It is another Ancient Civilization! Thank Zeus! Ancient Greece It is another Ancient Civilization! Thank Zeus!

Geography Shapes Greece Greece is a very mountainous country and this influenced how Greek society formed. Many small “city-states” were formed in the valleys. These city-states were fiercely independent and frequently fought other city-states

Proximity to the Ocean This led the Greeks to become excellent sailors and traders. They traveled all over the Mediterranean and brought back a great deal of knowledge from the outside world.

City-States Grow As time went on, Greeks began to expand their territory throughout the Mediterranean. They develop the “Polis,” which is the City-State and the surrounding country side villages. The Polis was usually on two levels with the top part being the “Acropolis” where monuments were built for the gods, and the bottom part was were the markets and theaters were.

Governments Evolve At first the City-States were ruled by a Monarchy, which is a King or a Queen holding the power. Soon, an Aristocracy began to take control. This is rule by the landowning elite. Next, as trade expanded, a middle class developed. These merchants, farmers, and artisans challenged the Aristocracy and became the rulers. This is known as an Oligarchy, or rule by a small number of elite.

Let’s look at two of the most influential City-States Open your textbooks to page 120. Use the graphic organizer to help you compare and contrast Sparta and Athens.

Sparta Spartans were very militaristic. They had a large amount of slaves and used brutal treatment to control them

Spartan Government Two Kings and a council of elders stood at the top. There was an assembly made up of all citizens (males over 30) who approved the major decisions. The assembly elected 5 officials who ran the day-to-day affairs.

Spartan Life Everything revolved around being a great soldier. At age 7 boys moved into army training. They were encouraged to steal their food. At age 20 they could marry, but lived in the army barracks until age 30.

Women of Sparta They were expected to produce healthy sons for the army, so most of their life revolved around exercise. They often ran the household since the men were away at war.

Athens Democracy emerges in Athens. Eventually a legislature (law making body) was formed with all citizens (males 30 years old who owned land) expected to participate. Although this was a limited democracy, Athens gave more citizens a say in their government than any other civilization.

Religion Greeks were polytheistic, believed that their gods lived on Mount Olympus. Zeus was the most powerful god. Greeks honored their gods with temples and festivals.

Greek culture The Greeks believed that they were the best and that all other cultures were inferior to them. They called people from outside Greece, barbaroi, which is where we get our term “barbarians.”