Greek Polis

Free mankind idealized
We live as free citizens.
said Pericles Not only in
our public but also our
private life. We are not
angry with our neighbors
if he behaves as he
pleases as long as he does
no harm.
Pericles
5th Century BCE Athens

Athens was one of hundreds of Greek city
States called a polis, meaning not only city
state but commonwealth.
A body of equal citizens in an autonomous
fatherland.

By 750 BCE,Greek polis were the center of
civilian life, unlike the tax collecting or
imperial merchant cities of the fertile
crescent.
They included the city and surrounding
countryside and perhaps a few towns.

The city served as the center of the polis.
Here people met for political, social, and
religious activities.

The main gathering place on a fortified hill.
called an acropolis, which also had public
buildings and temples.

Below the acropolis was an agora, an open
area that served as an assembly area and
market.

Some polis very tiny, each had its own
personality, laws, and patriotism.
So they constantly fought and competed with
each other.

The scale of polis was small partly because of Geography.
Checkerboards of mountains, valleys, and plains.
That produces isolated settlements with easier access to the sea
then each other.

So the sea becomes the Greek highway for
trading, raiding, and pirating.

Polis were also small because Greeks thought
they should be small.
Plato thought ideal 5000 cit 20000 total.
Women slaves foreign no rights.

Citizens of a polis had rights, but these
rights were coupled with responsibilities

The polis was, above all, a community of
people who shared a common identity and
common goals.
the polis consisted of citizens with political
rights (adult males), citizens with no
political rights (women and children), and
noncitizens (slaves and resident aliens).

Impact of Geography
The scale of polis was small partly because of
Geography.
Checkerboards of mountains, valleys, and plains.
That produces isolated settlements with easier access
to the sea then each other.

Impact of Geography
Like Phoenicia, the Greeks became great
seafarers.
Farmland of polis could not support growing
populations.

Greek Colonization:
750-550 BCE
Byzantium

Greek Colonization:
750-500 BCE

The growing population would be sent out to
found new cities of their own.
These new polis were independent from the
mother polis.

Settlers needed new farm lands, fishing
grounds, bases for piracy and trade.

Colonization increases trade
The Greeks on the mainland exported
pottery, wine, and olive oil.
In return, they received grains and metals
from the west and fish, timber, wheat,
metals, and slaves from the Black Sea
region.

The aristocrats became wealthier with
expansion of trade and industry.
Some new families became wealthier with
the expansion of trade.
The competitive aristocrats competed with
displays of wealth with each other.
The new men wanted political power, putting
them at odds with the warrior ruling
aristocrats.

Polis gives us politics
The Greeks invented politics and most
governmental systems.
They experimented with so many types that
they wrote the rules for how they worked.
Constitution: written down rules of how the
government works.

Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia
Absolute Monarch: King is in charge of
politics, culture, war, and rules in the name
of a God. The King dominates war, religion,
law, trade, etc.
Egypt a Divine Absolute Monarchy: all of
the above plus the King is a living god.

The Greek polis developed
most types of
governments.
1. Constitutional
limited Monarchy
2. Oligarchy
3. Aristocracy
4. Representative
Democracy
5. Tyranny
6. Direct Democracy
Development of politics
Funeral mask of Agamemnon of Mycenae

By the 5th Century BCE, most Polis had a
combination of these forms of governments,
which they wrote down as Constitutions.
Sparta the most conservative warrior polis
and Athens the most cosmopolitan
progressive polis offer excellent examples.

1. Concerned with
honor, power,
and warfare
2. Distain for
business
3.Yet, need lots of
capital for
wars.
Ideal king Achilles
1. Monarchy
Rule by a king and landed warrior classes.

SPARTA
Most polis had given up monarchy with Mycenae.
However, Sparta had two kings one from each of
the Agiad and Eurypontid families. They acted as
priests and led in war.
1. Monarchy

SPARTA
Spartan kings power was limited not only by the
other king, but also by the other Constitutional
powers.
1. Monarchy

2. Oligarchy the rule of a few.
Oligarchic: The power of the Spartan Kings
was limited by the Constitution.
The Gerousia, the council of 28 elders (65
and up) picked for life. Both kings were
automatic members.

