Early Forms of Greek Government

Who ruled the first city-states?

Greece has a unique geography. Because of this, many early Greek cities
were established on islands. Cities on the mainland were separated by the
hills and mountains. Because of these factors, ancient Greeks built
independent city-states rather than one united civilization such as in
ancient Egypt or Rome. Different systems of government were used to rule
these city-states. They went through many changes over time.

Monarchy
The Mycenaean period lasted from about 14001150 BCE. During this time,
most city-states were ruled by monarchs. A monarchy is a system of
government where one person has the power to rule. That person is the
king or the queen. Monarchy comes from the Greek words mono meaning
one and archos meaning leader. In Greek monarchies, rule passed from
one generation of a family to another. When a king died, his son would
inherit power and become the new king. Occasionally, a daughter inherited
power and became queen. Kings had many advisers and officials to help
them make decisions. Advisers came from the upper class and had varying
amounts of power.

Oligarchy
The Greek city-states were isolated and each one developed independently.
Still, often they followed the same general trends. As the power of the kings
grew, the people they ruled became unhappier. Eventually, the people
overthrew the kings and set up oligarchies. An oligarchy is a government
where only a few people hold power. Usually, oligarchies were controlled by
members of the upper classes. Those were the people with the most wealth
and property. They lived extravagant lives while the working people worked
to produce most of the city-states resources.
Often, the governments passed unpopular laws. They carried out the laws
by force. Some city-states remained oligarchies well after the Persian
Wars. However, by the 600s BCE, people in most city-states disliked
oligarchies enough to seek another form of government.

Tyranny
Many Greeks sought the help of powerful individuals to remove the
members of the oligarchies from power. Usually, these powerful individuals
were people in the military. They used a variety of means to gain control,
ranging from political tactics to violence.

After removing the oligarchs from power, many of these men made
themselves the absolute ruler of the city-state. This meant they had
complete control of the government. This type of government is called a
tyranny. A tyrant is the leader of a tyranny.
Although today the word tyrant has a negative connotation, this was not
always so. In ancient Greece, any leader who took power by overthrowing
the previously established government was called a tyrant. Many tyrants in
ancient Greece were popular leaders. They improved life for many Greeks.
However, in some Greek city-states, tyrants abused their power.

The Beginnings of Democracy

How did ancient Greek democracies develop?

In 510 BCE, the tyrant Hippias ruled Athens. A Spartan removed him from
power. This Spartan hoped to set up an oligarchy that would
give Sparta control over Athens. However, the Athenians resisted the
leaders that the Spartans sent to rule them.

The aristocracy battled for control of their city-state for a few years. In
about 508 BCE, Athens set up a new form of government. The new
government of Athens was known as a democracy. The
word democracy comes from the Greek demos meaning people and kratos
meaning power. In democracies, all citizens, or members of the citystate, share the power of ruling.

Athenian democracy developed slowly. Over time, a series of statesmen, or

political leaders, made changes that enabled citizens to take part in the
government. These reforms gave individuals some basic rights. They
protected the freedom of Athenians, so people could not be enslaved
because they were in debt. They allowed anyone to seek repayment for

damage caused when they were mistreated. They even gave people the
right to appeal officials decisions.

These reforms also meant that more people could hold office, not just
aristocrats. Now, government offices were open to people from the top three
classes. Several other Greek city-states also developed democracies during
this time. The government of Athens, however, had the greatest influence on
modern democratic governments.

Athens set up an assembly to create its laws. Officeholders, or members of

the government, were paid a salary for their work. Citizens could leave their
regular jobs to take part in government without worrying about making
money to live. Any Athenian citizen could speak at meetings, vote in the
assembly, or serve in public office.

The type of democracy used in ancient Athens can still be seen in modern
times. It is used in town-hall meetings. At town-hall meetings, everyone who
lives in a particular area is invited to meet and discuss a certain issue. The
ideas shared by members of the group are used to make the final decision
on the issue. Although modern democracy is different than the system of the
Greeks, the roots of Athenian democracy still can be seen today.