Greek Government

1. Greek Government By Kevin Torres

2. Forms of Government There were three types of government in Ancient Greece: • Mornarchy – To rule by a king. One city-state whose government was the city-state of Corinth. • Oligarchy – To rule by a small group. One city-state whose government was an oligarchy was the city-state of Sparta. • Democracy – To rule by the citizens, voting in an assembly. One city-state whose government experimented for about a hundred years with democracy was the ancient city-state of Athens.

3. Intro. And Ending To Monarchy • The Mycenaeans, who lived during 2000 to 1100 B.C., where the people who first introduced Monarchy as a style of government. The king of each city-state lived in a palace, in the capital city. Beyond the capital city where villages filled with people who depended on their king to provide them with protection. The king, however, depended on heavily-armed soldiers to handle any threats that were posed to the kingdom. The king usually retained his power throughout his whole life. After the king’s passing, his eldest son, the prince, would take over. If there was no direct male successor, the king’s closest military advisors would battle to become the new ruler. • The Monarchy type of government lasted until the 1200 B.C.’s, whenever their trade routes between Asia Minor, and themselves, diminished. They were unable to attain(obtain), any more raw metals, leading to their loss against the Dorians, and loss of their government. Monarchy later “died out” as a type of government, and later was replaced by the system of government, Oligarchy.

4. Intro. And Ending To Oligarchy • Between 1100 and 800 B.C., small groups of people began to share their power to rule in several Greek city-states. Political power was often shared among aristocrats, who inherited wealth and power from their families, or the king. Much like the monarchs, oligarchs had good lives and enforced their rule with military support. They lacked political rights, though, such as voting. Therefore, most of the citizens of an oligarchy had very little say in how to rule Greece. • As time passed by, oligarchies in Ancient Greece began to disappear for many different reasons. One of those reasons was, that the oligarchy ruled harshly and the citizens later overthrew it. The power of oligarchies was also weakened when powerful and wealthy individuals, called hoplites, assembled armies to intimidate political leaders. By the 400 B.C.’s, only one city-state had a stable oligarchy, Sparta.

5. Introduction to Democracy • Democracy was developed in Ancient Greece around 500 B.C., in the city-state of Athens. The main governing body of the Athenian democracy was the Citizens Assembly. It was open to all 40,000 male citizens, but usually only 5,000 attended. The assembly welcomed both rich and poor citizens. The male citizens met at least 40 times a year to direct foreign policy, revise laws, and approve, or condemn, the conduct of the public officials. Assembly members reached their decisions through debate and votes. Later, the Council of 500, was responsible for the day-to-day running of the state. The council administered the state’s finances, received foreign ambassadors, and oversaw the maintenance of the Athenian fleet. One important aspect of Democracy was the fact that it’s public officials didn’t have much individual power. There was no president office in Athens. Nearly all government officials, including generals, assembly and council members, as well as citizens who served on juries, were paid for their services. This allowed both poor and rich male citizens to fully participate in Athenian Government.