Ancient Greece

Ancient Economics
• Based solely on trade
• The farming conditions were not good, but the
location had a good harbor on the Mediterranean
Sea
• City-states traded with each other and at times with
foreign lands.
• Food, wine, pottery, textiles, and clothing were
among the most traded items.
Social Life and Structure
• People were divided mainly into free people and
slaves
• The class system went Government, Male citizens,
Male children, Women and Foreigners, and Slaves
• The upper class were the Athenians, the middle class
were the Metrics, and the Freedman were the lower
class.
• A member of the upper class were free of the
economic tasks such as trading
Major Contributions to the World
• Olympic Games – started in Olympia, Greece in 776 B.C.
• Odometer – measures distance travelled by a vehicle, created
by Vitruvius in 27 B.C.
• Alarm Clock – created by Hellenistic engineer Ctesibius
• Earliest Practice of Medicine – Hippocrates is credited with
discovering that diseases are caused naturally- Hippocratic
Oath
• Concept of democracy – In Athens, aristocracy was
transitioned to democracy
Political Structure
• All of Greece was divided into city-states
• Divided into 3 governments: Democracy, Monarchy,
Oligarchy
• 3 Bodies of government: The Assembly, The
Council, The Courts
• Citizens voted for direct things such as laws and
leaders.
• Leaders: Alexander the Great, Homer, Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle
• City-States: a city that with its surrounding territory
forms an independent state.