Ancient GreeceNovember 28, 2011

FlashbackWhere were most ancient civilizations settled?

What was Greece’s geography like?

How did this affect the Greeks in terms of:

farming crops?

raising livestock?

travel and trade?

What is colonization? Why could the people of Greece start colonies in other places?

Types of Government

Monarchy

Oligarchy

Tyranny

Democracy

Monarchy

One person rules, called a monarch (mono=one; arch=chief)

Usually a king

Most city-states started being ruled by a monarch

Chosen at first; eventually inherited

Advised by council of aristocrats

By 800 B.C.E., aristocrats had overthrown monarch in many city-states.

Oligarchy

Ruling power in the hands of a few people (oligos=a few; archo=to rule, to govern)

Usually a small group of aristocrats (wealthy)

Passed laws that helped rich and hurt poor

Poor started supporting people that claimed they could take the oligarchs out of power

Tyranny

Ruling power is in the hands of one person (tyrant) who is not a lawful king; takes power by force

AKA: dictatorship

Why would the people let this happen?

In Greece, typically helped the people and were hostile to aristocrats

Some were bad--Hippias was the last tyrant in Greece

DemocracyPower is held by the people, who exercise power directly or through elected representatives

Two types:

Direct democracy: every citizen is allowed to vote on every issue (Athens)

Representative democracy: people vote for representatives who then decide issues on behalf of the people (United States today)

Any free man could could speak in the assembly and vote on new laws

What some dangers with a direct democracy?