The Greek City-States - Nutshelled Ancient Civilizations

Hello students, teachers, parents, history nerds, hello everybody, and welcome to Nutshelled History where we lay out the facts, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Today we are going to continue our ancient civilizations series by looking at the Greek city states. Don't forget that there's a link for a fill in the blank worksheet in the description. I just ask that you like and subscribe. I apologize for any mispronunciations ahead of time. I do my best. And now let's go. As their world expanded, the ancient Greeks evolved a unique version of the city state called the polis. The polis consisted of a major city or town and its surrounding countryside. The acropolis, or high city with its many temples, stood on a hill. Because the population was small for each city state, the citizens felt a shared sense of responsibility for their polis. Different forms of government evolved in ancient Greece. At first, there was a monarchy. In a monarchy, a hereditary ruler exercises central power. In time, the power shifted to an aristocracy, or ruled by the landholding elite. As trade expanded and a wealthy middle class emerged, the result was an oligarchy, where power is in the hands of a small, wealthy elite. A new method of fighting also emerged. The phalanx was a massive tactical formation of heavily armed foot soldiers. In the city state of Sparta, Spartans focused on developing strong military skills. In Athens, government evolved from a monarchy into an aristocracy, but discontent spread among ordinary citizens. Despite government reforms under Solon around 594 BC, there was still unrest. This led to the rise of tyrants, or those who gained power by force. They often won support from the merchant class and the poor by imposing reforms to help these groups. In 507 BC, the reformer Cleisthenes made the assembly a genuine legislature, or lawmaking body. Slowly, Athens moved toward democracy, or government by the people. Despite divisions among city states, Greeks shared a common culture. They spoke the same language, honored the same ancient heroes, participated in common festivals, and prayed to the same gods. The Greeks, united by their common culture, were victorious in the Persian Wars which began in 499 BC. This victory increased the Greeks' sense of uniqueness. Athens emerged from the wars as the most powerful city state in Greece. Athens formed an alliance called the Delian League with other Greek city states. After the Persian Wars, a golden age began in Athens under the leadership of Pericles. Because of his wisdom and skill, the economy thrived and the government became more democratic. Periclean Athens was a direct democracy. Under this system, citizens take part directly in the daily affairs of government. In addition, Athenians served on juries. A jury is a panel of citizens who make the final judgment in a trial. Athenian citizens could also vote to banish a public figure they believed was a threat to their democracy. This was called ostracism. Many Greeks outside Athens resented the growing Athenian domination. In 431 BC, warfare broke out between Athens and Sparta. This conflict, known as the Peloponnesian War, soon engulfed all of Greece. Sparta defeated Athens with the help of Persia. The defeat ended Athenian domination of the Greek world. Okay, here's a little recap. The ancient Greeks were like the overachievers of the ancient world, constantly evolving their cities, governments, and battle tactics. Starting with the polis, their unique city-state setup, they moved from monarchies to aristocracies, then to oligarchies as trade boomed. While Sparta turned itself into a military boot camp, Athens dabbled in government experiments, eventually inching toward democracy thanks to reformers like Solon and Cleisthenes. The Greeks shared a love for their gods, heroes, and festivals, which united them in booting out the Persians during the Persian Wars. Athens then strutted into a golden age under Pericles, boasting direct democracy, jury duty, and the occasional ostracism of public nuisances. But all that unity didn't last. Sparta and Athens ended up in a messy breakup called the Peloponnesian War, with Sparta teaming up with Persia to humble Athens and take the spotlight. There you have it, folks. That is the Greek city-state's nutshell. Thanks for stopping by Nutshelled History. Don't forget to get all Spartan on those like and subscribe buttons for me. This isn't a democracy. Just kidding about that last part. I'll see y'all next time on Nutshelled History.