Ancient Greece ‑ Government, Facts & Timeline

The Birth of the City-State

During the so-called “Greek Dark Ages” before the Archaic period, people lived scattered throughout Greece in small farming villages. As they grew larger, these villages began to evolve. Some built walls. Most built a marketplace (an agora) and a community meeting place.

They developed governments and organized their citizens according to some sort of constitution or set of laws. They raised armies and collected taxes. And every one of these city-states (known as poleis) was said to be protected by a particular god or goddess, to whom the citizens of the polis owed a great deal of reverence, respect and sacrifice. (Athens’s deity was Athena, for example; so was Sparta’s.)

Did you know? Greek military leaders trained the heavily armed hoplite soldiers to fight in a massive formation called a phalanx: standing shoulder to shoulder, the men were protected by their neighbor's shield. This intimidating technique played an important role in the Persian Wars and helped the Greeks build their empire.

Though their citizens had in common what Herodotus called “the same stock and the same speech, our shared temples of the gods and religious rituals, our similar customs,” every Greek city-state was different. The largest, Sparta, controlled about 300 square miles of territory; the smallest had just a few hundred people.

However, by the dawn of the Archaic period in the seventh century B.C., the city-states had developed a number of common characteristics. They all had economies that were based on agriculture, not trade: For this reason, land was every city-state’s most valuable resource. Also, most had overthrown their hereditary kings, or basileus, and were ruled by a small number of wealthy aristocrats.

These people monopolized political power. (For example, they refused to let ordinary people serve on councils or assemblies.) They also monopolized the best farmland, and some even claimed to be descended from the Greek gods. Because “the poor with their wives and children were enslaved to the rich and had no political rights,” Aristotle said, “there was conflict between the nobles and the people for a long time.”

Colonization

Emigration was one way to relieve some of this tension. Land was the most important source of wealth in the city-states; it was also, obviously, in finite supply. The pressure of population growth pushed many men away from their home poleis and into sparsely populated areas around Greece and the Aegean.

Between 750 B.C. and 600 B.C., Greek colonies sprang up from the Mediterranean to Asia Minor, from North Africa to the coast of the Black Sea. By the end of the seventh century B.C., there were more than 1,500 colonial poleis.

Each of these poleis was an independent city-state. In this way, the colonies of the Archaic period were different from other colonies we are familiar with: The people who lived there were not ruled by or bound to the city-states from which they came. The new poleis were self-governing and self-sufficient.

The Rise of the Tyrants

As time passed and their populations grew, many of these agricultural city-states began to produce consumer goods such as pottery, cloth, wine and metalwork. Trade in these goods made some people—usually not members of the old aristocracy—very wealthy. These people resented the unchecked power of the oligarchs and banded together, sometimes with the aid of heavily-armed soldiers called hoplites, to put new leaders in charge.

These leaders were known as tyrants. Some tyrants turned out to be just as autocratic as the oligarchs they replaced, while others proved to be enlightened leaders. (Pheidon of Argos established an orderly system of weights and measures, for instance, while Theagenes of Megara brought running water to his city.) However, their rule did not last: The classical period brought with it a series of political reforms that created the system of Ancient Greek democracy known as demokratia, or “rule by the people.”

Archaic Renaissance?

The colonial migrations of the Archaic period had an important effect on its art and literature: They spread Greek styles far and wide and encouraged people from all over to participate in the era’s creative revolutions.

The epic poet Homer, from Ionia, produced his “Iliad” and “Odyssey” during the Archaic period. Sculptors created kouroi and korai, carefully proportioned human figures that served as memorials to the dead. Scientists and mathematicians made progress too: Anaximandros devised a theory of gravity; Xenophanes wrote about his discovery of fossils and Pythagoras of Kroton discovered his famous Pythagorean Theorem.

The economic, political, technological and artistic developments of the Archaic period readied the Greek city-states for the monumental changes of the next few centuries.

