Monday, February 24, 2014

The Greek City States

pg. 51-59
Key Notes

  • Rose up when there was no one to stop them
  • Sparta and Athens were the largest and the size of a US state
  • Acropolis- a combination of fortress and temple precinct
  • Each community revolved around a certain God
  • Greek city states began to form when the Assyrians gained power
  • Were not very wealthy to begin with
  • Hostilities were equipped with bronze armor, round shields, and iron swords
  • Phalanxes- known as "rollers"
  • Theseus- King of Athens, offspring of Poseidon and Aethra

  • Monarchy- government by royalty
  • Began to use oligarchy
    • Oligarchy- Authority was to a small group of people, while the majority did not have much say in the government
  • In other places the majority had power instead
  • Each city states government was diverse
  • Triremes- massive fighting vessels that would ram and board other ships
    • required a lot of people so it was mandatory for volunteers
  • Began to use democracy
    • we still use it today
  • tyranny- one supreme ruler, having a dictator

  • Spartans were descendant of the Greeks
    • ruled over the majority of helots
  • With the uprising between the Spartans and the Helots, the Spartans needed to accept a government that gave them supreme power
  • New government also consisted of Elders, 2 kings, and 5 officials called ephors
    • ephors were elected annually
  • Spartan Government = Oligarchy
  • Boys began to learn how to become powerful and they could marry at age 20
  • Girls began to learn how to take care of children and to care for their husband
    • did not have much freedom
  • Sparta was very successful
  • Sparta had a great army

  • Athens thought that the Spartan life was not one worth living
  • Athens was the complete opposite of Sparta in every aspect
    • besides the fact that they were seeking conquest
  • Used all sorts of different government types
  • Athens rapidly grew and became a thriving civilization
  • Had an extremely large population which later on led to conflict
    • usually between aristocrats 
  • Athens had a navy
  • Boys > Girls


  • Developed into democracy after many different government types
  • Persian wars began and they conquered the border of India to the Nile
  • Darius I was the Persian king
  • Athens declared victory over Persia
  • All of the power rested on the assembly
  • Officials had a big responsibility and had to help keep things in order
  • Ten generals
  • ostracism- to exile for ten years
    • was decided by community votes
  • Aliens- people who were unknown or had come from somewhere else
  • Slaves were still very popular in Athens

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