City States and Government

The Greek word for city-state is polis.

The biggest and most famous of the Greek city-states were Athens and Sparta. They fought together to defeat the Persians. Later they went to war against each other...for 27 years!

A city-state was an independent political unit. Some city-states grew larger than others.

High mountains surrounded plains and valleys, separating cities from one another. The mountains made it very difficult for some city-states to communicate and trade.

Each city-state had its own form of government. We will learn about Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Oligarchy. We will also learn about Tyrants.

The earliest form of government in Greece was a monarchy. A monarch is a king or a queen who has supreme power. Some monarchies later became aristocracies.

An aristocracy is a form of government in which the upper class rules. The Greeks believed that it was the rule of "the best people" .

Some city states developed an oligarchy. In this type of government, a few people who were rich land owners controlled the city-state.

What is the difference between oligarchy and aristocracy? In an aristocracy, people rule because it is believed that they were just born better than others. In an oligarchy, people were rulers because they were rich.

Poor people in Greece were often not part of government. The poor had no voice and resented this. Sometimes a wealthy and powerful person who wanted power would ask the mobs of poor people to support him to overthrow the government.

In Greece, a tyrant was a person who took power in an illegal way. Some Greek tyrants worked to help the poor and give the poor a voice in their government.

Greek tyrants were not always bad rulers. In some city-states they governed fairly and worked to improve the lives of ordinary people.Eventually, tyrannies did not last and opened the door for something brand new...DEMOCRACY.

Let's see how much you learned today. You may take this Quizizz more than once.