This article is about Ancient Greece. You will learn how Ancient Greece was structured, how the Greeks lived and what significance Ancient Greece still has for us today.
Chronological Classification – Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece was one of the most important cultures in human history and is therefore one of the advanced civilizations. It existed in the period from about 1600 BC. to ca. 27 BC Chr.
Ancient Greece is divided into the following ages:
- The Dark Ages (from c. 1200 – 750 BC)
- The Archaic Age (from 800 – 500 BC)
- The Classic Period (from c. 500 – 336 BC)
- Hellenism (from ca. 336 – 27 BC)
The Dark Ages
There are no written sources from this period and hardly any archaeological finds. That is why the period is called «The Dark Ages». The transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age took place during this period, among other things.
Archaic Age
The Archaic Age is an epoch in which cultural and political development took place in Greece. During this period, the ancient Greeks established many colonies in the Mediterranean and Greek culture spread. 27 B.C. Greece was integrated into the Roman Empire.
The classic time
Greek culture flourished particularly during the Classic period. For example, important philosophical works of poetry (such as the Iliad and the Odyssey) were written and monuments such as the Acropolis in Athens were built. Important political events also took place, such as the founding of Athenian democracy.
Figure 1.: Ancient Greece
Hellenism
The epoch of Hellenism began with the conquests of Alexander the Great in 334 BC. Alexander the Great accomplished his father’s (the Macedonian king Philip II’s) goal of liberating the Greeks of Asia Minor from the Persians through the Hellenic League.
Under King Philip II, the state of Macedonia was formed, which subdued the Greek city-states in the south. Under his supremacy he united them into the Hellenic League.
Ancient Greece – Organization
After the decline of the Mycenaean culture in Greece (late Bronze Age culture), the age of Ancient Greece began around 1050. The Greeks settled down and founded the so-called Poleis (singular: Polis), which shaped ancient Greece very much.
Polis referred to a Greek city-state that acted autonomously.
For example, each polis had its own political institutions. The main reason for establishing the poleis was that there were many mountains in Greece. Therefore, many places were geographically separated.
For the ancient Greeks, the city-states in which they lived were their home. Yet they considered themselves as one people. The people of ancient Greece spoke the same language, worshiped the same gods, and shared a common literature and culture. They met in places important to all Greeks. For example in Delphi, where the famous oracle was located, or in Olympia.
In Olympia they gathered for the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games were held once every four years and were held in honor of the Greek gods. The competitions strengthened the cohesion and exchange between the Greeks.
Figure 2: Sports depiction of a wrestling match at the Olympic GamesSource: hna.de
Historical development
From the 8th century BC Ancient Greece was prospering economically and the Greeks began to build settlements outside of what is now Greece. Most of today’s major cities in Eastern or Southern Europe were once poleis in ancient times, such as Athens.
Our current image of ancient Greece was particularly shaped by two poleis: Sparta and Athens. Sparta was a military state, while Athens was a democracy. After the joint victory over the Persians, conflicts arose between Athens and Sparta. The Athenian ruler of Attica and the Spartan Peloponnese fought each other for almost 30 years.
This war heralded the end of Ancient Greece. At the same time, the Roman Empire was developing into a major power and conquering more and more territories. 27 B.C. Greece was also integrated into the Roman Empire.
Ancient Greece – Gods
The gods were very important to the Greeks. At that time, each Greek city-state had its own tutelary god. Altogether there were twelve main gods, who had different abilities and lived on the so-called Olympus. Mount Olympus is the highest mountain range in Greece. At that time, the mountain was inaccessible and was considered unreachable. Therefore, the belief arose that the Greek gods lived there.
List of the 12 main gods
Figure 3: Zeus, the supreme Greek godSource: wikipedia.org
society in ancient Greece
The Greek state was subject to patriarchy (man’s rule). Most Greeks divided the population into three classes, which were clearly separated from each other.
There was:
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the citizens
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the metics
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the slaves
The citizens
The citizens were at the top of society. They were the only ones who also had a say in politics and had the right to property. However, there were also large differences within the class of citizens. For example, women and children were not seen as full citizens.
It was customary for women to take care of the household and the upbringing of children. They were always subordinate to a male guardian, for example the husband, brother or father. Children were also subordinate to the man of the house. This decided at birth on life or death and on the number of children. Girls were prepared from an early age for their role as housewives and were married between the ages of 12-14. Boys learned the trade. Only sons from wealthy families attended school.
The metics
Metöke means roommate in Greek. The metics were foreigners who lived permanently freely in a Greek city or polis without having local citizenship there. Thus, they did not have the same rights as a citizen. For example, they had to be represented in court by a citizen and they could not participate in politics. Nevertheless, they were allowed to trade and own slaves. Since the majority of Greek citizens did not work hard, most commercial and handicraft activities were the metics. They worked as merchants, craftsmen, or architects. Some of them were very rich through their work.
The slaves
The slaves were at the bottom of Greek society. They had no rights and were considered the property of their owner. They were mostly prisoners of war from different peoples and came from foreign areas.
Most worked for rich citizens or had a job as a shoemaker, blacksmith, or miner.
government
In ancient Greece, there were three forms of government. The aristocracy (rule of the nobility), democracy (rule of the people) and monarchy (rule of a king). Greece is considered the cradle of democracy.
Greece is known as the cradle of democracy because the first democracy in human history took place in the Greek city of Athens around 462/61 BC. was created. This first democracy is called the Athenian democracy. Many Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. enabled male citizens to actively participate in the decisions and deliberations of the polis. All male full citizens were allowed to have a direct say. In contrast, in today’s democracy, there are MPs who represent the interests of the voters. That is why one speaks today of an indirect democracy.
Before the first democracy emerged in Athens, Greece had an aristocratic form of government. The people of Athens elected the so-called Archons, who ruled for a year. However, only nobles could become archons. Thus, the nobles seized state power. Ordinary citizens had no political rights. However, this situation led to great unrest and eventually to the establishment of the first democracy.
The main institutions of Greek democracy were:
- popular assembly
- Council of the 500
- offices
- people’s court
popular assembly
The People’s Assembly was the most important institution of democracy. Every male citizen after the age of 18 had the right to participate, speak and vote. The assembly was responsible for legislation, war and peace decisions, state treaties, all questions of order in public life and the election of the treasurer. The assembly met regularly. It was voted on by shouts, a show of hands or in secret, with voting cards. Decisions were made by majority rule. This means that the majority always prevails over the minority.
Council of the 500
The Council of 500 had important functions within Athenian democracy. The main task of the council was to prepare the conduct of the popular assemblies. The people’s assembly could only vote on issues that had previously been dealt with by the Council of 500. Other tasks of the Council were the financial control and the supervision of officials. He represented all male citizens and it was possible that he made decisions as a representative of the entire population. Therefore, the number of members was proportional to the number of adult male citizens of Athens. The mandate of the elected members was 1 year.
offices
In ancient Greece there were officials who held various offices. Responsibilities and tasks were precisely regulated. These included the administration of the army and finances. They also took care of the administration of justice, the police and the market. The officials even got a salary for their work. In total there were 600 lot officials, 100 electoral officials, 500 council members and also temporary official posts. The activities of the officials were controlled for abuse by the Council of 500 and the People’s Assembly.
legal system
The legal system of ancient Greece was based on the people’s court.
The People’s Court
In ancient Greece there were no professional judges, but people’s courts. Each polis had its own people’s court. Justice was in the hands of all male citizens, from whom the jury was drawn annually. They had to obey the laws and decisions of the People’s Assembly and the Council of 500, and make impartial and just decisions. This code was called the Heliasten Oath. At a hearing, after hearing…