Ancient Greece Key Terms and Concepts Chapter 26: The Rise of Democracy

City-states An early city that was like a small independent country with its own laws, army, and government. Even though the Greeks knew that had many things in common (language), they did not think of themselves as one country. Instead they identified their city state as their “homeland.”

Government The people or groups that rule a particular region. The Greeks experimented with several forms of government to run their city states (monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy) When they found unhappiness with one they tried another.

Monarchy A single ruler, such as a king, queen, or emperor, who holds all the power in a country. From about 2000 – 800 BCE most Greek city states were ruled by monarchs. The king usually inherits the throne and eventually power was went to the king’s oldest son. They had many powers such as making laws, leading the army, and religious ceremonies.

Aristocrat A member of the most powerful class in ancient Greece society. They advised the king. Eventually most aristocrats realized they had even more power than the king and wanted at least a share of the king’s power. Eventually, in most city states, kings were overthrown by these aristocrats and by 800 BCE kings no longer ruled most city states.

Oligarchy A form of government in which the ruling power is the hands of a few people. By 800 BCE most city-states were ruled by oligarchs who were mostly aristocrats. They lived the life of luxury while the poor suffered in the fields all day. The rich got richer and poor got poorer. The oligarchs ignored the needs of the people and passed laws the poor did not like. They used their army to enforce their laws. Eventually, the poor turned to leaders who promised to improve their lives. These leaders would overthrow the oligarchs.

Tyranny A form of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of one person who is not a lawful king. A tyrant was different from a monarchy because they did not have the legal right to rule and they did not usually hand power down to their sons. Many tyrants were popular as they made changes to help the poor, cancelled farmer’s debt, and harassed the aristocrats. Tyrants normally seized control. Hippias…the last Tyrant of Athens was forced out of power after he turned to harsh rule after his brother was killed by rivals…Democracy was up next!

Citizen A member of a Democracy, who has certain rights and responsibilities. In the ancient Greek democracy, the citizens shared the ruling power as they were able to vote on all issues. In Athens, only freemen who were over 18 and born in Athens were considered citizens.

Democracy A form of government in which the ruling power is shared by all citizens. Around 500 BCE the people of Athens decided to try governing themselves. In this Direct Democracy every citizen could vote on every issue. The city had an assembly, or law making group. Any, and only free man could speak in the Assembly and vote on a new law or a proposal to go to war. Free men also ran the day to day business.

Council 500 A group of 500 Greek citizens that ran the day to day business of the government and suggested laws. This ensured that every citizen had the opportunity to take part in the city’s government. Each year, the names of all Greek citizens over 30 were collected and 500 were chosen in a random drawing Bouleuterion. The Council of 500 (Boule) held its regular meetings here.

Assembly A group of citizens in an ancient Greek democracy with the power to pass laws that had been suggested by the Council. The Assembly met every 10 days to debate on and pass laws. At least 6000 citizens had to be in attendance in order for the meeting to take place. If there were less than 6000 slaves were ordered to round up enough so the meeting could take place. (Red Paint) Every citizen had the right to speak at the assembly