Name:_______________________________
Greek City-States:
- 300 years of turmoil (Dark Ages) end when people begin to come together for
protection.
- They begin to form city-states.
- The classical age was marked by advances in politics, philosophy, literature and
architecture.
- Cities were formed around a strong fortress ,which was
built on the top of a high hill called the acropolis.
- In the center of the town lay the agora, which served as a meeting place, market,
and government site.
Acropolis
Walled Cities
Name:_______________________________
- Each city-state had their own government, which was run
by its citizens.
- When population gets too large, they begin to expand and form colonies- (a
settlement in a new territory that keep close
ties to its homeland) across the Mediterranean. These colonies were independent-each one became a new polis.
- Colonists traded regularly with their “parent cities”, shipping them metals, grains,
fish and timber as well as enslaved people. In return the colonists received pottery,
wine, and olive oil from the main land.
- Hoplites were a group of ordinary people who formed an army. They wanted to
fight for their city-state.
- Citizens had the right to vote, hold office, own property, defend themselves in
court, and fight to protect their land.