, meaning “people”, and kratos, meaning “power”. 2000 BC the Greeks established cities in the small fertile valley along the rocky coast of Greece. The cities would come to be known as city-states.

Greek City States Important Greek City States: Athens Sparta Corinth Delphi Thebes

Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, with its recorded history going back over 3400 years. Named after the Greek Goddess Athena, the patron goddess of the city. During the time of the Ancient Greeks it was the center of power, art, science and philosophy in the world. Citizens participated in governmental decision making, making Athens one of the worlds first democracies. Citizens were adult male residents. Each year three nobles were elected to rule the citystate. After a year of service, the nobles then became a part of a larger council of advisors.

The Agora was the center of commerce and government of ancient Athens. There was a large open area for meetings which were surrounded by many buildings. Many buildings were temples built to Zeus, Hephaestus and Apollo. Other buildings were governmental buildings like the mint, and the Strategieion, where the 10 military leaders (called the Strategoi) of Athens met. The Agora was a place for people to discuss ideas on philosophy and government…. this was the birthplace of democracy in ancient Greece

The Agora

The Acropolis Or Citadel, meaning fortified part of a city in Ancient Greece; usually built on a hill. The Acropolis of Athens was built on a hill in the middle of the city-state of Athens. It was surrounded by stone walls and was used a citadel where the people of Athens could retreat in case they were attacked.

The Acropolis At the center of the acropolis of Athens is the Parthenon. Dedicated to the goddess Athena, it was used to store gold and other precious metals. Other temples on the Acropolis of Athens are: The Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechteum On the slope of the Acropolis lies the Theatre of Dionysus. Where the Festival of Dionysus was held.

Sparta Located in a valley on the banks of the Eurotas River in south-eastern Greece, Sparta was considered to be one of the most powerful city-states of Ancient Greece. Unlike Athens, Sparta did not study philosophy, art or theatre. They studied war. Considered to have the strongest army of all the citystates in Ancient Greece, all Spartan men were trained to become warriors from the day they were born.

Sparta The city of Sparta rose to power around 650 BC. From 492 to 449 BC, the Spartans helped lead the Greek city-states against the Persians, during the Persian Wars. During this war was when the famous battle of Thermopylae took place. Where 300 Spartan soldiers held off thousands of Persians.

Spartan society was divided into three specific social classes: 1. Spartan- The top of the Spartan society. These citizens were those who could trace their ancestry back to the original founders of Sparta 2. Perioikoi- These were free people who lived in Spartan lands, but were not Spartan citizens. They were allowed to travel, own land were allowed to trade. 3. Helot- the largest portion of the population, they were basically slaves or serfs to the Spartans. They could farm their own lands, but had to give half of their crops to the Spartans as payment.

Corinth One of the wealthiest citystates of Ancient Greece Most famous for its architecture, the Corinthians developed the Corinthian order of Greek architecture. Which is the third major form of classical Greek architecture along with Doric and Ionic. The government of Corinth was a monarchy.

Delphi was the religious center of Ancient Greece. People from all over ancient Greece would come to receive guidance from the Delphic Oracle Pythia. The city of Delphi was dedicated to the god Apollo. Located in the center of Greece, it became an epicenter for the arts, education, literature and trade.

Thebes A powerful city-state located to the north of Athens and Corinth. In 371 BC Thebes marched against Sparta and defeated the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra, putting an end to the power of the Sparta citystate. Thebes plays a major role in Greek literature and legend; it was considered to be the birth place of the hero Hercules, and played a major role in the stories of Oedipus and Dionysus.