The Greek City-States 4:Ancient Greece

Types of Government Evolve 2

As trade expanded, a new middle class of wealthy merchants, farmers, and artisans emerged in some cities. They challenged the landowning nobles for power and came to dominate some city-states. The result was a form of government called an oligarchy. In an oligarchy, power is in the hands of a small, wealthy elite.

Geography Shapes Greek City-States

As you have read, geography helped to shape the early river valley civilizations. There, strong rulers organized irrigation works that helped farmers produce food surpluses needed to support large cities. A very different set of geographic conditions influenced the rise of Ancient Greek civilization.

Solon Makes Reforms 2

Solon introduced economic reforms as well. He encouraged the export of wine and olive oil. This policy helped merchants and farmers by increasing demand for their products. Despite Solon's reforms, citizenship remained limited, and many positions were open only to the wealthy landowners. Continued and widespread unrest led to the rise of tyrants, or people who gained power by force. Tyrants often won support from the merchant class and the poor by imposing reforms to help these groups. Although Greek tyrants often governed well, the word tyranthas come to mean a vicious and brutal ruler. Solon (630 B.C.-560 B.C.) became so famous for his wise political and economic reforms that today in English we call a wise and skillful lawgiver a solon.

Pericles, Democracy, and War

The years after the Persian Wars were a golden age for Athens. Under the able statesman Pericles (PEHR uh kleez), the economy thrived and the government became more democratic. Because of his wise and skillful leadership, the period from 460 B.C. to 429 B.C. is often called the Age of Pericles.

What factors united the city-states of Greece?

their language and shared myths and religious beliefs and a general feeling of their uniqueness and superiority over other peoples

Athenian Women 2

He wrote: "The man is by nature fitter for command than the female just as an older person is superior to a younger, more immature person." Although some men disagreed, most Greeks accepted the view that women must be guided by men. In court, fathers or guardians represented women, as they did for children. In well-to-do Athenian homes, women lived a secluded existence, shut off and "protected" from the outside world.

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Greek City-States Join Together

In 480 B.C. Darius's son Xerxes (ZURK seez) sent a much larger force to conquer Greece. By this time, Athens had persuaded Sparta and other city-states to join in the fight against Persia. Once again, the Persians landed in northern Greece. A small Spartan force guarded the narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae (thur MAHP uh lee). Led by their great warrior-king Leonidas (lee AHN ih dus), the Spartans held out heroically against the enormous Persian force but were defeated in the end. The Persians marched south and burned Athens. The city was empty, however. The Athenians had already withdrawn to safety, putting their faith in the fleet of ships that Themistocles had urged them to build.

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Greek Wars with Persia

In 500 B.C., Greek world was small. It included hundreds of rival city-states in a small area at the tip of the Balkan peninsula and a growing number of Greek colonies scattered around the Mediterranean. The Greeks, as you have read, were often bitterly divided. Athens, the wealthiest Greek city-state, had rivals that bitterly resented their rich neighbor. But far more powerful than any Greek city-state was the huge Persian empire, that lay to the east, just across the Aegean Sea. When the Persians threatened them, the Greeks briefly put aside their differences to defend their freedom.

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Athenian Women

In Athens, as in other Greek city-states, women had no share in political life. The respected Athenian thinker Aristotle reflected the general view that women were imperfect beings who lacked the ability to reason as well as men.

How does the modern American justice system resemble the Athenian justice system under Pericles? How do they differ?

In ancient Athens, questions of law were decided by juries, but the juries comprised thousands—not just twelve—citizens.

How do you think the culture and values shared by Greeks both united and divided them?

It divided them because the Greek city states were all proud of their own culture, traditions and heritage. This led to many internal conflicts and struggles. At the same time, however, in times of need when there was a strong outside force (Persian empire for example), they joined together as their culture and values bonded them together to fight a common enemy.

Myths and Beliefs

Like most other ancient people, the Greeks were polytheistic, believing in more than one deity. According to their myths, or traditional stories that explain the ways of nature or the gods, the gods lived on Mount Olympus in northern Greece. In Greek myths, the most powerful Olympian was Zeus (zoos), who presided over the affairs of gods and humans. His children included Ares (EHR eez), god of war, and Aphrodite (af ruh DY tee), goddess of love. His daughter Athena (uh THEE nuh), goddess of wisdom, gave her name to Athens.

