Greek City-States
Cities & City-States
Greek City-States were independently governed lands (mini-countries) in the Mediterranean. Every Greek city or city-state had an acropolis (the upper city high up overlooking the rest of the city-state). The acropolis was a fortress made of stone that was used to defend the city in case someone wanted to invade the Greek city-state. The acropolis was so high, you could see multiple houses and the agora, also known as a marketplace down below.
Polis
As Greek city-states grew, the Greek Polis emerged. The Greek Polis were the small cities that turned into the powerful city-states that became even more powerful. Each of these city-states had their own laws that differed from each city-state. These city-states started to emerge around 750 B.C. The geography of Greece (hills and valleys separated them from each other). They shared a common Greek culture, but also had their own unique ideals and customs.
Greek Government
In Greece, they had two different types of government. The first form of government was monarchy, which was ruled by one person, also known as a king. The second form of government was aristocracy, which was a type of government ruled by tiny groups of families that owned land.
Greek Tyrants
Trade expanded and the merchants became more powerful. The 600's experienced increasing tensions involving aristocratic landowners and an uneven distribution of wealth. The tensions led to fighting and civil friction. Greek tyrants emerged from this struggle. Tyrants were powerful men that took power because merchants were fighting, which gave them an advantage. Some tyrants weren’t kind, but others did good deeds for the Greeks. These tyrants gave farms to people who didn’t have land and gave many people jobs. The merchant class challenged the Aristocratic class. As trade expanded, the merchants became more and more powerful. Sometimes powerful men took advantage of the situation and seized power as tyrants. Some tyrants were ruthless (harsh), but others made positive changes, including giving farms to the landless and work to the unemployed. Not everyone liked their rule. In order to take power from tyrants, merchants formed an oligarchy (government ruled by a few powerful citizens).
Oligarchy
The Greek Oligarchy was a different type of government ruled by powerful people. The Greek Oligarchy didn’t like how the tyrants ruled Greece. Therefore, the Greek Oligarchy was established to take the power away from the tyrants.
Xavier M.
Olive Vista STEAM Magnet Middle School Student