The Goverment

How city states grew up

Rulers in Mycenaean times often built their palaces in high places which could be defended easily. People settled inside the walls. These settlements grew into towns and then cities, spreading beyond the original walls. New walls were built to enclose them. By Classical times Greece was divided into many city states, each consisting of a city and the countryside and villages around it.

Types of goverment

In Mycenaean times, the states of Greece were ruled by kings, assisted by their nobles. By about 800 BC, most of the kings were replaced by oligarchies, small groups of aristocrats. Many people felt their needs were ignored by the oligarchs, so they helped tyrants (men who ruled single-handed) to gain power. Some tyrants were good rulers, but others were cruel and unjust. By the beginning of the Classical period, tyrants were replaced by democracies. In a democracy, all citizens have a say in the goverment. In Ancient Greece only men could be citizens. The states were small, so most men were able to attend meetings and were encouraged to take an active part in politics. The word politics comes from the Greek word polis, meaning city. In Athens, an assembly was held three or four times a month. All citizens could attend, speak and vote on goverment policies. Poor citizens were paid a day's wage to attend the assembly. This was to enable them to take an active part in goverment. Wealthy citizens were expected to make extra contributions to the state, such as paying for warships, or a new play at the theatre. Pericles, a popular politician was re-elected in Athens every year between 460 and 430 BC. To keep check on officials, there was a system called ostracism. Citizens wrote the names of officials they disapproved of on ostraca, pieces of broken pottery. If a certain number of people voted against an official in this way, he was banished from Athens for ten years.