Ancient Greek Government

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Ancient GreekGovernment

• 7th Grade World History

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Review from Yesterday

• THE GREEKS HAVE A MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE (HOT, DRY
  SUMMERS AND COOL RAINY WINTERS)

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REVIEW FROM YESTERDAY

• The Greek mainland part of the Balkan Peninsula
  which means it is surrounded by water on three
  sides.

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Review from Yesterday

• Greece was a maritime nation. The countrys
  entire way of life was connected to the see for
  trade and colonization.

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Greek Stories Authors

• Homer is a famous Greek poet who wrote two famous
  Epics about Greek history, The Iliad and the
  Odyssey. One of his most famous stories was
  about the Trojan Wars.

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The Iliad

• Supposed to have happened around 1100 BCE.
• Greece was a combination of many small kingdoms.
• Sparta and Mycenae were two of the most powerful.

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The Iliad

• The king of Sparta, Menelaus, had a beautiful
  wife named Helen. On a trip to Greece, the
  Trojan prince Paris fell in love with Helen,
  kidnapped her, and took her back to Troy.

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The Iliad

• Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon, the king of
  Mycenae, got support from neighboring kingdoms to
  fight the mighty Trojans. They also got help
  from the fierce Greek half-god warrior Achilles.

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The Iliad

• The Greeks crossed the Aegean Sea and fought the
  Trojans for 10 years without being able to break
  through their outer wall.

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The Iliad

• The Greeks decided if they couldnt win by force,
  theyd win by trickery. They built a huge horse,
  left it at the Trojan gate, and pretended to
  retreat.

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The Iliad

• The Trojans brought the horse into their city.
  The Greeks hiding in the horse jumped out and
  captured and burned Troy.

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The Odyssey

• After helping beat the Trojans, author and
  soldier Homer and his soldiers spend 10 years
  trying to get home, and run into some big
  adventures.

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Greek Government

• A Look at Democracy in Athens and Sparta

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How did the Greeks form government?

• The small farms began to organize into political
  units that they called polis meaning city-state

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What is the definition of city-state?

• A city that governs itself as well as surrounding
  territories.

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What is an Acropolis?

• The Greek city-states were surrounded by
  fortresses. These fortresses were usually built
  on hills. The ancient Greek word for a high
  point was akron.
• The fortress on the hill became known as an
  acropolis.
• What advantage did acropolises have?

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Greek Democracy

• Greek city-states were the center of trade and
  served as a meeting place for the citizens.
• At first Greek city-states were ruled by kings.
  Then the control was passed into the hands of the
  upper class.

• Greek city-states developed into a democracy.
• Demos meaning the people and kratos meaning rule.
• A democracy is then a government in which the
  people rule.

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Democracy in Athens

• Athens was the highest form of democracy in
  Greece.
• But Athenian democracy was different from the
  democracy we practice today..because..

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Athenian Democracy

• Women were not allowed to vote
• Foreigners could not be citizens
• The rich had more power than the poor, and poor
  indebted farmers often lost their land to the
  wealthy citizens
• Many of Athenian citizens were slaves
• About half the population of Athens could not
  vote.

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On the Brink of Civil War

• This way of life upset the Greek people
• In 594 BC to avoid a civil war the Athenians gave
  full power to a leader named Solon.

• He cancelled all debts of the poor farmers and
  freed all Athenian citizens who had been enslaved
  for owing money.
• Solon is thought of as the father of Athenian
  democracy/

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Pericles

• Considered to be the greatest statesmen of Greek
  history

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Pericles

• Believed that democracy had 4 principles
• Rule by majority
• Equality before the law
• Personal freedom
• The right to get ahead through ones ability
  instead of ones social class.

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Sparta

• Sparta was ruled like a military camp, very
  different than Athens
• Boys were taken from their families at the age of
  7 to begin training with the military
• Every Spartan man was expected to serve as a
  soldier and live in barracks until they were 30
  years old.

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Sparta Continued

• Only after their military service could the men
  marry and begin their families
• It was a crime to not marry and have children for
  the state.
• To ensure strong healthy citizens, all newborn
  babies were examined for defects. Weak or
  deformed babies were either left to die or thrown
  from cliffs.