SS Ch.8 Lesson3

Greek City-States /The Rise of City-StatesBy 750 B.C., settlements such as Sparta, Athens, Argos, and Corinth had grown into a polis.
A polis…
Connected the city with farms, towns, and villages
All people were free citizens
Had about 5,000 people, with the exception of Athens(20,000) and Corinth(10,000)

Most city-states developed similarly
Started at the base of a hill
An acropolis sat at the top of the hill
Surrounding the acropolis were houses, temples, and an open-air market (agora)
Agora was the center of politics
Each city-state were separated by mountains and seas thus developing independently

The Rise of City-States
By 750 B.C., large
settlements had
grown into independent
city-states. The city-states
developed in similar ways,
most starting at the
base of acropolis.

New Ways of Governing
By 750 B.C., a small group of aristocrats, wealthy ruling class, replaced kings.
Oligarchy: Rule by a few
Each controlled army, economy, religion, and laws
Tyrants: Took control of government by force and ruled alone
Tyrant means “a cruel ruler”
By 500 B.C., tyrants were overthrown and democracy began

As city-states developed,
oligarchies replaced the
rule of kings. Then tyrants
took over many city-states.
By 500 B.C., early forms of
democracy were beginning
to replace tyrants in
some city-states.

Commerce and ColoniesCommerce: large-scale trade
City-states exchanged:
Grain, wine, olive oil, wood, pottery, and metal works, such as iron weapons and tools
In search of more resources, city-states set up colonies beyond their land
Colonies became independent but were tied to homeland through religion and trade
Commerce and Colonies

By about 700 B.C., the Greeks had become part of a growing commerce around the Mediterranean
and beyond. As populations expanded, the city-states began to colonize areas beyond the Aegean.

Greek CultureGreeks felt a strong connection, or cultural indentity with other all other Greeks.

Greeks based their alphabet on the Phoenician alphabet
Greeks used writing for:
Keep records of business and trade
Record codes of law
Government, taxes, history
Beliefs
Legends and myths
Greeks learned about the past and heritage through the work of Homer and Hesiod
It taught them: Gods’ names, talents, skills, appearance

Greeks learned about the past and heritage through the work of Homer and Hesiod
It taught them: Gods’ names, talents, skills, appearance

While the ancient Greeks
identified with their own
city-states, they also felt
a strong connection
with all Greeks due to
their common language
and shared culture.
A New Kind of Warfare
Greeks fought over land and resources
All male adult citizens served at least some time in the army
Rank was based on wealth
Wealthiest men were leaders
Those able to afford a horse were in the calvary
Foot soldiers called hoplites were the poorest and lowest in rank
A New Kind of Warfare

Greek city-states often
fought over land and resources.
Each city-state had
a large, highly organized army composed of adult
male citizens who were
trained to fight in
new formations.