4. Representative Democracy
Five ephors on the counsel represented the
Spartan citizens over the age of 18.
They were chosen annually by popular
election and had the most power.

4. Representative Democracy
The Spartans developed representative
democracy before the Athenians, although
Sparta remained an oligarchy.

Sparta
They conquered their neighbors and made
them serfs called helots.
Every year the Spartans declared war on
the helots, so any Spartan could kill a
helot anytime.

Spartan Citizens
At birth, Spartans were inspected, weak
babies were exposed and left to die.
Males entered the army at age 7 where
they lived in a barracks until age 30.
All meals were taken together, no luxury or
money for anyone.
They practiced fighting everyday.
At age 30 they could live at home with
their family, yet remained in the army until
age 60.
Mothers told their sons come back from
battle with your shield or on it (dead).

Sparta
The Spartans made a conscious decision to
create a military state to avoid becoming a
Tyranny and direct democracy.
They strongly believed in oligarchy as a
traditional Greek value, and would intervene
in other city states politics to uphold those
values.

Sparta
The Spartans did not retreat from the
outside world as the book says.
The Spartans constantly intervened in other
city states affairs after consulting the
Oracle of Delphi.

Athens
The citizens of Athens had a long struggle
that eventually led to
direct democracy: the rule of the
people (demos) each equal citizen votes on
everything.

Athens
New wealth from trade with overseas
colonies, new fighting techniques, and the
growth of literacy created class struggle
between the aristocracy class and itself as
well as the non noble citizens of Athens.

Athens
Unlike Sparta, the warrior aristocrats of
Athens enjoyed the new wealth from trade.

The rich landowning nobles, eupatridae, elected one of
themselves archons, for a year.
Archons had most of the powers of the old Kings.
Like Sparta Athens was an Oligarchy, but without Kings.
.

Owned the best and majority of the land,
some since the days of the Mycenaean
Kings.
Aristocrat or Noble class

Farmers paid them to work Noble’s land.
Others paid them up to 30 percent of their
income for protection of their own lands.
Aristocrat class noble land owners.

Acted as judges and held offices of
priesthood, which they would pass down to
their sons and daughters.

Fiercely competitive in wrestling, athletics, and
love.

Fiercely competitive in music, poetry, and wit.

Held symposium wine drinking parties nightly
with poetry, music, debates, wives could not
go.

Supported or competed on teams in the
Olympics.

Acted as champion leaders in war, and
fought duals against other champions.
Troy- Paris Vs. Menelaus_(360p).flv
Usually fought on horseback.

Raising horses for war or chariot races.

The new wealth from trade and colonies
increased the completion between aristocrats.

Families competed with each other to put on
bigger more splendid parties, festivals, and
completions.
These turned into family feuds.

Military innovation
By 700 B.C., Greek hoplites replaced warrior
aristocratic cavalry.

None aristocratic citizen Hoplites went into
battle as a unit, marching shoulder to
shoulder in a rectangular formation known as a
phalanx

Greek Hoplites
The nobles primary purpose as the main
fighting force is over.

More wealth leads to conflict
Nobles living in cities competed more and
more with each other to out do other
nobles.
The slandered and fought with each other.

They led their followers into feuds.
Nobles as judges would fine other nobles
followers more than their own followers.

Some citizens became rich on trade, and
wished to hold public office.

Tyranny
An aristocrat, perhaps a commander in war,
could urge the citizens to take up the
hoplite arms against other aristocrats, and
install himself as ruler.

Tyranny
Tyrants usually did not usually employ
mercenaries from other city states, as the
book implies.

Tyranny
Tyrants opened up high offices in the
community to more families, including rich
and able non nobles.

The citizens of Athens demanded
that laws be written down, codified.
Eupatridaes were changing laws and
fines to favor their allies.
Draco of Athens wrote down the
traditional laws.
“Draconic” means “harsh.”
Law Code of Draco 621 BC

Law Code of Draco 621 BC1
Any debtor with a lower status than his creditor
became a slave if he could not pay.
But, if the debtors status was higher than his creditors,
they might not pay the money back
And did not become a slave.
Death for most offences

More and more citizens educated farmers and
merchants became slaves.
Many were put to death.
The citizens revolt, and support Solon as tyrant.
However, Solon declines and calls the citizens
together to make new laws.
Results

