LO 3- Citizens and Communities: The Greek City-States

Today in class Mr. Schick was not here and "Mr. Kappel" lead the discussion about Ancient Greece City states. It was helpful to read the section before and then go over the PowerPoint or outline.

 

 City-States-

• Tribal communities developed into city-states
• City-states were small places about a few square miles each.
• Athens and Sparta were the size as a couple of US counties
• Usually each town or city-state consisted of a couple thousand, while Athens may have reached as many as 250,000
• Fiercely competitive communities that often fought
• The town would be built around a hill, and on top of the hill there would be an acropolis.
• Acropolis was a combination of fortress and temple precinct
• Each community worshiped their own god or goddess.
• In each city-state, all of the members had an equal share.
• The Greek language was the first to have a word for a citizen.
• Couldn’t afford paid soldiers, so they used their citizens

City- States and Citizens

• The Greek city-states first developed at the same time the Assyrians rose to power westward from Mesopotamia.
• Greece was not controlled by a universal empire, allowing the city-states to fight among themselves
• Poorer citizens fought as light-armed infantry, annoying the enemy before the stronger part of the army would attack
• There was no reason to fight in an individual state because they were all related somehow
• Greeks were protected by many miles of sea and land.
• Each city-state relied on their own army of their male citizens
• Hoplites were heavily armed and armored citizen-soldier.
• Hoplites equipped themselves with bronze helmets and armor, round shields, long spears with iron blades, and short iron swords.
• Phalanx- a unit of several hundred hoplites, who closed ranks by joining shields when approaching the enemy.
• Each city-state was thought to have been developed by a family or clan.

Monarchy, Oligarchy, tyranny, and Democracy

• Different types of government were based off of monarchy
• Monarchy-
• government by king, that lead to other types of government
• Oligarchy-
• rule by few
• a minority of citizens dominated the government and the power of majority was limited in various ways.
• Sparta was an oligarchy
• Tyranny-
• Rule by self-proclaimed dictator
• Democracy-
• A form of government in which all adult male citizens were entitled to take part in decision making.
• Athens was the most powerful Democracy government

Sparta: The Military ideal

• Spartans were descendants of the Greeks who had conquered part of southwest mainland.
• Spartans were descendants of Greeks who conquered the southern mainland
• They would push west for rich soil
• Spartan citizens were outnumbered ten to one with noncitizens
• Made up of landowners who owned helots.
• Helots- noncitizen forced to work for landholders.
• The conquers became victims of their own success.
• Had two kings, a council of 30 elders over 60, and 5 officials
• To hold the helots, Spartans would have to have a government that allowed domination from their own kind
• Main executive authority were five officials elected annually, and they were usually elder
• Their way of life dedicated male citizens to the state
• The males were made as warriors
• At age of seven boys were taken from their families and would go on an extreme life of physical and military training
• They were allowed to marry after 20, and bachelors were punished
• After the Spartans were starting to lose battles, Aristotle said that women were useless for war, so trying to protect the Spartans tough life, they tried to seal off their state due to the fact that there best trait, war, was losing out
• Most Spartans would pay to have their system stay as is
• Women in Sparta were free, but couldn’t hold office. This created admiration and disapproval from the Greeks.
• Women would still have to go into physical training, but not as intense of the males

Athens: Freedom and Power

• Believed the Spartan life was not worth living.
• Made jokes about the Spartan way of life
• Athens was not agricultural and landlocked like Sparta but rather carried on prosperous commerce and access to the sea
• Strengthened navy instead of army, welcomed people in
• Athens was not agricultural and landlocked like Sparta but rather carried on prosperous commerce and access to the sea
• Was the opposite of Sparta, and had more literature and art.
• Was more ambitious for conquest.
• Grew to be the wealthiest and most powerful city-states.
• Had more social and political conflicts from the aristocrats.
• Aristocrats- members of prominent and ling-established Athenian families.
• Some women got education.

Monarchy to Democracy

• Athenians passed through several stages of political growth, beginning with monarchy and including oligarchy and tyranny.
• Aristocrats were the leader instead of rulers.
• Two turning points
• Persian War- Athens led Greeks to victory
• Led to Golden Age
• The Peloponnesian War
• Between the Spartan and Athenians
• Athens was defeated and never recovered.

The Persian war

• Persians conquered a realm that stretched from the border of India to the Nile and the Aegean.
• For the first time, an universal empire had come within striking distance to with the Greeks.
• Persians were able to conquer the Greeks west of Asia Minor.
• When Athenian upstarts rebelled, the Persian King, Darius I, extended his control into mainland Greece.
• Then two expeditions were sent to the mainland Greeks, which were lost and won by the Athenians.
• Spartan armies defeated Persians, made them make a peace treaty

The Workings of Democracy: The Assembly

• Democracy was in the hand of an assembly of adult male citizens, where all decisions were made.
• Meetings were held once a week
• Voting was a show of hands.
• Debates were spirited
• Kept checks and balances
• Had 10 generals, voted each year
• Army could not take power
• In court, 500 men were rounded up, so many people were involved
• No lawyers, spoke for themselves
• Slaves were more free

The Working of Democracy: Officials and Courts

• Aristocratic power, The Council of Five Hundred and one thousand public officials