The Rise of Greece City-States

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The Rise of Greece City-States
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Polis

• Primary form of political and social organization
• 3 interlocking ideas
• Geographical territory
• Community
• Political and economic independence
• Origin of many modern English words
• Policy politician

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Independent City-States

• City built around a defensible fortification
  called an acropolis
• Average polis covered between 30 to 500 square
  miles. Athens covered 1,000 square miles
• No professional bureaucracy, no professional
  army, no professional politicians
• Extended community that included a family, a
  clan, a brotherhood, and the polis, in that order

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Life in the Polis

• Life centered around agora (marketplace)
• Divided into three groups
• Adult men citizens with political rights
• Free people (women, children and resident
  foreigners no political rights
• Slaves prisoners of war or for debt
• Girls were considered economic liabilities since
  they had to be provided with dowries before they
  could get married

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Life in Polis continued

• Aristocrats controlled every aspect of Greek
  society.
• Acted as judges and determined the laws.
• Major landowners.
• Monopoly over the military
• Colonization was motivated by a hunger for land
  and a need for new agricultural bases
• An explosion in commercial activities.

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Change is in the Air

• Trade and commercial opportunities allowed
  commoners to acquire wealth
• Bronze (expensive and materials are hard to find)
  gives way to Iron (plentiful and inexpensive)
• Military strategy changes
• Hoplites and phalanx formations

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Law codes

• Laws were enforced by aristocrats and ruled as
  they saw fit
• Demands grew to force the aristocrats to codify,
  or write down, the customary laws and procedures
  governing the cities
• As the laws were made public for all to see the
  rule of the aristocrats was brought to an end

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Writing stems into Lyric Poetry

• Focused on personal feelings and emotions,
  subjects with which everyone, not just the
  aristocracy could identify
• Sappho
• Tenth Muse Plato
• Enormous influence on the development of poetry
  (Sapphic meter)

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Solon the Lawgiver

• Social unrest leads to new system
• Solon canceled debts and abolished enslavement
  for debt.
• Citizenship based on wealth
• Public office was open to the three upper classes
• Fourth class was ineligible for public office
• Problems for poor farmers continued

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Peisistratus Cleisthenes

• Peisistratus the Tyrant
• Wielding sole political power in violation of the
  established law, but with the support of the
  people
• Beautified the city and increased the sense of
  being a Athenian by civic festivals
• Cleisthenes democracy
• Mixed different tribes in hope to destroy the
  regional power of the aristocracy
• Created Council of Five Hundred
• Direct democracy all legislative and electoral
  power remained with the popular assembly, made up
  of all voting citizens

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Sparta
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Sparta

• Covered by hills and mountains, isolation
  contributed to the Spartans desire to be left
  alone?
• Education focused entirely on physical fitness
  and military training (men were full time
  soldiers from 20 to 30 years of age)
• Women were to bear children, but were also known
  for their wealth and indepence
• Almost no interest in the arts or philosophy