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

MONARCHY ARISTOCRACY OLIGARCHY Hereditary ruler (king, queen) holds central power. Hereditary landholding upper class rules. Small wealthy elite exercises power. Examples: England (1558-1603), France (1643-1715), Russia (1762-1796), Oman, Saudi Arabia Examples: England (1688-1832), France (1700s before French Revolution) Examples: Renaissance Florence, South Africa under apartheid, former Soviet Union

The Peloponnesian War

Many Greeks outside Athens resented Athenian domination. Before long, the Greek world was split into rival camps. To counter the Delian League, Sparta and other enemies of Athens formed the Peloponnesian League. In 431 B.C. warfare broke out between Athens and Sparta. This 27-year Peloponnesian War not only pitted these two rivals but soon engulfed all of Greece.

Discontent Drives Change 2

The Parthenon holds center stage on the ancient Athenian Acropolis. Originally a temple honoring the city's patron goddess, Athena, the Parthenon is one of the world's most famous and influential buildings. As discontent spread, Athens moved slowly toward democracy, or government by the people. As you will see, the term had a different meaning for the ancient Greeks than it has for us today.

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The Olympic Games

A unifying force among the Greek states was the celebration of the Olympic games. Every four years in the sacred valley of Olympia, the Greeks held athletic contests to honor Zeus, their chief god. The competitive spirit of the games mirrored the rivalries that kept the dozens of small Greek city-states in a state of near-constant war. The games reflected the value Greeks placed on physical fitness. From their earliest days, Greek city-states wanted citizens to build strong bodies needed to fight in their frequent wars.

Legacy of Greek Myths

All Greeks shared a common heritage through their myths and legends. The stories were told and retold in different forms. Early on, Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, captured the tales of great heroes like Achilles and the gods whose jealousies and clashes affected the Trojan War. Later, Greek playwrights and artists created works portraying legendary heroes, gods, and goddesses. As Greek power faded, the rising new power, Rome, adopted many Greek gods as their own and adapted the Greek myths for their own uses. As you will read, the legacies of both Greek and Roman cultures helped shape Western civilization.

Athenian Justice

Among the responsibilities of Athenian citizens was serving on juries. A jury is a group of people who have the authority to make a decision in a legal case. Unlike a modern American trial jury, which usually has 12 members, an Athenian jury might include as many as 500 or more jurors. Athena, patroness of Athens and goddess of wisdom, observes citizens fulfilling one of their most important responsibilities in a democracy—voting.

The Olympic Games 2

As the time for the games drew near, the Greeks called a truce, or temporary suspension of hostilities, so that athletes and spectators could reach Olympia safely. At first, the games were a one-day festival with just one event, a short foot race. Later the games expanded into a five-day festival with sports such as running, jumping, shot put, discus throwing, javelin, boxing, and chariot races. The games were open only to free born men and boys. Married women were forbidden even to watch the games although unmarried women could attend.

Athens Defeated by Sparta 2

As the war dragged on, both sides committed savage acts against each other. Sparta even allied itself with Persia, the longtime enemy of the Greeks. Finally, in 404 B.C., with the help of the Persian navy, the Spartans captured Athens. The victors stripped the Athenians of their fleet and empire. However, Sparta rejected calls from its allies to destroy Athens.

Rise of Greek City-States

As their world expanded after 750 B.C., the Greeks evolved a unique version of the city-state, which they called the polis (POH lis). Typically, the polis was built on two levels. On a hilltop stood the acropolis (uh KRAH puh lis), or high city, with its great marble temples dedicated to different gods and goddesses. On flatter ground below lay the walled main city with its marketplace, theater, public buildings, and homes.

Greek View of Foreigners

As trade expanded and colonies multiplied, the Greeks came in contact with people who spoke different languages and had different customs. Greeks felt superior to non-Greeks and called them barbaroi, people who did not speak Greek. The English word barbarian comes from this Greek root. These "barbarians" included people such as the Phoenicians and Egyptians, from whom the Greeks borrowed important ideas and inventions. This sense of uniqueness and superiority would help the Greeks face a threat from the mightiest power in the Mediterranean world—the Persian empire.

