The Birth of Greek Civilization Ancient Greece was not a unified nation, but a collection of Greek city states and colonies concentrated in mainland Greece, but spread throughout the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor and Italy. They shared a common language, religion and culture, and like the Phoenicians, were a sea-faring as well as an agriculturally based society. Ancient Greece was not a unified nation, but a collection of Greek city states and colonies. The colonies spread throughout the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor and Italy. All the colonies shared a common language—Greek. All colonies shared a common culture and religion. The Greeks were sea-faring (traders) and relied on agriculture to survive.

Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Phoenicians The three cultures that influenced the development of Greek civilization

Minoans A wealthy trading culture 2,000 B.C. Exported pottery, metal work, wine, and olive oil

The Mycenaeans 1600 B.C. Traded metals from the Greek mainland for the beautiful Minoan exports Conquered Crete in 1450 B.C. and took over Minoa’s valuable trade This civilization disappeared by 1100 B.C.

The Phoenicians Located on the eastern Mediterranean (today's Lebanon) Founded colonies around the Mediterranean Developed the alphabet

Greek City-States Shared a language & letters Remained independent of each other Each region had a Polis (city-state)

Polis A city-state in ancient Greece Because most city states were surrounded by mountains and seas, post polis were small. However, some were large. For example, by 500 BC nearly 300,000 people lived in Athens. Yet the majority were small.

Polis Each polis was a nation of its own Ruled by nobles who own land Developed because land was isolated by mountains or water Common language Depend on one another to survive. Met every year at a great athletic contest known as the Olympics. A polis gave Greek citizens a sense of belonging. Example) How we feel about our home states. New Yorkers, Georgians, etc. There was great loyalty to their city states. They put the common need of their polis first, than their own personal needs. However, they were not UNIFIED as a whole country----this LACK of Unification weakened Greece.

Structure of the City-States (Polis) Acropolis Agora

ACROPOLIS A large hill in ancient Greece where city residents sought shelter and safety in times of war and met to discuss community affairs A fort stood at the acropolis. It also had temples to honor local gods.

Agora A central area in Greek cities used both as a marketplace and as a meeting place.

Ancient Greece: Citizenship Citizens: members of a political community with rights and responsibilities. ONLY free and land-owning men born in the polis could be citizens. Ancient Greek citizenship was very different from Mesopotamia or Egypt In Mesopotamia and Egypt members of these civilizations were SUBJECTS who had no rights, no voice in government, and no choice, but to obey rulers. Eventually, some city states later on ended the requirement of owning LAND for a person to be a citizen. In Greece---not

Ancient Greece Citizens: Rights and Responsibilities Male Citizen Rights Vote Hold public office Own property Defend themselves in court Male Citizen Responsibilities Serve in government Fight for their polis as citizen soldiers Since only free and land-owning males were citizens they believed that it was their RESPONSIBILITY to protect their polis which was made up of their property.

Citizenship: Women and Children Women and children might qualify for citizenship, but they had non of the rights that went with it.

Review Questions Greece was not a unified country. Instead it was a collection of what? What did the Greek colonies shared? What were the three cultures that influenced the development of Greek civilization? What is a polis? What did polis shared? When examining the structure of Greek city-states, all Greek polis had these two structures. What were they? Who could be citizens in the Greek city-states? List 2 rights of Greek citizens and list 2 responsibilities of Greek citizens. Could women and children be citizens?

Greek Government Ms. Elias iMater 2014-2015

The“Dark Age” (1100–800 BC) What is the Dark Age? After the “Dark Age” in Greece 3 forms of government developed: Monarchy Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy

Political Changes At first there were kings (monarchy), but wealthy land owners took the power from the kings. Owners of small farms dislike the nobles. Common people supported tyrants—someone who seizes power ad rules with total authority. Tyrants ruled until about 500 BC From 336 BC, most city states were oligarchies or democracies.

Governments of the city-states Monarchy Democracy Tyranny Oligarchy

Some city-states had a single ruler Monarchy Some city-states had a single ruler Changes to government in ancient Greece started with the common people being dissatisfied with the nobles running the city-states.

Is someone who sizes power and rules with total authority. Tyrant Is someone who sizes power and rules with total authority.

Oligarchy In some city-states, a small group of the richest and most powerful citizens controlled decision-making

Democracy a government in which the citizens make political decisions