Greek Democracy
How much do you know about ancient Greek government and military? You may know that the Greeks had the first democracy. You also may know about the Spartans and how powerful their army was, but that is not all. The ancient Greek government and military was a lot more than that, and this document can teach you more. The Greek government was different from our present government and so was their military. The ancient Greek democracy was very different from the US’s democracy. Athens is the best-documented and most studied polis in ancient Greece. A polis was different on its attention on participation. A polis is normally translated as city-state, but was more of a “citizen-state” in which Greeks ruled themselves directly. “Their polis allowed
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However, they could not take part in government, and soon began to demand a say in the decision making.”(Nardo 30) Riots often happened when people resented aristocratic power so to re-establish peace, people were ready to let one man lead. This person was called a tyrant, or a harsh leader or dictator. Many city-states wanted individualism and change, so during the 500 B.C’s, some city-states started to turn into democracies, which allowed all citizens the right to vote on government policies, hold political office, and serve on jury. Democracy is made from the Greek words demos, which means people and kratos which means rule. Yet, lots of poor citizens could not afford the time from working to participate in democratic democracy. Women and slaves had no political rights, even in a democratic government. Greeks first started by having monarchies, then they changed into oligarchies, then into tyrannies, and finally democracies, but some city-states did not become tyrannies or …show more content…
In ancient Athens, physical education for older boys was learning to handle swords and spears. The Spartans considered military more important than reading and writing so they sent boys at the age of seven to military camps where they learned to endure harsh conditions and except severe discipline. Girls also did physical competitions, which surprised people out of Sparta. Sparta was the only city-state with a standing army while most other city-states gave training to young men in the art of warfare and they required all strong and capable men to get ready to fight in times of war. Athens had the largest navy that included hundreds of large warships that were rowed by 170 oarsmen. The phalanx was the leading formation of Greek warfare. It was formed by armed foot soldiers that lined up in a loose formation. A phalanx was usually eight rows deep.
There are many differences of the ancient Greeks government and military. The polis and the Greeks democracy were ruled by the people. Women and slaves didn’t have any political rights in their government. The Greeks did not have much choice to go to war or not, especially in Athens and Sparta. The phalanx was a popular war formation and was effective. Knowing all of this information, would you like to live in this time
However, they could not take part in government, and soon began to demand a say in the decision making.”(Nardo 30) Riots often happened when people resented aristocratic power so to re-establish peace, people were ready to let one man lead. This person was called a tyrant, or a harsh leader or dictator. Many city-states wanted individualism and change, so during the 500 B.C’s, some city-states started to turn into democracies, which allowed all citizens the right to vote on government policies, hold political office, and serve on jury. Democracy is made from the Greek words demos, which means people and kratos which means rule. Yet, lots of poor citizens could not afford the time from working to participate in democratic democracy. Women and slaves had no political rights, even in a democratic government. Greeks first started by having monarchies, then they changed into oligarchies, then into tyrannies, and finally democracies, but some city-states did not become tyrannies or …show more content…
In ancient Athens, physical education for older boys was learning to handle swords and spears. The Spartans considered military more important than reading and writing so they sent boys at the age of seven to military camps where they learned to endure harsh conditions and except severe discipline. Girls also did physical competitions, which surprised people out of Sparta. Sparta was the only city-state with a standing army while most other city-states gave training to young men in the art of warfare and they required all strong and capable men to get ready to fight in times of war. Athens had the largest navy that included hundreds of large warships that were rowed by 170 oarsmen. The phalanx was the leading formation of Greek warfare. It was formed by armed foot soldiers that lined up in a loose formation. A phalanx was usually eight rows deep.
There are many differences of the ancient Greeks government and military. The polis and the Greeks democracy were ruled by the people. Women and slaves didn’t have any political rights in their government. The Greeks did not have much choice to go to war or not, especially in Athens and Sparta. The phalanx was a popular war formation and was effective. Knowing all of this information, would you like to live in this time