Ancient Greece: Political MovementChapter 5

1. Greek Political Structure

a. Greek society was centered on the polis. i. a polis is a city state.ii. Each polis developed independently of its

neighboriii. Each polis had its own form of

government, laws and customs.

b. The Polisi. Center of daily life and

culture for the ancient Greeks

ii. Structure1. City was built around a

high hill called and acropolis, where temples and spaces for public office were located.

2. Below the acropolis was the agora, which is were the market places were located.

3. Around the polis was a wall, used for defense.

2. Example of Cities States

a. Corinthi. Was a trading city state that function as

an oligarchy. ii. It was ruled by a few individuals.

b. Spartai. Sparta controlled the towns around it and

made the people they conquered serve as helots or slaves.

ii. Helots were forced to work as farmers so that Spartan citizens did not have to perform manual labor and could focus on training for war. Sparta placed great emphasis on war. War was important because the helots outnumbered the Spartans 7 to 1 and were always ready to rebel.

iii. Gender Roles in Sparta1. Sparta required that all of its citizens be

strong and tough.2. Men:

a. Boys were 7 years old when they entered school. At the end of their training they were sent out into the wilderness with nothing to see if they could survive.

b. At the age of 20, if they survived the wilderness, they became hoplites (foot soldiers).

c. They were required to serve in the army for 10 years.

3. Women:a. Spartan women trained in gymnastics for

physical fitness.b. Spartans believed strong women would

lead to strong babies.c. Spartan women could also own property.

iv. Government1. Sparta had two kings who served as

commanders of the military2. They also had a council of elders who

made most of the decisions for the city.

c. Athensi. Athens government was the first democracy. A

democracy is a form of government run by the people.

ii. Democracy developed slowly over time in Athens.iii. Read page 135 in your book and identify the

contributions towards democracy for each of the following men.

1. Draco2. Solon3. Peisistratus4. Cleisthenes

iv. Democracy Structure1. Who could participate in government?

a. Free male Atheniansb. Age 20 or older who had completed military trainingc. Women, children and immigrants had no role in

government nor did slaves.2. Expectations for those who could participate in

government?a. Vote in all electionsb. Serve in office if electedc. Serve on juriesd. Serve in the military during war

3. Democracy consisted of three bodiesa. Assembly-that include all people eligible to take

part in government. Here direct democracy was practiced. Direct democracy is where all people vote directly on an issue.

b. Council of 500-wrote the laws that would be voted on in the assembly.

c. Courts- heard trials and sentenced criminalsd. Finally, there was the Archon, he was elected

for a year at a time and served over the Council of 500 and acted as chief of state.

v. Pericles1. Skilled politician and

general2. Champion of democracy

1. Pericles tried to encourage people to participate in government by paying those who served in public office and the courts.

3. Commissioned the building of the Parthenon

4. Rebuilt Athens

3. Macedoniaa. Alexander the Great

i. Became king of Macedonia at the age of 20.

ii. Teacher was Aristotleiii. Unified Greece under

his leadershipiv. Wars with Persiav. Built Alexandria in

Egypt

vi. Conquered most of the known world by the time he died at the age of 33.

vii. Empire divided between his generals after his death

viii. His greatest achievement was his contribution in spreading Greek culture this is called Hellenistic.

Alexander’s Empire at the Time of His Death