Warring City-States

• polis- a city-state
• agora- marketplace
• acropolis- fortified hilltop
• monarchy- a single person, called a king, ruled by a government
• aristocracy- a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families
• oligarchy- a government ruled by a few powerful people
• tyrants- nobles or other wealthy citizens
• aristocrats- members of the ruling class
• democracy- rule by the people
• helots- peasants forced to stay on the land they worked
• phalanx- the most powerful fighting force in the ancient world
• persian wars- between Greece and the Persian empire in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia

• during the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, aristocrats ran the show in most of Greece
• really?!? back then, rich people wielded much more influence in society and held much more governmental power than the middle class or the poor?
• Gee, what would THAT be like?
• aristocrats attended symposiums, meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine, poetry, and performances by dancers and singers