Development of Governments in Ancient Greece - Norwalk PS

The Road to Democracy

Development of Governments
in Ancient Athens

To learn more about governments in ancient
Athens, click on Kressides to continue.

Government

Why did it vary from place to place?

Ancient Greece was divided into many
regions called city-states. City-states
were made up of a city and the land
surrounding it.

The geography of Greece made it
difficult to form a single government
since city-states were separated by
land features like mountains and bodies
of water, making it hard for one leader
to rule.

Each city-state made its own choice
about what form of government would
be best for them.

So, how did democracy develop in
ancient Athens? Follow Kressides to
find out.

City States
of ancient Greece

Click on each city-state to learn
a little more about it.

Athens Sparta
Corinth
Megara

Argos

To go back to “Government”, click on Kressides.

Athens

Athens was one of the biggest and most
important city-states in all of Greece. Boys
went to school to learn how to become good
citizens when they got older. Democracy
developed in ancient Athens.

Although democracy originated in ancient
Athens, not everyone could participate in the
government. Women, slaves, children, and
foreigners could not participate in Athenian
democracy.

Click Kressides to go back to “City-States”.

Sparta

Sparta was another important and powerful city-
state in ancient Greece. Life here, though, was
very different. Sparta was a military state.
Boys were taught from a very young age to be
tough, physically and emotionally. Men grew up
to become strong soldiers.

Life for women was different also. They, too,
were expected to be physically and emotionally
strong.

Click Kressides to go back to “City-States”.

Megara

Megara was similar to Athens and Corinth. Boys went to
school to learn music, poetry, drama, public speaking,
science and math.

Megara developed its own coins and was famous for its
beautiful textiles. The people of Megara spread Greek
culture by founding colonies all across the Mediterranean

Click Kressides to go back to “City-States”.

Corinth

Corinth was a very busy place. It was a center of
trade in the Mediterranean. Boys received a
pretty good education although it was not as good
as the educations the boys of Athens got.

The Corinthians are known for their problem
solving skills. When massive amounts of people
were unemployed, the leaders of Corinth
developed a huge public works project to give
people jobs. They also developed their own banks
and style of architecture.

Click Kressides to go back to “City-States”.

Argos

The weather in Argos was pretty undesirable. The summers
were hot and dry and winters were rainy and cold. The land
was not very fertile, making it hard to grow crops.

Argos did produce good artists. Sculptors made wonderful
sculptures of people. There were wonderful musicians, too.

Argos made the mistake of not helping the Athenians and
Spartans during the Persian War. It was a BIG mistake
because Athens and Sparta did not forgive them.

Click Kressides to go back to “City-States”.

Monarchy

The first form of government in ancient Athens was monarchy. A
monarchy is a government in which a king or queen has supreme power
over everything. Wealthy land owners would pay the king or queen and
provide protection for them as well.

Why do you think monarchies didn’t last in ancient Athens?
Monarchies did not last in ancient Athens because…

A) Kings and queens couldn’t hold onto their power.
OR

B) Wealthy landowners, or aristocrats, wanted a share of the power, too!

Monarchy

Both answers are correct!!!

Kings and queens couldn’t hold onto their power BECAUSE
the aristocrats wanted a share of the power, too!
Often, a small group of wealthy landowners would come
together to form a new government, an oligarchy.

Follow Kressides to learn more about oligarchies!

Oligarchy

As mentioned before, an oligarchy is a type of government where only a few
people rule together. They share power equally. These people were
wealthy landowners. These wealthy few were responsible for feeding all of
the people in ancient Athens.

So what’s the problem with Athenian oligarchy?

Stop! 3 Minute Pause!!!
Write down why you think
oligarchies did not last in ancient
Athens.

Once, you’re done, follow me!

Why didn’t oligarchies last?

Not all leaders could provide enough food for the people of
Athens. This caused the people to get upset. New leaders
came forward, promising a better life and future for the
people of Athens.

What did we call these new leaders and their
form of government?

Click Kressides to find out!

Tyrants and Tyranny

We call the people who came forward, uniting
the poor behind them, tyrants. The form of
government that they established was called
tyranny. Two of the most popular tyrants were
Solon and Cleisthenes.

What do YOU think? What was the problem with
tyranny???

