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2Fo(u, CAUSE ANDSkill EFFECT
As you read. look for thecauses and effects in thedevelopment of
Greekcivilization.
BIG IDEAIndependent Greek city-states with different waysof life
combined to formClassical Greek civilization.
VOCABULARYacropolis-
agoraoligarchyaristocracydern()_cracy."'.policy::.barbarian ::
City-States andGreek Culture. 3000 B.C. . - 2000 B.C•• " 1000
B.C. B.C'/A.D.
I '~,I1200 B.C.-500 B.C.
During the 1100s B.C.the people of what is now Greeceentered a
period some historians call the Dark Age. During thistime many of
the developments of the Aegean civilization werelost. People
returned to simpler ways of life, living in small farm-ing and
herding societies. However, memories of the past werekept alive in
songs, myths, and stories about heroes at the timeof the Trojan
War. The Dark Age lasted until about 750 a.c. Atthat time people
began once again to live in small cities andtrade with other
cultures. These changes led to the rise ofa new civilization that
historians call Classical Greece.
The Rise of City-StatesThe development of Classical Greek
civilization began with
the rise of city-states. City-states were formed as people
living •in neighboring villages joined to protect themselves from
outsidedangers. Many of these groups built walled forts for safety
duringenemy attacks. Each fort was usually built on a hilltop. It
was
called an acropolis (uh'KRAH'puh'luhs), which means "high-city"
in Greek.
The Acropolis of Athens (below) was the site ollestivals and
religiousworship in ancient times. The marble statue of a boy
carrying a cafilieft)was found on the Acropolis.
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Over time, villages grew into citiesaround the acropolis.
Houses, public build-ings, and an open-air market called anagora
(Aoguhoruh) stood below the acropo-lis. Beyond these were farmland
and smallervillages. Some city-states became over-crowded and did
not have enoughresources to meet everyone's needs. Toease the
overcrowding, Greek colonieswere set up in southern Italy, on
theisland of Sicily, and in other areas.
Neighboring dty-states oftenfought over the lands that
laybetween them. As a result ofthese struggles, some
city-statesgrew in size and importance.
Movement The Greek city-states set up coloniesthroughout the
Mediterranean region.~ What is the relationship between trade
routes and
the location 01 Greek colonies?
Among the best-known and mostpowerful Greek city-states were
Spartaand Athens. Over the years, these two city-states developed
very different economiesand governments.
tl'fi'1l'3D How did the Greek city-states form?Small farming
villages joined together for
protection.
A statue 01 a Spartan lemale athlete
SpartaMost city-states were located in
coastal areas and had economies basedon trade. The city-state of
Sparta, how-ever, had an inland location on thePeloponnesian
Peninsula. Its inland
location caused Sparta to developa military economy. People
inSparta led simple lives of hardwork and physical activity.
Chapter 8 • 251
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Many artifacts from Sparta, such as this carved stone
marker(above left). bronze statue (above center), and ceramic
plate(right), represent the people's military way of life.
Spartan society was made up of threeclasses. Only those males in
the ruling classwere considered to be Spartan citizens. Theywere
the descendants of the Dorians, whohad migrated to the Greek
peninsula inthe 1100s s.c.
The Dorians had enslaved the peoplealready living in the area.
These slavesformed the second and largest class inSpartan society.
Known as helots (HEHoluhts),they were mainly enslaved farmworkers
whobelonged to the Spartan city-state. The thirdclass included free
people from neighboringcommunities under Sparta's control. Theymade
goods for Sparta and traded withother city-states.
People in the lower classes outnumberedSpartan citizens by as
much as ten to one.This caused citizens to fear the lower
'lasses.Fear of rebellion from within and attackfrom outside led
the Spartan citizens tofocus on their military. To prepare for a
lifeas a soldier, Spartan boys began militarytraining at the age of
six or seven.
252 • Unit 4
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Among the city-states, only Sparta hada standing army. Two
kings, each from adifferent ruling family, headed the armyand led
Sparta in times of war. Both kingsalso served as part of a
30-member councilthat governed Sparta in times of peace.
Other members of the council-allwealthy citizens over the age of
60-wereelected to life terms by Sparta's citizens. Inaddition, five
officials called ephors (EHoferz)were elected to one-year terms.
They han-dled the day-to-day governing. Sparta alsohad a citizen
assembly to vote on new laws,but its members could not suggest
them.Only the councilor the ephors could do that.
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from the ruling class make decisions foreveryone. Sparta's
system was admired bycitizens in other city-states because it
waswell-ordered and lasting.tiI'1l'Il!'fi1 What led the Spartans to
develop theirmilitary way of life?@ CAUSE ANO EFFECTan inland
location; fear of rebellion; fearof attack
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AthensThe city-state of Athens was
located on Attica (A·tih·kuh), a partof the Balkan Peninsula
northeast ofthe Peloponnesus. After the Dark Age,Athens was ruled
by an aristocracy' ora small group of leaders from
wealthylandowning families who inherit theright to rule. Sometimes
the leadersstruggled with one another for con-trol of the
city-state. In 594 B.C. theAthenians asked a leader named Solonto
make reforms, or changes, in theirgovernment to end these
struggles.
Solon divided the Athenian people intoclasses based on wealth
instead of birth.Those with the most wealth became partof the
ruling class. This allowed people tochange classes by gaining
wealth. A publicassembly of all the classes made laws andran the
government. Yet the Athenianswanted a larger role in making
decisions.
----DEMOCRATIC VALUES ~*~ao
Popular Sovereignty ....."
