Monarchy:
Monarchy was a form of government in Ancient Greece that started near 2,000 BCE. They ruled by power and their ruler was called the monarch. The monarch talked to his council of aristocrats to make choices. The monarch judged cases, conducted religious ceremonies, led the army, and also used armed soldiers to harm the people if they didn’t follow the laws or paid their taxes. The monarch was in power by birthright until the Aristocrats realized that together they were more powerful than the monarch himself. Noticing that they wanted a share in the monarch’s power, they insisted that the monarch was elected every few years. Eventually by 800 BCE monarchs no longer ruled most Ancient Greek city states since the Aristocrats threw him out of power.
Oligarchy:
Oligarchy was another form of Ancient Greece government, that was ruled by a small group of wealthy men. These men took part in hunting, chariot races, and ignored the needs of the people. They used the army to force people to listen to them. They made rules that only protected their wealth and only made them wealthier while they made the people of Ancient Greece poorer. These men were called the oligarchs. In some city-states farmers sold themselves to become slaves if they couldn’t pay their taxes or debt(s). Soon the poor of the city-states were promised for a better live and used soldiers that didn’t agree with the oligarchs to throw them out of power. By 600 BCE there were hardly any Greek cities that were under the rule of oligarchs.
Tyranny
Tyranny was another form of government in Ancient Greece that started near 600 BCE. The tyranny government had one ruler called the tyrant who forced himself into power. Some tyrants were helpful to the poor while most tyrants ruled harshly or were unkind. Eventually the villagers forced the tyrant out of power, because they wanted to rule themselves.
Democracy
Democracy is the last Ancient Greece government that the Ancient Greeks started around 500 BCE. Democracy is still used today although there are a lot of changes to it. The Greeks used direct democracy where every free man could vote on each situation. The assembly who were different each time, had a voice. An assembly is the first 6,000 people who get to vote, the assembly is people from every single social class. The Greeks really went through a hard time in order to get the freedom that they have today!
Extra Information: Greek Gods (THE OLYMPIANS)
- Zeus – King of Gods
- Hera – Queen of gods (Zeus’s wife)
- Aphrodite – Goddess of love and beauty
- Apollo – God of truth, light, healing, archery, music, poetry
- Ares – God of war
- Artemis – Goddess of hunt, moon, children
- Athena – Goddess of wisdom, war, patriotism, good citizenship
- Demeter – Goddess of grain, agriculture, fertility
- Dionysus – God of wine, vegetation, theater
- Hades – God of the underworld
- Hephaestus – God of forge, fire
- Hermes – Messenger of the gods, god of motion, travelers, commerce, thieves, sheep
- Hestia – Goddess of hearth, home
- Poseidon – God of sea, earthquakes, horses
The Greeks are polytheistic because they worship more than one god.