Tyrants became mean and vengeful!
OR

People decided that they wanted to have a share in the
decision making process, too!

Solon and Cleisthenes

During the time of Solon and Cleisthenes, the poor
people of Athens were getting angry. Many poor
farmers were in debt and had to either work for
someone else or become a slave.

To avoid revolts from the poor, the aristocrats, or rich
nobles, elected Solon to help control them. Instead,
Solon relieved the poor people of their debts and made
a law that said no citizen could become a slave.

Still, richer men had more power so when Cleisthenes
came to power, he based citizenship on where in Athens
a person lived, not by a person’s wealth.

Solon and Cleisthenes both gained favor with poor
citizens who felt empowered and felt that they had a
direct part in the government.

To return to “Tyrants and Tyranny, click Kressides.

Whoops! Good try, though!

Today, we often think of tyrants in a
negative way. We think of them as harsh
dictators who impose strict laws and rules.
But in ancient Athens, tyrants ruled with
the people in mind, creating real change for
people who couldn’t make change
themselves. Once the common people saw
an ordinary person make real change, they
decided that they wanted a say, too. And
then, democracy was born!

Click Kressides to continue!

CORRECT!

Good thinking! In ancient Athens,
tyrants ruled with the people in mind,
creating real change for people who
couldn’t make change themselves.
Once the common people saw an
ordinary person make real change,
they decided that they wanted a say,
too. And then, democracy was born!

Click Kressides to continue!

Democracy

The word democracy comes from 2 Greek words, “demos” meaning
“people” and “kratos” meaning “rule”. And that is exactly what
democracy is, rule by the people!

In Athens, all citizens could vote on laws and participate in
government. This is an example of a direct democracy. There is a
second type of democracy called indirect democracy which is the
type of democracy found in the United States today.

Democracy in Athens was limited, however. Although all citizens
could vote, not everyone in Athens was considered a citizen. Only
free adult males could participate in the democracy. This left out
women, children, foreigners, and slaves all of whom made up 3/4 of
the population.

Want to learn more about citizenship?
Otherwise, click Kressides to continue!

Citizenship

What does it mean?

In ancient Athens, a citizen was a person with the right to take part
in the government. Citizens had to be born to parents who were free
citizens. People who were not citizens could never become citizens.

It’s really easy to explain what citizenship means today. Citizens are
loyal to their country and expect that their country protect them.
But in the U.S., people who are not citizens CAN become citizens
through the process of naturalization. For more information on what
it takes to become a citizen, check out the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services webpage at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Click Kressides to return to “Democracy”.

Direct v. Indirect Democracy

What’s the difference?

Direct Democracy- All Are there any similarities?

citizens take part in the Both systems involve the citizens
government. Decisions are in some way. These types of
made by voting and the governments give power to their
majority wins. people. Also, in both cases,

Indirect Democracy- citizens are the ones who help
make decisions (for indirect
Citizens elect leaders to democracy, they elect the
make decisions and laws for leaders) and non-citizens cannot.
them which they believe to

be done in their best

interest. This type of

democracy is what we have Click Kressides to continue!
in the United States.

Democracy in ancient Athens

What did it look like?

In ancient Athens, citizenship only applied to
males who were over the age of 18 and had
citizen parents. Citizens met in the Assembly
to vote on laws and hold trials with as many as
500 jurors. Leaders in ancient Athens were
either elected or randomly chosen. The
Council of Five Hundred prepared things for
the Assembly to do.

Now, let’s look at democracy in the United
States! Click Kressides!

Democracy Today

How has it changed?

Democracy sure has changed since the days
of the Athenians! Today, we become citizens
through birth or through the citizen process
which you explored earlier. We elect
representatives to help make decisions on our
behalf and we elect a leader to run the
country. This executive branch of
government helps keep things in order.

Click Kressides to wrap up our discussion of democracy.

The End of The Road…

Now that you’ve had a chance to explore “the road to democracy”,
pretend you are an ancient Athenian and write a letter to your
teacher Kressides explaining what’ve you learned from today’s
lesson. You should have at least 3 examples of the main ideas
presented to you today. Make sure you explain how democracy has
changed since the days of the ancient Athenians.

Remember to follow proper letter format and remember your
audience!!! Remember R.A.F.T.!!! (role, audience, format, topic)

Kressides looks forward to hearing from you!