Discipline Rules Daily Life 2

At the age of seven, boys began training for a lifetime in the military. They moved into barracks, where they were toughened by a coarse diet, hard exercise, and rigid discipline. This strict and harsh discipline made Spartan youths excellent soldiers. To develop cunning and supplement their diet, boys were even encouraged to steal food. If caught, though, they were beaten severely. At the age of 20, a man could marry, but he continued to live in the barracks for another 10 years and to eat there for another 40 years. At the age of 30, after further training, he took his place in the assembly.

The Olympic Games 3

At this Tholos Temple in Delphi, Greeks offered sacrifices to Athena, guardian of the famous oracle, before asking their questions. This tholos, or circular structure, was built about 400 B.C. The Olympic games lasted for more than 11 centuries, long after the Greek city-states were conquered by Rome. In A.D. 393, however, the games were abolished. By then, Roman emperors had become Christian, and the ancient games were seen as a pagan, or non-Christian religious tradition that had no place in the empire.

Athenian Culture Thrives

Athens prospered during the Age of Pericles. With the empire's riches, Pericles directed the rebuilding of the Acropolis, which the Persians had destroyed. With the help of an educated foreign-born woman named Aspasia (as PAY shuh), Pericles turned Athens into the cultural center of Greece. They encouraged the arts through public festivals, dramatic competitions, and building programs. Such building projects increased Athenians' prosperity by creating jobs for artisans and workers.

Democracy Evolves in Athens

Athens was located in Attica, just north of the Peloponnesus. As in many Greek city-states, Athenian government evolved from a monarchy into an aristocracy. By 700 B.C. noble landowners held power and chose the chief officials. Nobles judged major court cases and dominated the assembly.

How did Solon reform government in Athens?

Before Solon's reforms, wealthy citizens ruled Athens. Solon tried to involve more ordinary people in government. Under Solon's reforms, all free men living in Athens became citizens.

Types of Government Evolve

Between 750 B.C. and 500 B.C. Greeks developed different forms of government. At first, the ruler of the polis, like those in the river valley empires, was a king. A government in which a hereditary ruler, such as a king or queen, exercises central power is a monarchy. Slowly, however, power shifted to a class of noble landowners. Because only they could afford bronze weapons and chariots, these nobles were also the military defenders of the city-states. At first these nobles defended the king. In time, however, they won power for themselves. The result was an aristocracy, or rule by a landholding elite.

Athens Defeated by Sparta

Despite its riches and powerful navy, Athens faced a serious geographic disadvantage. Because Sparta was located inland, it could not be attacked from the sea. Sparta, however, with its powerful army, only had to march north to attack Athens. When Sparta invaded the lands surrounding Athens, Pericles allowed people from the countryside to move inside the city walls. The overcrowded conditions led to disaster. A terrible plague broke out, killing at least a third of the population, including Pericles himself. His successors were much less able leaders, and their power struggles undermined the city's democratic government.

Democracy Within Limits

By modern standards, Athenian democracy was quite limited. Only citizens could participate in government—voting to choose officials and pass laws or holding office—and citizenship was restricted to landowning men over 30 years of age. Citizenship meant a responsibility to serve in government and fight for their polis as soldiers when needed.

Democracy in Athens

By the time of Pericles, the Athenian assembly met several times a month. A Council of 500, selected by lot, conducted daily government business. Pericles believed that all male citizens, regardless of wealth or social class, should take part in government. Athens therefore began to pay a stipend, or fixed salary, to men who participated in the Assembly and its governing Council. This reform enabled poor men to serve in government.

New Ways of War Shape Greece

Changes in military technology increased the power of the middle class. By about 650 B.C., iron weapons replaced bronze ones. Since iron was cheaper, ordinary citizens could afford iron helmets, shields, and swords. Meanwhile, a new method of fighting emerged—the phalanx, a massive tactical formation of heavily armed foot soldiers. It required long hours of drill to master. Shared training created a strong sense of unity among the citizen-soldiers. By putting the defense of the city-state in the hands of ordinary citizens, the phalanx reduced class differences. The new type of warfare, however, led the two most influential city-states—Athens and Sparta—to develop very different ways of life. While Sparta stressed military virtues and stern discipline, Athens glorified the individual and extended political rights to more citizens.

