The City-State and Democracy

The Mycenaean civilization fell about 1200 B.C. After a decline, Greek culture gradually started to advance again. This led to the rise of Greek civilization. Like ancient Sumer, Greece was a region of people who shared a common language and common beliefs. In spite of that cultural unity, Greece was divided politically.

The Rise of City-States

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How was Greece organized politically?

Geography divided Greece into small regions. Because of this, the basic form of government was the city-state.A city-state is a state made of a city and its surrounding lands. The colonies founded by Greeks around the Mediterranean were also city-states.

Greek City-States

City-states became common in Greece about 700 B.C. In Greek, the word for city-state was polis . Most city-states were small. Geographic features, such as mountains, limited their size. Athens and Sparta were the largest Greek city-states. Their lands included the plains that surrounded the center city.

Most Greek cities had fewer than 20,000 residents. Because a city-state was fairly small, the people who lived there formed a close community.

Layout of the City

The center of city life was the agora. The agora was an open space where people came for business and public gatherings. Male citizens met there to discuss politics. Festivals and athletic contests were held there. Statues, temples, and other public buildings were found in and around the agora.

Many cities had a fortified hilltop called an acropolis. The word means "highest city." At first, people used the acropolis mainly for military purposes; high places are easier to defend. Later the Greeks built temples and palaces on the flat tops of these hills. Ordinary houses were built along the hill's base.

Forms of Government

ESSENTIAL QUESTION What different political systems evolved in the city-states of Greece?

Each city-state of Greece was independent. The people of each one figured out what kind of government worked best for them. As a result, different city-states used different political systems. Some city-states kept the same system of government for centuries. Others slowly changed from one system to another.

Monarchs and Aristocrats

The earliest form of government in Greece was monarchy (MAHN•uhr•kee). A monarch is a king or queen who has supreme power. Therefore, a monarchy is a government that a king or queen rules. Most Greek city-states started out as monarchies but changed over time.

Aristocracy

(AR•ih•STAHK•ruh•see) is another name for the upper class or nobility. In Greece, the aristocracy were people who were descended from high-born ancestors. Some aristocrats believed that their ancestors were mythical heroes.

The Greek city-state of Corinth began as a monarchy. Later, an aristocracy ruled it. In fact, by the 700s B.C., most of the Greek city-states had moved from monarchy to rule by an aristocracy.

Oligarchy

Some city-states developed a political system called oligarchy (AHL•ih•GAHR•kee). Oligarchy means "rule by the few." It is similar to aristocracy because in both cases, a minority group controls the government.

The main difference between the two is the basis for the ruling class's power. When aristocrats rule, they do so because of their inherited social class. In an oligarchy, people rule because of wealth or land ownership. In some Greek city-states, an oligarchy replaced aristocratic rule. In others, the aristocracy and the oligarchy shared power.

Tyrants

Poor people were not part of government in either monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy. Often, the poor came to resent being shut out of power. At times, they rebelled.

Sometimes a wealthy person who wanted to seize power made use of that anger. He would ask poor people to support him in becoming a leader. Such leaders were called tyrants. In Greece, a tyrant was someone who took power in an illegal way. Today the term tyrant means a cruel leader. To the Greeks, a tyrant was simply someone who acted like a king without being of royal birth. Some Greek tyrants worked to help the poor. Some created building programs to provide jobs. Others enacted laws canceling the debts that poor people owed to the wealthy.

Tyrants played an important role in the development of rule by the people. They helped overthrow the oligarchy. They also showed that if common people united behind a leader, they could gain the power to make changes.

Athens Builds a Limited Democracy

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How did limited democracy develop in Athens?

By helping tyrants rise to power, people in the lower classes realized they could influence government. As a result, they began to demand even more political power.

Citizenship

One of the major legacies of ancient Greece is the idea of citizenship, which the Greeks invented. In today's world, a citizen is a person who is loyal to a government and who is entitled to protection by that government. To the Greeks, a citizen was a person with the right to take part in ruling the city-state. A citizen had to be born to parents who were free citizens. In much of ancient Greece, people of both upper and lower classes were citizens, but only upper-class citizens had power.

By demanding political power, the lower-class citizens were asking for a major change to their society. Such a change does not happen quickly. During the 500s B.C., two leaders in Athens made gradual reforms that gave people more power. Those leaders were Solon and Cleisthenes (KLIHS•thuh•NEEZ).

Solon and Cleisthenes

In the 500s B.C., trouble stirred in Athens. Many poor farmers owed so much money that they were forced to work their land for someone else or to become slaves. The lower classes were growing angry with the rulers.

Solon (c. 630 to 560 B.C.)

Solon was called one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece. Although he was the son of a noble family, he reduced the nobles' power. He is known for his political reforms and his poetry. Poetry was the way he communicated with the citizens.

About 600 B.C., Solon recited a poem to encourage the Athenians in a war. He persuaded them to resume the war and save the honor of Athens.

Solon's reforms did not make all Athenians happy. The nobles wished he had made fewer changes. Poor farmers wished that he had given them more land. Tired of having to justify his reforms, Solon left on a trip for ten years. He traveled to Egypt and Cyprus, among other places. He wrote poems about his journey.

About 594 B.C., the nobles elected Solon to lead Athens. He made reforms that helped prevent a revolt by the poor. First he freed people who had become slaves because of debts. He made a law that no citizen could be enslaved.

Solon also organized citizens into four classes based on wealth, not birth. Rich men had more power—yet this was still a fairer system than the old one that limited power to nobles. Solon allowed all citizens to serve in the assembly and help elect leaders. He also reformed the laws to make them less harsh.

Around 500 B.C., Cleisthenes increased the citizens' power even more. He took power away from the nobles. He organized citizens into groups based on place of residence, not wealth. Any citizen could now vote on laws.

Direct Democracy

Athens moved toward an early form of democracy. Democracy is a government in which the citizens make political decisions. The Athenian style of democracy is called a direct democracy. In such a system, all the citizens meet to decide on the laws. (Indirect democracy, in which people elect representatives to make laws, is more common today. The United States is an example.

Limited Democracy

Athens had a limited democracy. It did not include all of the people who lived in the city-state. Only free adult males were citizens who could take part in the government. Women, slaves, and foreigners could not take part. Non-citizens were not allowed to become citizens.

Lesson Summary

• The people of Greece lived in independent city-states.

• Greek city-states had various types of government: monarchy, oligarchy, and direct democracy.

• Over time, the male citizens of Athens gained the power to make political decisions.

Why It Matters Now . . .

Athens is often called the birthplace of democracy. Many people in today's world are seeking to replace other forms of government with democracy.