Warring City States

2/20/20
Warring City States

  • polis: fundamental political unit, made up of a city and the surrounding countryside/politics (affairs of the cities), policy, political, etc.
  • monarchy: rule by a single person (a king, in Greece)
  • aristocracy: rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families
  • oligarchy: wealthy groups, dissatisfied with aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help)
    •
  • tyrant: powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support
Transformation of government
  • During the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece
  • Back then, rich people wielded much more influence in society, and held much more governmental power, than the middle class or the poor
Aristocracy
  • they attended symposiums, meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while discussing politics
Politics
  • no women (except the “entertainment”)
  • no middle class
  • no slaves
  • sometimes, even certain aristocrats were excluded

 Tyrants seize control
  • sometimes aristocrats would form alliances with hoplites (well-armed soldiers), and set up an alternative form of gov’t called a tyranny
  • modern meaning of tyrant: an abusive or oppressive ruler
  • the Greek meaning of tyrant: someone who simply seized power (usually with hoplite help)
Rules, codes and laws
Draco (621 BCE)
  • all Athenians (rich or poor) are equal under the law
  • but death is the punishment for many crimes
  • debt slavery is OK (work as a slave to repay debts)
Solon’s reforms (594 BCE)
  • outlaws debt slavery
  • all Athenian citizens can speak at the assembly
  • any citizen can press charges against wrongdoers
Cleisthenes
        • allowed all citizens to submit laws for debate at the assembly
        • created the Council of Five Hundred (members chosen at random, to counsel the assembly)
        • only free adult male property owners born in Athens were considered citizens
        • unfortunate for women, slaves, “foreigners”

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