Athenian Justice 2

Citizens over 30 years of age were chosen by lot to serve on the jury for a year. Effectively, Athenian citizens were tried by a jury of their peers, a basic legal principle echoed in England's Magna Carta, the U.S. Sixth Amendment, and in American jury trials today. Also, the fundamental legal concepts of the "rule of law" (all must obey the laws) and "innocent until proven guilty" were substantially embodied in the laws of Athens and Sparta. Athenian citizens could also vote to banish, or send away, a public figure whom they saw as a threat to their democracy. This process was called ostracism (AHS truh siz um). The person with the largest number of votes cast against him was ostracized, meaning that that individual would have to live outside the city, usually for a period of 10 years.

Citizens Share Power and Wealth 2

Cleisthenes made the assembly a genuine legislature, or lawmaking body, that debated laws before deciding to approve or reject them. All male citizens were members of the assembly and were expected to participate. Cleisthenes's reforms advanced some of the basic principles of Athenian democracy. He supported the idea of equal participation. Up until then, equal participation had applied to the aristocracy. Cleisthenes expanded it to include all citizens who met certain qualifications. Equal participation was very different from the idea of democracy we hold today, but it was the beginning of a new system for Athens.

What changes took place under Cleisthenes?

Cleisthenes set up a council comprising 500 Athenian citizens. He also established an assembly made up of all Athenian (male) citizens.

democracy

Comes from the Greek word demos, meaning "common people."

The Decline of Greek Dominion 2

Fighting continued to disrupt the Greek world. Sparta itself soon suffered defeat at the hands of Thebes, another Greek city-state. As Greeks battled among themselves, a new power rose in Macedonia (mas uh DOH nee uh), a kingdom to the north of Greece. By 359 B.C. its ambitious ruler stood poised to conquer the quarrelsome Greek city-states. The Greek hoplite was named after his unique shield, the hoplon. These heavily armored soldiers were usually men from the middle class who could afford to purchase the armor and weapons.

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Myths and Beliefs 2

Greeks honored their gods with temples and festivals, which included processions, sacrifices, feasts, plays, choral singing, and athletic competitions. Greeks consulted oracles, who were priests or priestesses through whom the gods were thought to speak. However, some Greek thinkers came to believe that the universe was regulated not by the gods but by natural laws.

Discipline Rules Daily Life

From childhood, a Spartan prepared to be part of a military state. Officials examined every newborn, and sickly children were abandoned to die. Spartans wanted future soldiers and the future mothers of soldiers to be healthy.

Athens Leads the Delian League 2

From the start, Athens dominated the Delian League and slowly used its position of leadership to create an Athenian empire. It moved the league treasury from the island of Delos to Athens and forced reluctant allies to remain in the league against their will. It even used money contributed by other city-states to rebuild its own city. Yet, while Athens was enforcing its will abroad, Athenian leaders were championing political freedom at home

Spartan Women

Girls, too, had a rigorous upbringing. As part of a warrior society, they were expected to produce healthy sons for the army. They therefore were required to exercise and strengthen their bodies—something no other Greek women did.

Landscape Forms Political Borders

Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula, which extends southward into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mountains divide the peninsula into isolated valleys. Beyond the rugged coast, hundreds of rocky islands spread toward the horizon. The Greeks who farmed the valleys or settled on the scattered islands did not create a large empire such as that of the Egyptians or Persians. Instead, they built many small city-states, cut off from one another by mountains or water. Each included a city and its surrounding countryside. Greeks felt strong loyalty to their city-states and fiercely defended their independence. Endless rivalry led to frequent wars between the city-states—and in time, to the conquest of Greece by outsiders.

How do you think Greek concepts related to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship influence modern societies?

Greek concepts about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship set the standard by which we judge the claims and results of modern democratic governments and societies. The rights citizens have, such as equality before the law, and the responsibilities they fulfill, such as participating in public life or defending their country, go back to the ideals and practices of ancient Greece.

Athenian Women 3

Greek playwrights such as Sophocles, and Aristophanes prominently featured women or families in their tragedies and comedies. Social, political, and religious issues often were played out within family dramas, as in Sophocles' Antigone, where a heroine's disobedience of a ruler's command puts her into conflict with her uncle and guardian. In Aristophanes' comedy, The Clouds, a father tries to take control of his spendthrift son.

