Key terms- Athenian Democracy Flashcards
Explain the greeks in a Dark age:
After the collapse of the earliest greek state, Mycenae, Greece came into a difficult period in which population declined and food production dropped. Farming did not arrive back until 850 B.C.
What was the first greek state?
Mycenae
define “polis”
city state
hoplites
heavily armed infantrymen who wore bronze/ leather helmets, breastplates, and greaves. Each carried a round shield, a short sword, and a thrusting spear.
phalanx
rectangular formation
Greek tyrants
rulers who seized power by force and who were not subject to the law.
oligarchy
a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people
Explain Solon and his Reforms
- he was a reform minded aristocrat electedas sole archon in 594 B.C.
- he canceled all current land debts, outlawed new loans based on humans as collateral, and freed people who had fallen into slavery for debt.
- opened doors to the particiption of new people, especially the nonaristocratic wealthy, in the government.
- WEALTH became factor rather than birth
- he divided Athenian citizens into classes based on wealth
- Solon’s laws created the principle that Athens would be directed by citizens working together.
Explain Pisistratus (TYRANT)
- aristocrat and distant relative of Solon seized power in 560 B.C.
- he offered land and loans to the needy
- ambitious building program, aimed at more jobs
- The policies of his son, Hippias, eventually produced reaction and the Athenians sent Hippias into exile and ended the tyranny.
The Reforms of Cleisthenes
- made ‘demes’, the villages and the townships of Attica the basic units of political life
- major aim was to weaken the power the traditional localities and regions, which had probided the foundation for aristocratic strength.
- creation of Council of 500
- Cleisthenes laid foundations for Athenian Democracy
Who created the Council of 500?
Cleisthenes
