Section+5-2+Warring+City-States

Key Words:

 * __Polis__: Another name for city-state.
 * __Acropolis__: A fortified hilltop where politics were discussed among the citizens.
 * __Monarchy__: When a single king rules the kingdom (in this case, polis).
 * __Aristocracy__: Small group of nobles, wealthy, landowning families, ruling. Also called aristocratic rule.
 * __Oligarchy__: A government ruled by a few powerful people.
 * __Tyrant__: People who seize control of a government in the common people's best interest. Usually a noble or wealthy person.
 * __Democracy__: A government where it is ruled by the people.
 * __Helot__: Prisoners from war, peasants, forced to stay on the land they worked on.
 * __Hoplites__: Foot soldiers with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.
 * __Phalanx__: Fearsome war formation: hoplites going side by side.
 * __Persian Wars__: A war between Persia and Greece.

Key People:

 * __Draco__: A nobleman who came into power of Athens in 621 B.C.
 * __Solon__: Came in power of Athens in 594 B.C.
 * __Cleisthenes__: Came into Athenian power around 500 B.C.

**Rule and Order in Greek City-States:**

 * By 750 B.C., the polis were part of the Greek government, city and near-by country side, they were between 50 and 500 square miles, and had less then 50,000 residents.
 * Greek Political Structures:**
 * Many different kinds of government: monarchy and acropolis, which developed into oligarchy.
 * Tyrants Seize Power:**
 * Clashes between the citizens and government for control was common, sometimes a tyrant would take over, who would usually build programs to create jobs and houses when in power.

Athens Build a Limited Democracy:

 * Athens, as well as other city-states, though of a representative government, they went through a few power struggles before starting to build a democracy.
 * Building Democracy:**
 * Draco made a code that all Athenians were equal under the law, dealt harshly with criminals, usually death, and in order to pay of your debt, had to work as a slave.
 * Solon outlawed debt slavery, he divided the people into 4 groups, according to wealth, and only the top three could become politics.
 * Cleisthenes broke the people into 10 groups, according on where they lived, allowed assemblies to have debates and allowing citizens to submit laws, created the Council of Five Hundred, members chosen randomly.
 * Cleisthenes helped create a limited democracy, but the only citizens were free, adult males born in Athens, all others had few rights and no citizenship.
 * Athenian Education:**
 * Sons of wealthy families started at seven and studied reading, grammar, poetry, history, math, music, and had gym (staying fit was important), when they were older they would go to military school.
 * Girls were home schooled by a female household member, taught child-rearing, cooking, weaving cloths, and other wife and mothers skills, some were taught to read and write, but most of the female's life was spent in the house.

Sparta Builds a Military State:

 * Sparta built a military state in a part of Greece called Peloponnesus, in the south, cut of by the Gulf of Corinth.
 * Sparta dominates Messenians:**
 * In 725 B.C., conquered Messania and forced them to be helots, and demanded half of their crops, in 650 B.C., they revolted, Sparta had few (8 to 1) and barely contained the revolt, decided to create a strong state.
 * Sparta's Government and Society:**
 * Government Branches: 2 kings ruled military, all citizens assembly who voted and elected, Council of Elders, 30 older citizens who chose the laws for the assembly to vote on, and 5 elected officials to carry out laws, education, and court cases.
 * Society: bottom: Helots (laborers or house servants), then free noncitizens, then citizens who ruled the land, originally from Sparta.
 * Spartan Daily Life:**
 * Dedicated to the army, strongest from 600 to 371 B.C.: no arts, emotion, or literature, but learning, strength, beauty, discipline, and duty.
 * Men would train from 7-30, had to be a soldier to 60, and they wore light clothing, slept on hard benches, little gross food (encouraged to steal of still hungry).
 * Women had some training, grown up to believe in war above family, and had freedom: was allowed to take care of estate when males were at war, women had more freedom in Sparta.

The Persian Wars:

 * Biggest danger: Persian invaders, led both Athens and Sparta to glory.
 * A New Kind of Army Emerges:**
 * During Dorian Age, only the rich could afford to be in the army with expensive bronze, but then the more common, cheaper, and harder iron allowed the common people to join the army.
 * Battle at Marathon:**
 * Persian Wars started in 546 B.C. when Persians invaded, and took over, the Greece territory Ionia, off coast of Anatolia, when they revolted, Athens sent ships to help, Perisn king, Darius, contained the revolt and promised revenge.
 * In 490 B.C. 25,000 poorly trained Persian men were sent to fight the highly trained, but few in numbered, Athens, in phalanxes they were able to defend by killing 6,000 Persians, and losing less then 200.
 * Pheidippides Brings News:**
 * Pheidippides ran 26 miles to Athens to tell them that they defeted the Persians, even though they were heading to undefended Athens, so not to give up city without a fight, he died after telling them, the city was ready for the Persians, and they retreated again.
 * Thermopylae and Salamis:**
 * Xerxes (Darius's son) led an army to Athens in 480 B.C., some Greeks coward, some sided with Athens, and others sided with the Persians.
 * Xerxes came to narrow mountain pass named Thermopylae, 7,000 Greeks were guarding it (including 300 Spartans) and Xerxes underestimated their fighting skills, but the only reason the Persians won is because a traitor told them of a secret path.
 * Athens debated on how to defend their city: Themistocles (Athens leader) persued them to evacuate city and fight by sea, positioned in narrow channel Salamis, Xerxes sent his large ships to attack, but they couldn't turn around and the small Greek ships attacked, and sank 1/3 + of his feet, Xerxes defeated in 479 B.C., Battle of Plataea.
 * A few Greek cities created the Delian League, threatened war on Persian Empire for years before completely driving them away from Greek boarders.
 * Consequences of the Persian War:**
 * After war, Athens basked in glory, became head of Delian League, over 200 city-states, in 470s, used power to control other city-states, Athenian Empire was the Athens' brief Golden Age.