Citiizens and Communities: The Greek City-State

Citizens and Communities: The Greek City-State
Acropolis-the high fortified citadel and religious center of an ancient Greek town.
The Greek city-states were first developed at exactly the time the Assyrians were reaching for power westward from Mesopotamia.
Hoplite-a heavily armed and armored citizen soldier of ancient Greece.
Phalanx-a unit of several hundred hoplites, who closed ranks by joining shields when approaching the enemy.
Monarchy-a state in which supreme power is held by a single, usually hereditary ruler (a monarch).
Oligarchy-a state in which supreme power is held by a small group.
Triremes-massive fighting vessels with 3 banks of oars, used to ram or board enemy ships.
Tyranny-rule by a self-proclaimed dictator (a tyrant).
Democracy-in ancient Greece, a form of government in which all adult male citizens were entitled to make part in decision making.
Sparta
The Spartans were the descendants of Greeks who had conquered part of the southern mainland, the territory of Laconia.
Helots-noncitizens forced to work for landholders in the ancient city-state of Sparta.
Athens
The Athenian homeland was the peninsula of Attica in the central region of mainland Greece.
Aristocrats-members of prominent and long-established Athenian families.
In the sixth century B.C., the Persians conquered a realm that stretched from the borders of India to the Nile and the Aegean.
The state covered the cost of official salaries by court fines, custom duties, an annual tax on aliens, and various sales taxes.
Ostracism-banishment for ten years by majority vote of the Athenian Assembly.
Aliens
The fifty thousand or so resident aliens were a very varied group.
Some were wealthy businessmen, or independent women.
Slaves
The hundred thousand or so slaves in Athens were also a very diverse group.
Not all of them live lives of total subjection and powerlessness.