5-2

Abby Regan 10/29/10 WHCP

Polis: Another name for a city-state, and ancient political unit. Monarchy: A government in which a single person, a king, rules the people. Aristocracy: A government where the land was ruled by a small group of noble, land owning families. Oligarchy: A government ruled by a few powerful people. Tyrants: Powerful people who seized control of the government by appealing to the common people. Democracy: A government in which the people rule. Helots: Messenians that the spartans conquered who were forced to stay on the land they worked. Phalanx: A formation in which the soldiers stood side by side, with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. Persian wars: Wars that were fought against the Persians.
 * Key Terms:**

Pheidippides: A man who ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver messages. Thermopylae: A Greek leader who told the greeks to fight at sea.
 * Key People:**

__//**Summary:**//__


 * Rule and Order to Greek City States**
 * City states, which are political units, were made up of a city and numerous villages between 50 and 500 square miles long. Meetings on Acropolis were to discuss city government.


 * Greek Political Structures**
 * Some city states had a monarchy, others had a aristocracy. and still others an oligarchy (these terms are defined in the key terms).


 * Tyrants Seize Power**
 * People who had power in society sometimes appealed to the common people so that they could become a leader that was usually not harsh and cruel.


 * Athens Builds a Limited Democracy**
 * Citizens of Athens were directly involved with making political decisions, which is called a democracy.


 * Building a Democracy**
 * In 621 BC a man named Draco came to power and made a legal code based on the idea that all people were equal under the law. It punished most crimes by death and made debtors pay off their debts by working.
 * In 594 BC, a leader named Solon outlawed debt slavery, and made social classes depending on wealth, and although only the people in the top three social classes could have political power, any citizen could vote and bring charges to people.
 * In 500 BC, a leader named Cleisthenes divided the society into ten sections based on where they lived, and created the council of 500 (who proposed laws) by choosing a random section.
 * Although this allowed citizens to participate in a limited democracy, only free, athenian born men who owned property were considered citizens, and children, slaves, and women were not and had few rights.


 * Athenian Education**
 * Most of the time, only wealthy boys went to school around the age of seven, and they were taught academics, athletics., public speaking and logic, and later went to military school to learn how to defend their city.
 * Athenian girls were educated at home to learn about child-rearing, weaving cloth, preparing meals, and other skills. Some women were taught how to read and write, but not a lot.


 * Sparta Builds a Military State**
 * Sparta was nearly cut off from the rest of Greece by the Gulf of Cornith, and they based their government around the military, not a democracy.


 * Sparta Dominates the Messenians**
 * Around 725 BC, the Spartans took over the Messenian land ad demanded half their crops. Of course, helots, as they were now called, revolted and Sparta was just able to defeat them. This inspired them to become a military state.


 * Sparta's Government and Society**
 * Had an assembly (all spartan citizens), who elected officials and voted on issues, the Council of Elders, who proposed laws that the Assembly voted on, five elected officials who carried out the laws, and two kings who controlled military forces.
 * The social order was: at the top, there were native born citizens, including nobles and officials. In te middle were free noncitizens, and at the bottom were the helots, or the Messenians.


 * Spartan Daily Life**
 * From 600-371 BC, the Spartans had the best military in Greece, but they sacrficed freedom, beauty, individuality, and learning for duty, strength, and discipline.
 * At age 7, boys went to military barracks, where they stayed until the age of 30. There was no comfort and little food, which the Spartans believed built tough and resourceful soldiers.
 * Spartan girls also recieved military training, and wrestled and played sports. They had lots of freedom, since they ran the estates while their husbands were at war.


 * The Persian Wars**
 * Both Sparta and Athens shared a common difficulty... fighting the Persians when they invaded.


 * A New Kind Of Army Emerges**
 * Iron replaced bronze, and it was not only harder, but cheaper than bronze, so more people could afford it and fight.


 * Battle at Marathon**
 * In 546 BC, the Persians took over Ionia. When the Ionians revolted, the Persians defeated them and vowed to destroy Athens in revenge.
 * The Athenians won the battle because they were discipline and strong in the phalanx arrangements, and the Persians weren't. The Persians fled the battle.


 * Pheidippides Brings News**
 * After the battle, when Athens stood defensless, they sent a young runner, Pheidippides, to run from Marathon to Athens to bring a the message that the Persians had been defeated, and "Rejoice, we conquer" so that when the Persians returned via ships, they found they city heavily armed.


 * Thermopylae and Salamis**
 * When Xerxes decided to plan a huge invasion on Athens, some Greeks joined the Persians, so they were meet with no resistance as they conquered Athens.
 * When a narrow path was blocked by 7000 Greek ships, including 300 spartan ships, they held up th Persians for three days. However, a traitor told them about a secret path around the ships, and the Spartans held the Persians back while te others retreated. All the Spartans died.
 * Thermistocles, a greek leader, told the people to fight at sea, and the set up their fleet near an island called Salamis, and when te Persians tried to cross, they were ambushed and lost 1/3 of their fleet.
 * Several Greek city-states teamed up with the Delian League, which helped them fight the Persians.


 * Consequences of The Persian War**
 * Greece developed a new sense of confidence and freedom, and Athens became the leader of the Delican League and became an empire.