Ancient Greece and Her City-States

By Phillip Oravec

Location

Time

• Mycenaean civilization collapses after 1200 B.C.E.

• 435/433 B.C.E. Begins with the Peloponnesian War

• 31 B.C.E. Rome takes over Greece

Administration

• Oligarchy: a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few (most prevalent in Sparta).

• City -state: a sovereign state consisting of an autonomous city with its dependencies (most powerful being Athens, Sparta and Corinth).

• Democracy: created in Athens around 500 B.C.E .With no single ruler, a public assembly of male citizens met 40 times a year to vote on state decisions. The agenda was set and decrees carried out by a 500-strong council, chosen by lot to serve one year each.

Military (Athens)

• Athens superior military– 300 triremes– 13,000 hoplites– 1,000 calvary– 1,800 mercenary archers

Athens con…

• Military service for men from 18-60 years of age

• All recruits had to pass the docimasia or proof of age/birth and determine physical state

Military (Sparta)

• Feared military power• Took boys from age of 7 – Rejection of culture

Walls, Roads and otherInfrastructure

Cont…

• Most cities built their own defenses• Most roads within cities were un organized

Currency

• Before 600 B.C. trading• By 500 B.C. each city minted their own

currency• Exchanges had to be made for currency

Athens Currency

• Called drachma6 Obul 1 Drachma100 Drachma 1 Mina600 Mina 1 Talent (57 lbs of silver)

Slavery

• Prisoners of war, piracy and left at birth• Cost from > = 100 drachma• Could by freedom

The End

• Diadochi Wars• Rome grew substantially… takes over all of the

Italian Peninsula• Rome finally takes Greece in 31 B.C.

Bibliography for web sources

• Carr, Adam. Wikipedia. N.p., 24 Feb. 2009. google. Web. 7 Sept. 2011. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Acropolis3.JPG>.

• Britannica.com. N.p., 19 May 2001. google. Web. 7 Sept. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/54536/Alexander-the-Greats-conquests-freed-the-West-from-the-menace>.

• dictionary.com. N.p., 18 July 2011. google. Web. 7 Sept. 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/city-states>.

• Ancient Greece: Politics. Discovery Channel, 2011. Web. 7 Sept. 2011. <http://www.yourdiscovery.com/greece/politics/government/index.shtml>.

Bibliographyfor book sources

• Asimov, Isaac. The Greeks: A Great Adventure. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965. Print.

• Connolly, Petter, and Hazel Dodge. The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

• Giannelli, Giulio. The World of Classical Athens. Macdonald & Co., 1970. Print

Bibliographyfor pictures

• Rymer, Eric. "Money in Ancient Greece." History Link 101. N.p., 2004. Web. 11 Sept. 2011. <http://historylink102.com/greece3/money.htm>.

• Marin, Lucian E. "Crash of the Titans 2 Comments." Atroll's Entertainment A Troll's Account Of Having Fun. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2011. <http://atroll.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/crash-of-the-titans/>.

• Lendering, Jona. "Long Walls." Long Walls. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2011. <http://www.livius.org/lo-lt/long_walls/long_walls.html>.

• "File:Map Ancient Athens.png." Wikipedia. N.p., 5 Mar. 2009. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_ancient_athens.png>.

• Chiesa, Luigi. "SNGCop 039.jpg." Wikipedia. N.p., 24 Nov. 2010. Web. 11 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SNGCop_039.jpg>.