The government in ancient Athens was adirect democracy. Because
the population ofthe citv-state was small, each male citizencould
take an active role in making govern-ment decisions. Most countries
today, suchas the IJjlited States, have too many peopleto have a
direct democraey. Instead, mostpresent-day democracies are
representativedemocracies. In this kind of government. largenumbers
of citizens elect other citizens, orrepresentatives, to make
governmentdecisions-for them. It is the job of repre-sentatives to
work for the good ofthe people whom they represent. Itis the
responsibility of each citi-zen to learn about differentcandidates
and to vote for therepresentatives who they feelwill best serve
their community.
This coin from Athens shows the goddessAthena on the front and
an owl, a symbolof Athena, on the back.
More reforms in 508 B.C. made theAthenian city-state into the
world's~~~i~~first democracy. A Clemocrac~ is a
~ system of government in whichthe people rule. A leader
namedCleisthenes (KLYS·thuh·neez)opened the government to all
free
men 18 years of age or older, notjust the wealthiest. He also
created a
new council. Each year, a drawing was heldto select a council of
500 male citizens. Thecouncil suggested laws for the assembly
anddecided on government policies. A policV isa plan of action.
Cleisthenes' reforms gave every adultmale citizen a chance to
serve in thegovernment. They also kept anyoneperson or group from
controlling it.
Analyze the Valueo What mighthappenin a large
democracyif everyonehad to vote oneverydecisionmadeby t[le
government?
9 MaRe It Relevant Researchan issue t!:tataffects
yourcornrnunitv or state. Decidewhether itwould bebetter for
representativesto decideon theissueor whetherall citizensshouldvote
on it. Writea paragraphexplainingyourdecision.
These voting ballots Yo!e!e used inAthens in about 470 B.C.Names
werescratched onto bits of ponery.
Chapter 8 • 253
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To Be GreekThis ancient Greek painted vase showsOlympic athletes
in a boxing match.
However, even though thereforms let more people takepart in
government, they didnot include everyone. Women hadno voice in
government-even thosewho were citizens. Immigrants andslaves, both
male and female, were notallowed to take part in the
government.
Most Athenian slaves were people fromneighboring areas who had
been capturedin war. Unlike the Spartan helots, Athenianslaves were
owned by private citizens. Theycould be bought and sold as
property.fIT!lI'1I]i'j!) What form of government did Athenshave
after 508 B.C.?democracy
Since the city-states wereindependent, people didnot think of
themselves
as belonging to a country asAmericans do. The different
city-states had a cultural identity,or connection, with one
another.Over time, this common cultural
identity helped people begin to thinkof themselves as a single
civilization.
According to their mythology, the peopleof all the city-states
shared a commonancestor. His name was Hellen. For thisreason they
called their country Hellas andthemselves Hellenes. In English,
their lan-guage and civilization are known as Greek.
The Greeks believed that their gods, ledby Zeus, controlled
events both in natureand in human life. Athena, for example,was the
Greek goddess of wisdom andof warfare. Aphrodite (a-fruh-ov-tee)
wasthe goddess of love and beauty. Hermes(HER-meez) was the
messenger of the gods.
In addition to their language, mythology,and religion, the
Greeks were unitedby other activities. The Olympic Gameswere held
every four years to honor Zeus.
• HERITAGE •
The Olympic Games11'1about 776 B.C, athletes from many
Greek.citv-states met in the vaney ofOlympra near the city-state
ot-Elis (EE-Iuhs).They haEi come to t-aR"e?partin the firstOlympic
Games. These games, !Leld elleryfour years. brouqht the
cit'i-states togetherin peaceful competition. The athletes
com-peted iPi a single event-a footrace. Later,more eV9.nts. such
as wrestling. boxing. andhorse raGing, were added.
The spiril o'ftl)e early OlvrnpicGames is still alive
today.Countries trom around
th.§.,world pur aside anydisagreements they
mi@ht have tofake parr in thecompetitions.
These femaleatliletes are runninga race in the
SummerOlympics.
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The ancient games were held from about776 S.c. to A.D. 393.
Writing also helped bring the city-states together. In the 700s
S.c. theGreeks developed a writing systembased on the one used by
Phoeniciantraders. The word alphabet comesfrom the names of the
first twoGreek letters, alpha and beta.
This terra-cotta figurine from the Greek cityof Thebes shows a
manwriting.
CAUSEAND EFFECT What effects didhaving Heilen as a common
ancestor have onthe city-states?
o BIG IDEA How did independent city-statesdevelop into the
Classical Greek civilization?
o VOCABULARY Use acropoli and agora ina paragraph about the
Greek city-states.
a TIME LINE In what year were the first OlympicGames held?
o GEOGRAPHY Onwhat peninsula is Athenslocated?
A common mythology, religion, activities,and language helped
unite the Greeks as apeople. It also set them apart from
othersliving in the Mediterranean region. TheGreeks thought of
themselves as differentfrom all other peoples. They called
anyone
who could not speak Greek a barbarian.Today a I:jar arian is a
person who
is considered uncivilized, or rough-mannered.l;liW@. What parts
of Greekculture helped form a Greekidentity? mythology;
language;religion; Olympic Games
e CULTUREHow were the Olympic Gamesimportant to Greek
Culture?
o CRITICALTHINKING-Evaluate What role do youthink the Olympic
Games play today in shapingcultural identity?
•
PERFORMANCE-Give a Speech Imaginethat you are a citizen of
ancient Athens.Write a short speech in which you discuss
why it is important to your city for each citizen tohave a voice
in government. Present your speechto the class.
