Greek State

Greek State

Greek Polis

• Features:
• 1. The acropolis
• 2. The town/city
• 3. Villages and country side
• 4. The people of the city and countryside
• 5. Political, cultural, religious and economic life

Population and Citizenship Restrictions

• Citizens (Adult males) - 43,000
• Women and children - 129,000
• Metics (foreign craftsmen) - 28,000
• Slaves - 115,000
• Adult males - varied between cities
• Athens - 18 years
• Sparta - 30 years
• Usually both parents had to be born in the city although sometimes only one was necessary.

Obligations and Responsibilities

• Every citizen was expecting to take their political responsibility seriously and take pride in the polis' affairs. Someone who didn't do this was termed an 'idiot'.
• This causes strong patriotic feelings among citizens.

The Two Main States

• Athenians
• The authority of the state was total and affected every aspect of their lives.
• If citizens were loitering in the agora when ecclesia was in session then people would round them up with a band coated in red paint which branded them for all to see that they were loitering.
• Spartans
• The state dominated everything in every Spartan's life from birth till death.
• Men were expected to marry at 20 years.
• They were also expected to live in their barracks until they were 30 years and continue to eat in there until they die.
• If a Spartan was found to violate the honour code which Spartan's lived by then they were stripped of their citizenship and reduced to an 'inferior'.

Forms of Government

• Monarchy (governance by kings)
• l
• V
• Aristocracy (group of nobles)
• l
• V
• Timocracy (group who owed their political power to wealth)

Overthrown Governments

• The oligarchies were overthrown any times by tyrants who seized power for a short period of time.
• Tyrants usually brought benefits from their attempts at bringing peace among the state and equalizing the people. However soon after taking control the tyrant them self would soon be overthrown and replaced by another form of government; such as, Liberal Oligarchy or (most commonly) a Democracy (meaning all the citizens have the right to vote and be elected to official positions).

Athenian VS Spartan Government

• Athenian:
• Mostly used a democracy however many tyrants would overthrown the people in power for periods of time. Some examples are:
• Solon the Reformer (c.594 BC
• Peisistratidae c.546-510 BC
• Cleisthenes c. late 500 BC
• Spartans:
• An example of a mixed constitution of which was used in Sparta is when it retained the kings (Eurypontids and Agiads) and adopted some feature of a democratic society.
• Ephorate (The senior magistrates in Sparta whom were elected by those with full citizenship)
• Assembly (where all with the right to vote gathers to vote)
• Gerousia (The Spartan council of elders which was made up of men over the age of 60)

Connections between Poleis

• Proxenia - Guest friendship between different city-states.
• Isopoliteia - An agreement which allows a citizen of one city to be given citizenship of the other.
• Symbola - An agreement of giving legal aid to a citizen of one city whilst in the territory of another.

Unifying Features for Greeks

• Language - despite people having different dialects.
• Literature - Epic poems by writers/poets such as Homer (who wrote 'The Iliad' and 'The Odessey').
• Religion - They all worshipped the same gods however each city then had it's own patron deity.

Oracles and Religious Festivals

• Oracles
• A formal statement from a god usually given in answer to a question.
• Religious Festivals
• Shown throughout many Panhellenic festivals:
• Crown Games - Olympia in honour of Zeus
• Pythian Games - Delphi in honour of Apollo (every 4 years)
• Isthmain Games - Corinth in honour of Poseidon (every 2 years)
• Neaman Games - Nemea in honur of Zeus