Ancient Greece: Political Movement Chapter 5

1. Greek Political Structure a.Greek society was centered on the polis. i.a polis is a city state. ii.Each polis developed independently of its neighbor iii.Each polis had its own form of government, laws and customs.

b. The Polis i.Center of daily life and culture for the ancient Greeks ii.Structure 1.City was built around a high hill called and acropolis, where temples and spaces for public office were located. 2.Below the acropolis was the agora, which is were the market places were located. 3.Around the polis was a wall, used for defense.

2. Example of Cities States a.Corinth i.Was a trading city state that function as an oligarchy. ii.It was ruled by a few individuals.

b. Sparta i.Sparta controlled the towns around it and made the people they conquered serve as helots or slaves. ii.Helots were forced to work as farmers so that Spartan citizens did not have to perform manual labor and could focus on training for war. Sparta placed great emphasis on war. War was important because the helots outnumbered the Spartans 7 to 1 and were always ready to rebel.

iii. Gender Roles in Sparta 1.Sparta required that all of its citizens be strong and tough. 2.Men: a.Boys were 7 years old when they entered school. At the end of their training they were sent out into the wilderness with nothing to see if they could survive. b.At the age of 20, if they survived the wilderness, they became hoplites (foot soldiers). c.They were required to serve in the army for 10 years.

3. Women: a.Spartan women trained in gymnastics for physical fitness. b.Spartans believed strong women would lead to strong babies. c.Spartan women could also own property.

iv.Government 1.Sparta had two kings who served as commanders of the military 2.They also had a council of elders who made most of the decisions for the city.

c. Athens i.Athens government was the first democracy. A democracy is a form of government run by the people. ii.Democracy developed slowly over time in Athens. iii.Read page 135 in your book and identify the contributions towards democracy for each of the following men. 1.Draco 2.Solon 3.Peisistratus 4.Cleisthenes

iv. Democracy Structure 1.Who could participate in government? a.Free male Athenians b.Age 20 or older who had completed military training c.Women, children and immigrants had no role in government nor did slaves. 2.Expectations for those who could participate in government? a.Vote in all elections b.Serve in office if elected c.Serve on juries d.Serve in the military during war

3. Democracy consisted of three bodies a.Assembly-that include all people eligible to take part in government. Here direct democracy was practiced. Direct democracy is where all people vote directly on an issue. b.Council of 500-wrote the laws that would be voted on in the assembly. c.Courts- heard trials and sentenced criminals d.Finally, there was the Archon, he was elected for a year at a time and served over the Council of 500 and acted as chief of state.

v. Pericles 1.Skilled politician and general 2.Champion of democracy 1.Pericles tried to encourage people to participate in government by paying those who served in public office and the courts. 3.Commissioned the building of the Parthenon 4.Rebuilt Athens

3. Macedonia a.Alexander the Great i.Became king of Macedonia at the age of 20. ii.Teacher was Aristotle iii.Unified Greece under his leadership iv.Wars with Persia v.Built Alexandria in Egypt

vi. Conquered most of the known world by the time he died at the age of 33. vii. Empire divided between his generals after his death viii. His greatest achievement was his contribution in spreading Greek culture this is called Hellenistic.

Alexander’s Empire at the Time of His Death