Photo Galleries

sparta, ancient sparta, greek city-state, 650 bc, spartans, ancient greece — Sparta was a Greek city-state that rose to prominence around 650 B.C. The Spartans were known for their austere way of life and military prowess.

helen, sparta, ancient greece, greek mythology, birthplace of helen, demigoddess, daughter of zeus and leda — Sparta is featured in Greek mythology as the birthplace of Helen, the demigoddess daughter of Zeus and Leda.

sparta, ancient greece, military training, soldier, spartan lifestyle, spartan soldier — Much of the Spartan lifestyle revolved around military training and action. Each male child was expected to become a soldier.

greco-persian war, athens, sparta, persian invaders, the battle of thermopylae, 480 B.C., ancient greece, battlefield of thermopylae — During the long Greco-Persian War, Athens and Sparta teamed up to push back Persian invaders. The Spartans displayed their bravery and resolve in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

king leonidas, spartan soldiers, thermopylae, persian invaders, ancient greece, sparta, leonidas at thermopylae — Outnumbered 50 to one, all 300 Spartans fought to their deaths. Even though Persia won the battle, they lost the war, and the Spartan sacrifice is considered one of history's great moments of valor.

sparta, the visigoths, 396, ancient greece, archaeological site, buildings, temples — The city of Sparta was destroyed by the Visigoths in 396. Excavations have uncovered public buildings and temples on the site.

sparta, spartan amphora vases, ancient greece — Many Spartan amphora vases painted with black figures have been recovered.

1 / 7: CORBIS

the acropolis, athens, greece, greek architecture, ancient greece — Rising 500 feet above sea level, the Acropolis in Athens showcases some of the finest examples of Greek architecture.

5th century, the parthenon, the acropolis, greek architecture, ancient greece, athena parthenos, athena the virgin — Completed in the middle of the 5th century BCE, the Parthenon is the centerpiece of the Acropolis and is often regarded as the masterpiece of the Doric order of architecture. Its name refers to Athena Parthenos, or "Athena the Virgin."

421 BCE, 406 BCE, the acropolis, athens, ancient greece, greek architecture, greece, column figures, caryatids, erechtheum — Built between 421-406 BCE on the Acropolis at Athens, this temple to Athena is of the Ionic order of architecture. It is best known for the carefully sculpted column figures ("caryatids") supporting its porch area.

424 BCE, athens, the acropolis, nike, victory, greece, greek, greek architecture, ancient greece, temple of athena nike — Finished in 424 BCE, this Ionic temple resides above Athens on the Acropolis. Nike means "victory" in Greek.

temple of olympian zeus, athens, corinthian order, greek architecture, 2nd century BCE, ancient greece — The Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens is an example of the Corinthian order of architecture. Begun in the 2nd century BCE, it took almost 700 years to finish.

delphi, the center of the world, prophetic oracle, apollo, sanctuary of athena, ancient greece, greek architecture — Considered by ancient Greeks as the center of the world, Delphi was home to the prophetic oracle of Apollo. Seen here is the sanctuary of Athena.

amphitheater, epidaurus, greece, 4th century BCE, greek architecture, ancient greece, acoustics — The amphitheater at Epidaurus in Greece was built in the 4th century BCE and is known for its amazing acoustics.

ancient greek empire, ephesus, turkey, ancient greece, greek architecture, amphitheater, amphitheater in ephesus — Located in one of the most important cities in the Ancient Greek empire, the amphitheater in Ephesus, Turkey, shows the widespread influence of Ancient Greek architecture.

italian city, segesta, athens, 5th century BCE, amphitheater, greek influence, ancient greece, greek architecture, amphtheater in segesta, italy — The Italian city of Segesta was strongly allied with Athens during the 5th century BCE. Its amphitheater demonstrates a profound Greek influence.

paestum, italy, ancient city, greek colonists, 6th century bce, greek architecture — The ancient city of Paestum, founded by Greek colonists around the 6th century BCE.

the temple of neptune, 460 bce, three doric temples, paestum, italy, greek architecture, ancient greece — The Temple of Neptune (c. 460 BCE) is the best preserved of the three Doric temples in Paestum, Italy.