Explain how democracy evolved in ancient Greece from earlier forms of government in Greece.

Monarchy, or rule by a single hereditary leader, was the earliest form of Greek government. Over time, power shifted to an elite class of noble landowners who also provided the military defense for the city-states. This form of government is called an aristocracy. Then, as trade increased, in some cities a new middle class of wealthy merchants, farmers, and artisans successfully challenged the landowning nobles. In the resulting government, an oligarchy, power is held by a small, wealthy elite. By 700 B.C., landowners in Athens held power, but discontented ordinary people demanded more rights. A series of economic and political reforms in Athens increased the role of ordinary citizens in government, eventually leading to a form of limited democracy, or rule by the people.

How did the ancient Greeks honor their gods?

The Greeks built temples and celebrated festivals to honor their gods. They held public processions, made sacrifices, and participated in feasts, plays, choral singing, and athletic competitions devoted to their gods.

Living by the Sea

The Mediterranean and Aegean seas were as central to the Greek world as the Nile was to Egypt. While mountains divided Greeks from one another, the seas provided a vital link to the world outside. With its hundreds of bays, the Greek coastline offered safe harbors for ships. Like the Phoenicians, the Greeks became skilled sailors. Carrying cargoes of olive oil, wine, and marble, Greek traders sailed to Eygpt, the Middle East, and Asia Minor.

Solon Makes Reforms

Solon, a wise and trusted leader, was appointed archon (AHR kahn), or chief official, in 594 B.C. Athenians gave Solon a free hand to make needed reforms. He outlawed debt slavery and freed those who had already been sold into slavery for debt. He opened high offices to more citizens, granted citizenship to some foreigners, and gave the Athenian assembly more say in important decisions.

How do you think geography influenced the outcome of the war?

Sparta was located inland, which protected the city from attack by the superior Athenian navy. Athens was able to use its sea power to strike at distant Spartan territory in Macedonia. However, Athenian forces could not strike directly at Sparta itself without sailing around the Peloponnesian peninsula and fighting their way inland. Thus, Sparta's powerful army had a geographical advantage. It could strike directly at Athens by marching through its own territory and crossing the isthmus that connects the Peloponnesian peninsula to the Greek mainland.

Forces for Unity

Strong local identification, an independent spirit, and economic rivalry led to fighting among the Greek city-states. Despite these divisions, Greeks shared a common culture. They spoke the same language, honored the same ancient heroes, participated in common festivals, and prayed to the same gods.

Citizens Share Power and Wealth

The Athenian tyrant Pisistratus (py SIS truh tus) seized power in 546 B.C. He helped farmers by giving them loans and land taken from nobles. New building projects gave jobs to the poor. By giving poor citizens a greater voice, he further weakened the aristocracy. In 507 B.C. another reformer, Cleisthenes (KLYS thuh neez), broadened the role of ordinary citizens in government. He set up the Council of 500, whose members were chosen by lot from among all citizens over the age of 30. The council prepared laws considered by the assembly and supervised the day-to-day work of government.

Athens Wins at Marathon 3

The Athenians celebrated their triumph. Still, the Athenian leader, Themistocles (thuh MIS tuh kleez), knew the victory at Marathon had bought only a temporary lull in the fighting. He urged Athenians to build a fleet of warships and prepare other defenses.

Greek City-States Join Together 2

The Athenians lured the Persian fleet into the narrow strait of Salamis (SAHL uh mis), near Athens. There, Athenian warships rammed, burned, and sank the Persian fleet. From the shore, Xerxes watched helplessly. The next year, the Greeks defeated the Persians on land in Asia Minor. This victory marked the end of the Persian invasions. In a brief moment of unity, the Greek city-states had saved themselves from the Persian threat.

The Decline of Greek Dominion

The Peloponnesian War ended the greatness of the Athenian golden age. Although the Athenian economy eventually revived and Athens remained the cultural center of Greece, its spirit and vitality declined. In Athens, as elsewhere in the Greek world, democratic government suffered. Corruption and selfish interests replaced older ideals such as service to the state.