“ the conflict leading to
tyranny was slavery:
freedom therefore, was a
value for citizens to
prize and fight for, not
just against foreign
enemies, but also within
their own community.”
Reforms of Solon
Solon
630–560 BC

Abolished dues to Nobles.
In return for noble’s
“protection” citizens had
to pay one sixth of their
harvest even if you owned
the land.”
Reforms of Solon
Solon
630–560 BC

“The earth, too, had
previously enslaved; now,
thanks to Solon it was
free.”
Reforms of Solon
Solon
630–560 BC

Reforms of Solon
Rewrote law code of Draco
Ostracism instead of death in most cases.
Hemlock for death sentence.
Freed all who were Slaves for debt.
A citizen of Athens could never make
another citizen a slave.
No more slavery for debt.

Reforms of Solon
He divided the citizens into four classes
based on wealth.
Limited the amount of land one person could own.
Rich non noble citizens could hold high office.
All citizens belonged to the assembly that voted
and acted like a jury.
Council of 400 runs city business for a month
chosen by lot.

Tyranny of Pisistratus
• From 561- 531
BCE, the
aristocrat
Pisistratus ruled
Athens.
• Tyrants supported commerce, agriculture,
and the arts on a grand scale.
• He built temples, arts, silver mines,
business, regularized the courts taxes,
and kept the peace.

Minted the first coins used in
Greece
Athena becomes city main
deity
Temple of Zeus at Athens began.

Great parties, festivals, and athletic
completions for all male citizens of
Athens.

Tyranny
Other tyrants started the Pythian Games,
and Nemean Games,
All across the world of Hellas a culture of
“celebrity” began.
Not great warriors or god kings, but one of
great sportsman, poets, and musicians.

built infrastructure (roads, markets , docks, etc)

Upon his death, the other aristocrats called on Sparta to restore
aristocratic oligarchy. A Spartan Army drove out Pisistratus sons,
then went home.

For two years the aristocrats competed with each other again.
Then Cleisthenes proposed that in all things power should rest
with all the citizens.
4. Pure Democracy government by the vote of
the majority of citizens .

In 509 BCE, Clisthenes took control of Athens and establishes the
rule of the people.
4. Pure Democracy government by the vote of
the majority of citizens .

570 BC-508 BC
The founder of democracy. The aristocrats called on Sparta again, who
invaded and occupied the acropolis , as Clisthenes fled
Reforms of Clisthenes

570 BC-508 BC
However, all the people of Athens surrounded the Spartans, who
surrendered.

570 BC-508 BC
Clisthenes returned and made the new democratic constitution. All male
citizens were equal in everyway.

Reforms of Clisthenes1
Equality for all citizens
All citizens voted on all policies.
All citizens became members of a Tribe, a mix of
city, coast and countryside.
All citizens could hold office.
The Council of 500 proposed laws was chosen by lot.

All citizens could speak freely on any law
proposed.
All citizens voted on all laws.
All citizens were a jury guilty or not in court.
All citizens could any hold office.

Equality of all citizens promoted
.
All citizens could hold office.
Assembly increased to 500.

Darius I of Persia
Planned to add all of the Greek Polis to his growing
empire.
But a much more dangerous threat to Athenian
democracy rose in the east . . .

When we think of tyrants, we think of
oppressive, autocratic rulers. In ancient
Greece, tyrants could be benevolent and
supported by the populace, although not usually
the aristocrats. However, a tyrant did not gain
supreme power by constitutional means; nor was
he the hereditary monarch. Tyrants seized
power and generally maintained their position by
means of mercenaries or soldiers from another
polis. Tyrants and oligarchies (the aristocratic
rule by the few) were the main forms of
government of the Greek poleis after the fall
of the kings.

By 700 B.C., Greek hoplites replaced warrior
aristocratic cavalry.

Citizen Hoplites went into battle as a unit,
marching shoulder to shoulder in a
rectangular formation known as a phalanx

Reforms of Solon
Rewrote law code of Draco,
Ostracism instead most cases.
Hemlock for death sentence.
Freed all who were Slaves for debt.
No more slavery for Debt.

The nobles asked Sparta to help again, but the people of Athens
fought back and the Spartans had to flee.
Democracy takes root in Athens.

Greek Polis

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