Ancient Greece

What is a Democracy? How do Democracies work? Why didn't some Greek city states like it?

A Democracy is a government ruled by the people. In a Democracy citizens vote on who will be there leader and the citizens vote on all the important issues. Everyone has a say in Democracy. Some city states in Ancient Greece didn't like it because powerful speakers persuaded people to vote unwisely.

Peninsula

A body of land that is surrounded on three sides by water.

Democracy

A government in which power is held by the people, who exercise power directly or through elected representatives

Oligarchy

A government in which the ruling power is in the hands of few people

Monarchy

A government in which the ruling power is in the hands of one person

Darius

A great Persian king who ruled from about 522 to 486 BCE

Pericles

A great leader who developed Athens's culture, democracy, and power during its Golden Age.

Assembly

A group of citizens, in an ancient Greek democracy, with the power to pass laws.

Agora

A marketplace in Ancient Greece

Aristocrat

A member of the most powerful class in ancient Greek society

Council of Elders

A small group of Spartans (two kings and 28 other men; memebers had to be noble and at least 60 years old) who made all the important governing decisions; suggested laws

Persian Empire

A vast empire in the 400s BCE that ruled over lands in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia

Assembly in Athens

Debated issues and approved the laws in Athens, they met every ten days and at least 6,000 citizens had to be present for a meeting to take place. Any citizen could attend council meetings and speak his voice.

Council 500

In Athens, a group of 500 citizens chosen to form a council responsible for running the day-to-day business of government, suggested new laws.

What was Spartan economy like? What was Athens economy like? Why were they like that?

In Sparta they would only rely on themselves. They grew all of their crops because they had all the land they needed from taking it from other places. In Athens they would grow stuff but they would trade a lot of the time too. Sparta was like this because they didn't like to trade so they grew stuff and the stuff they couldn't get they would rely on the slaves to get that. Athens was like this because they were right on a good harbor so they could trade for the stuff that they didn't produce.

Parthenon

The temple built on the acropolis above Athens, honoring the goddess Athena.

What is a Monarchy? How did Monarchs rule? Why did Monarchs lose power?

A Monarchy is a type of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of one person called a king or monarch. The monarchs had the authority to make laws and act as judges. They could also conduct religious ceremonies, they led their armies during war, and the punished people who disobeyed the law and didn't pay taxes. Monarchs depended heavily on aristocrats to fund them. They lost power because they depended heavily on aristocrats to fund them and the aristocrats got no power so they took over.

Athens

A city-state of ancient Greece that was first to have a democracy; also known as the birthplace of Western civilization; the capital of present day Greece.

Sparta

A city-state of ancient Greece, known for its military oligarchy.

Tyranny

A government in which absolute ruling power is held by a person who is not a lawful king

Hellespont

A long, narrow body of water between Europe and the present-day country of Turkey.

Peloponnesus

A peninsula forming the southern part of the mainland of Greece.

Citizen

A person who has certain rights and duties in a city-state or nation.

Colony

A settlement under the control of a usually distant country

Aegean sea

An arm of the Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece.

What was education like in Sparta? What was education like in Athens? How were they different?

In Athens boys were taught to be good citizens. Education balanced book learning and physical training. The girls were taught how to manage a household. In Sparta girls and boys were taught alike and they were taught to protects their city-state. The spartan men started their military training at age 7 and served in the army until they turned 60. In Athens only the boys went to school and they learned how to be very smart and in Sparta kids were taught only to be strong.

How were women treated in Athens? How were women treated in Sparta? Why did they treat them that way?

In Athens women were treated with little respect and weren't allowed to leave the house alone and couldn't talk to her husbands friends. In Sparta women were treated about the same as men. They could leave the house whenever they wanted and they could even own their own property. In Athens the women were treated that way because they thought that the men deserved more rights. In Sparta, women were treated basically the same as men and they didn't think that either one deserved better than the other.

What is a Tyranny? How did Tyrants rule? Why did they lose power?

In a Tyranny type of government the power is in the hands of one person who is not a lawful king. Tyrants ruled by force and made laws to help the poor but they weren't fair. Tyrants lost power because they ruled very harshly and punished people very harshly and inconsistently. In Athens they forced Tyrants out of power.In a Tyranny type of government the power is in the hands of one person who is not a lawful king. Tyrants ruled by force and made laws to help the poor but they weren't fair. Tyrants lost power because they ruled very harshly and punished people very harshly and inconsistently. In Athens they forced Tyrants out of power.

What is an Oligarchy? How did Oligarchs rule? Why did Oligarchs lose power?

In the government Oligarchy a group of a few people have power. They passed laws that made the rich richer and the poor poorer. The Oligarchs lost power because they ignored the needs of people the poor turned to military leaders who promised a better life.

Cavalry

Soldiers who ride on horses

How did farmers overcome these challenges (The ancient Greeks consulted an oracle to see whether their efforts would be successful. Then they gathered food and supplies, took a flame from the town's sacred fire, and began their long sea voyages. Finally, after finding a safe place with good farmland and natural harbors, they established their colony.)

Some farmers built wide earth steps into the hills to create more flat land for farming. Most farmers grew crops like grapes and olives, which needed less land. Farmers planted hillside orchards of fruit and nut trees. Greek farmers raised sheep and goats, which can graze on the sides of mountains.

Xerxes

Son of Darius, and ruler of Persia from 486 to 465 BCE; eventually defeated by the Greeks at the end of the Persian wars.

Who won the battle of Salamis? How did they win? How many ships did each country lose?

The Greeks won. They won because had wooden poles on the side of their boats and they trapped the Persians in a narrow channel and started the smash their boats into the Persian boats. The Persians lost 300 boats when the Greeks only lost 40.

Who won the battle of marathon? How did they win? What did the Greeks do to the Persian messengers?

The Greeks won. They won because of their strategy to surround the persians on three sides and attack them in the middle. The Greeks threw the Persian messengers into pits and wells and shouted "If you want Greek earth and water, help yourselfs!".

Who won the battle of Thermopylae? How did they win? Who was ruling Persia at that time and why?

The Persians did. They surrounded the Greeks on the two sides by traveling around a mountain they won because of a persian citizen who pretended to be Greek and then later gave away their war strategy to the Persians. King Xerxes was ruling because king Darius died.

Where did the ancient Greeks mostly settle? Why were ancient Greek communities isolated from each other? What three challenges made it hard to travel in ancient?

The ancient Greeks mostly settled on the coast near the seas. Ancient Greek communities were isolated from each other by mountains, which made travel and communication difficult. Travel by land was hard because roads were not paved. People had to bring their own food and other supplies with them. Sudden storms might send ships off course of sink them.

3. Question: What was the primary reason why the ancient Greeks started colonies? Describe the actions that the ancient Greeks were likely to take when starting a new colony? When did the Greeks establish colonies? Where were the colonies located?

The ancient Greeks started colonies primarily because they needed more farmland to raise enough crops to feed their people. The ancient Greeks consulted an oracle to see whether their efforts would be successful. Then they gathered food and supplies, took a flame from the town's sacred fire, and began their long sea voyages. Finally, after finding a safe place with good farmland and natural harbors, they established their colony. The Greeks established colonies over a period of 300 years, from 1000 to 650 B.C.E. Colonies were located in Asia Minor (current day Turkey), Spain, France, Italy, Africa, and along the coast of the Black Sea.

Persian wars

The period of fighting waged between the Persian Empire and the allied Greek city-states for control of land in Greece.

Assembly in Sparta

UNLIKE the Athenians assembly, could only vote "yes" or "no" on proposed laws, and could be overruled by the Council of Elders.