Athens Wins at Marathon 2

The Persians greatly outnumbered Athenian forces. Yet the invaders were amazed to see "a mere handful of men coming on at a run without either horsemen or archers." The Persians responded with a rain of arrows, but the Greeks rushed onward. They broke through the Persian line and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Overwhelmed by the fury of the Athenian assault, the Persians hastily retreated to their ships.

Greek Wars with Persia 2

The Persians had conquered a huge empire stretching from Asia Minor to the border of India. Their subjects included the Greek city-states of Ionia in Asia Minor. Though under Persian rule, these Ionian city-states were largely self-governing. Still, they resented their situation. The Persian king Darius I is portrayed receiving tribute on this wall relief at the great palace in Persepolis, in present-day Iran. In 499 B.C., Ionian Greeks rebelled against Persian rule. Athens sent ships to help them. As the historian Herodotus wrote some years later, "These ships were the beginning of mischief both to the Greeks and to the barbarians." They triggered the Persian Wars, a series of wars that lasted on and off for half a century.

Athens Wins at Marathon

The Persians soon crushed the rebel cities in Ionia, but Persian emperor Darius I was furious at the role Athens had played in the uprising. In time, Darius sent a huge force across the Aegean to punish Athens for its interference. The mighty Persian army landed near Marathon, a plain north of Athens, in 490 B.C.

Sparta Stands Alone

The Spartans isolated themselves from other Greeks. They looked down on trade and wealth, forbade their own citizens to travel, and had little use for new ideas or the arts. While other Greeks admired the Spartans' military skills, no other city-state imitated their rigorous way of life. "Spartans are willing to die for their city," some suggested, "because they have no reason to live." In the long run, Sparta suffered from its rigid ways and inability to change. Over time, its warrior class shrank, and its power declined.

Spartan Women 2

The Spartans put great emphasis on the strength and agility of the human body. This sculpture from 530 B.C. shows a Spartan woman exercising, a task rarely expected of other Greek women. Like other Greek women, Spartan women had to obey their fathers or husbands. Yet under Spartan law, they had the right to inherit property. Because men were occupied with war, some women took on responsibilities such as running the family's estate.

Discipline and Warfare in Sparta

The Spartans were Dorian invaders from the north who conquered Laconia, in the southern part of Greece, and built the city-state of Sparta. The Dorian invaders turned the conquered people into state-owned slaves, called helots, and made them work the land. Because the helots greatly outnumbered their rulers, the Spartans set up a brutal system of strict control. The Spartan government included two kings and a council of elders who advised the monarchs. An assembly made up of all citizens approved major decisions. Citizens were male, native-born Spartans over the age of 30. The assembly also elected five ephors, or officials, who ran day-to-day affairs.

What were the cause and effects of the Peloponnesian War?

The cause was resentment of city-states for Athenian domination of the Greek world. Sparta and other rivals of Athens set up the Peloponnesian League. The two camps fought for 27 years. Eventually, the Spartans won with the help of the Persians. The effects of the war were to end Athenian dominance in Greece and to allow an opening for another powerful kingdom to conquer the Greek city-states.

Contrast the earliest civilizations, which rose in fertile river valleys, with the geographical conditions that influenced the rise of ancient Greek civilization.

The earliest civilizations rose in fertile river valley and were led by strong rulers. These leaders organized irrigation systems so that farmers could produce food surpluses that could support large cities. By contrast, Greece, part of the Balkan peninsula, is divided by mountains into isolated valleys, has a rugged coast, and includes hundreds of rocky islands. Within these geographic conditions, the Ancient Greeks established numerous small city-states separated from each other by mountains or water.

How did the geography of Greece present obstacles to unity? How did the geography of Greece differ from that of other ancient civilizations?

The geography of mountains separated the Greek towns physically, and surmounting this separation made unifying the region difficult. Most ancient civilizations developed along river valleys.

Rise of Greek City-States 2

The population of each city-state was fairly small, which helped the citizens, or free residents, share a sense of responsibility for its triumphs and defeats. In the warm climate of Greece, free men spent much time outdoors in the marketplace, debating issues that affected their lives. The whole community joined in festivals honoring the city's special god or goddess. The rights of citizens were unequal, however, and male landowners held all the political power.

