the rise of greek cities lesson 2. vocabulary polis acropolis agora citizen oligarchy monarchy...
TRANSCRIPT
THE RISE OF GREEK CITIES
Lesson 2
VOCABULARY Polis Acropolis Agora Citizen Oligarchy Monarchy Democracy colony
•Athens•Sparta•Mount Olympus
Places
THE BIG PICTURE
Each community usually revolved around one city. The Greek word for this kind of city- state was polis
A GREEK POLIS
Most city- states were built around an acropolis Acropolis- was a large hill where city residents could
seek shelter and safety in times of war
In a near by clearing farmers would gather to trade with craft workers. The clearing, called an agora often served as a marketplace and meeting place
ACROPOLIS
AGORA
DEVELOPING GOVERNMENTS
Each city- state had a different type of government In each type, the leaders had to be citizens of their polis
Citizen- is a person who has certain rights and responsibilities in his country or community
In ancient Greece, only men could be citizens Women and slaves were not citizens- they have few
rights Slaves (helots) were usually conquered neighbors.
Being a citizen did not make men automatically a part of the government
In many city- states a small group of the richest, most powerful citizens controlled decision making (oligarchy) The city- state Athens was governed by an oligarchy Before the oligarchy, Athens was a monarchy ( government
ruled by one ruler or king). The word monarchy comes from the Greek words “rule by one”
SPARTA
SPARTA In 700 B.C Sparta covered much of the southern
Peloponnesus and was Greece’s largest city- state In the Agora was where Sparta’s leaders made
decisions that shaped the polis Most of Sparta’s farmers were slaves
Sparta had many more slaves than other city- states 7slaves to 1 Spartan
THE SPARTAN MILITARY
Around 600 B.C Spartan slaves revolted. Spartans managed to over power them.
Spartans wanted the strongest military They wanted to make sure that neither slaves nor another polis could
ever gain control of Sparta
Spartan's wanted to make their polis strong Spartan children played a role in the polis
Age 7- boys and girls began training (boys had more training) Girls practiced running, throwing spears (javelins), and playing
ball games Girls trained not to become solders but strong mothers of strong
children
Some time was spent learning to read and write
ATHENS
“SEE LITTLE, HEAR LITTLE, AND ASK NO MORE QUESTIONS THAN ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY”
ATHENS Athens lay on the peninsula of Attica, northeast of Sparta Athenian girls did not practice sports Girls stayed home to help their mother
They carried out such duties as weaving cloth from sheep’s wool Farm girls helped harvest the fields
Many Athenian boys worked each days in the fields or in pottery or stone shops
If parents could afford school- boys learned to read and write After classes they would practice wrestling or boxing at a local
gymnasium
GOVERNMENT IN ATHENS
Athenians did not spend as much time and energy building a strong army
600 B.C Athens’ government was a oligarchy Leaders families belonged to noble families (they were rich and
powerful)
the poor demanded to have more say in the government and how it was run Noble’s were forced to share some power
They had to form a new government where all of the citizens could take part in decision making. This became known as a democracy Democracy- Greek word meaning “rule by the people”. It means that
citizens vote to make government decisions
Historians trace our own ideas of democracy back to Greece
BEYOND GREECE
After Greek festivals and Olympics were started, athletes from far away Greek colonies came to participate
Colonies were made up of groups of people who lived apart from, but kept ties with, Greece
Colonies became important trading partners with Greece. They grew grains that were in demand Greek ships sailed down Egypt’s Nile Delta
SHARED CULTURE
SHARED CULTURE
Every month there were a few days that were saved to honor their gods Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses The most powerful gods and goddesses were said to
live on Mount Olympus
SPECIAL FESTIVALS
Each polis honored at least one special god or goddess as its special protector In Athens, people worshiped Athena (goddess of wisdom)
Every summer a festival is held in her honor They would walk to the top of the Acropolis, where a priest would kill cattle in
her name/ honor
All people from Greece worshiped Zeus (most powerful god) City- states came together in competition in athletic competitions
A GREEK POET
People in all city- states loved to hear stories of the poet Homer
Many stories described Greece’s past Most famous poems- The Iliad and the Odyssey. Tell stories of
war and adventure The Iliad describes what happened when a prince from Troy,
an ancient city, kidnapped Helen a Greek Queen. It also tells how the gods created Greek cities