5.2 Greek Government & Society I. Greek Culture A. Blind poet Homer wrote 2 epics i.

. Iliad : Trojan War Greeks vs. Troy - last for 10 years, ends with Odysseus idea of Trojan Horse, Greeks win ii. Odyssey Odysseus journey home Religion iii. Polytheistic (ex. Zeus head of gods, Aphrodite goddess of love and beauty) iv. Deities were humanlike 1. explained nature myths 2. explained extreme emotions 3. benefits luck, harvest v. Oracles where gods spoke through priests B. Olympic Games i. To honor Zeus every 4 years ii. Only men could participate iii. Boxing, running, javelin, wrestling, etc. II. Polis A. The polis, a city-state, was the basic political unit of the Hellenic Civilization. (The words police and politics come from the word polis.) B. A typical polis included the city and surrounding villages, fields and orchards. C. At the center of the city was an acropolis, a fortified hill, which held the temple of the local deity. D. An agora was the public square at the foot of the acropolis where meetings took place.

III. Society & Economy A. Greek women had no political or legal rights. B. Economy for city-states was based on agriculture. C. Each polis set up colonies in coastal areas along the Black and Mediterranean Seas (because of a lack of food after the Dark Ages). IV. Govt A. In most Greek city-states before 500 BC, citizenship and voting rights were usually extended to male landowners only. B. Small group of landowners aristocrats, overthrew the kings by 700 BC. But they abused their power over time. C. Tyrants, one man who seizes power (illegally, but had peoples support), ruled Greek city-states 650-500 BC. (Tyrants usually were NOT cruel; a few who were cruel gave us our current definition of tyranny.) D. From 500 BC to 336 BC, many Greek city-states were ruled by a small group of wealthy people, called an oligarchy.

5.2 Rivals

SPARTA I. History & Geography A. Sparta was founded by descendants of the Dorians (Greek invaders in 1100 BC, started the Dark Age of Greece). B. Located in Peloponnesus, a peninsula of southern Greece. C. They invaded neighbors instead of founding overseas colonies. D. They enslaved the peoples they took over, These slaves were called helots. E. Free artisans and merchants who lived in Sparta were known as perioeci.
II. Government A. 2 kings one military, one domestic B. Council of Elders to propose laws and serve as criminal court III. Life in Sparta A. All life in Sparta revolved around the military. Men strove to be good soldiers and women strove to mother good soldiers. (Lived in valley not on a hill.) B. In Sparta, newborns were examined; if they were not healthy they were taken and left on a hillside to die. C. Spartan society was notable for an emphasis on military and athletic ability. Compared to the citizens of other Greek city-states, the citizens of Sparta were exceptional athletes and almost always won the Olympic Games. D. The men started training at age 7 and were allowed to retire from the army at age 60.

E. Spartan women were brought up to be as healthy and strong as possible. (Sparta was the only Greek society where the girls received as much food as the boys. They trained in wrestling, gymnastics, and boxing.) F. Spartan women had more personal rights and freedoms than women of any other Greek city-state did.

ATHENS I. History & Geography A. Athens was located on Attica, peninsula of central Greece. They were descendants from the Mycenaeans. B. Athens is named after the goddess Athena. C. Sea traders because of unfertile land.
II. Life in Athens A. Only Athenian born men had full political right. Women could not vote or hold political office. B. By 507 BC all free MEN could participate in the Assembly regardless of whether they owned land. C. 9 Archons were elected who served one year terms to run the govt. III. Changes in Govt A. Dracos code of law was considered an improvement because it eliminated inconsistent laws and punishments, but very harsh. B. Solon promoted the growth of Athenian industry by extending citizenship to foreign-born artisans, also canceled all land debts. He set up a bicameral legislature. C. Peisistratus gave citizenship to men who did not own land.

D.

Cleisthenes introduced laws establishing Athenian democracy (direct democracy).

IV. Democracy A. All citizens could belong to the Assembly, the major political institution of Athenian democracy. They were equal before the law and had freedom of speech. B. The Assembly passed laws and also served as a supreme court. C. Every year, the members of the Athenian Assembly chose the Council of 500 by a general lottery, which administered taxes, treaties, and public works. D. Citizens of democratic Athens favored lotteries over elections because they believed election could be dominated by the wealthy or well spoken. E. Athenian system for removing bad politicians from office was called ostracism. F.Athens laid the foundation for the Western concept of democratic government.