Which modern American institutions and systems resemble these reforms? How do they differ?

These reforms resemble the American system of citizenship, and American institutions like the Senate and House of Representatives, or Congress. However, Athens only recognized men as citizens, and only permitted men to participate in government. Also, the assembly comprised all male citizens, whereas American institutions seat only a select number as elected by other citizens.

Living by the Sea 2

They returned not only with grains and metals but also with ideas, which they adapted to their own needs. For example, the Greeks expanded the Phoenician alphabet. The resulting alphabet in turn became the basis for all later Western alphabets. By 750 B.C., rapid population growth was forcing many Greeks to leave their own overcrowded valleys. With fertile land limited, the Greeks expanded overseas. Gradually, a scattering of Greek colonies took root all around the Mediterranean from Spain to Egypt. Wherever they traveled, Greek settlers and traders carried their ideas and culture.

Pericles' Funeral Oration

Thucydides (thoo SIHD uh deez), a historian who lived in the Age of Pericles, recorded a speech given by Pericles at the funeral of Athenians slain in battle. In this famous Funeral Oration, or speech, Pericles praised the Athenian form of government. He pointed out that Athenian citizens bore a special responsibility to take an interest in public affairs. In this speech, Pericles described essential values and beliefs of the Athenians, including equality of citizens before the law, the responsibility of citizens, and service to the state.

Citizens and Noncitizens

To be a citizen of Sparta, a person had to be descended from the Dorians who invaded the land. Spartan citizens owned land, but did not farm it since that was the job of the helots. Although foreigners lived in Sparta, they were unwelcome guests and could be expelled. In Sparta, noncitizens outnumbered citizens, but they had few rights and were strictly controlled by the government.

Democracy in Athens 2

Under Pericles, Athens was a direct democracy, or a system of government in which citizens take part directly in the day-to-day affairs of government. By contrast, in most democratic countries today, citizens participate in government indirectly through elected representatives. In both the assembly and the Council of 500, Athenians discussed issues of importance to them. They debated questions such as what is the best form of government or what constitutes the good life. A central theme of their debates, though, was war, because Athens, like the other Greek city-states, was frequently at war.

Discontent Drives Change

Under the aristocracy, Athenian wealth and power grew. Yet discontent spread among ordinary people. Merchants and soldiers resented the power of the nobles. They argued that their service to Athens entitled them to more rights. Foreign artisans, who produced many of the goods that Athens traded abroad, were resentful that Athenian law barred them from becoming citizens. Farmers, too, demanded change. During hard times, many farmers were forced to sell their land to nobles. A growing number even sold themselves and their families into slavery to pay their debts.

Educating the Young

Unlike girls, who received little or no formal education, boys attended school if their families could afford it. Besides learning to read and write, they studied music, and memorized poetry. Equally important, they learned the skill of public speaking because, as citizens in a democracy, they would have to voice their views. Young men received military training and, to keep their bodies healthy, participated in athletic contests. Unlike Sparta, which put military training above all else, Athens encouraged young men to explore many areas of knowledge.

Athens Leads the Delian League

Victory in the Persian Wars increased the Greek sense of their own uniqueness. The gods, they felt, had protected their superior form of government—the city-state—against invaders from Asia. Athens emerged from the war as the most powerful city-state in Greece. To meet continued threats from Persia, it organized with other Greek city-states an alliance, or a formal agreement between two or more nations or powers to cooperate and come to one another's defense. Modern scholars call this alliance the Delian League after Delos, the location where the league held meetings.

Athenian Women 4

Women played their most significant public role in religion. Their participation in sacred processions and ceremonies was considered essential for the city's well-being. In well-to-do Athenian homes, women managed the entire household. They spun and wove, cared for their children, and prepared food, but lived a secluded existence and were rarely seen in public. Their slaves or children were sent to buy food and to fetch water from the public well. Only poor women went shopping alone in Athens.

Democracy Within Limits 2

Women were excluded from political activities even if their families were Athenian citizens. Others groups who had no political rights were merchants and people whose parents were not citizens. Also, tens of thousands of Athenians were slaves without political rights or personal freedom. Still, it was the labor of slaves that gave citizens the time to participate in government. Despite the limits on democracy, Athens gave more people a say in decision making than any other ancient civilization.