Journey through the City-States of Ancient Greece

Put in slideshow Mode

Click on the Parthenon on the Athenian acropolis to begin

Welcome to Ancient Greece! The Greek Dark Ages are over, and Greece is ready to show off its classical culture. There are over 1,000 city-states, and they differ in their governments and interests, but they still share some common characteristics that form a distinct Greece culture. Religion was one of those shared characteristics, including religion and the use of oracles to communicate with the gods. Click on Delphi to visit one of the most important oracles in Greece.

The oracle of Apollo at Delphi was famed throughout the Greek world and even beyond. The priestess (called Pythia) communicated with Apollo (son of Zeus) here to answer the questions of visitors who left offerings and animal sacrifices (usually sheep or goats). The Oracle has a good message for you from Apollo: if you journey to the city-states of Ancient Greece, you will learn a lot about the foundations of the Classical Greek era. Click here to start your journey!

Remember that many Greek poleis were structured around hills. Two main features were the acropolis, at the top of the hill, and the agora below. Click the picture to head to either the acropolis or the agora

The Acropolis

acro=high

polis=city

​

An acropolis was essentially a fortified meeting point atop a hill that was also a place of refuge in times of emergency, like a war or invasion. It also contained the main religious buildings to honor the gods. The oracle has just consulted the gods about a possible war with a neighboring city-state, and they approved. Citizens are gathering to discuss the war. Head to the agora.

The Acropolis above was built in the Greek polis Athens

The Acropolis

acro=high

polis=city

​

An acropolis was essentially a fortified meeting point atop a hill that was also a place of refuge in times of emergency, like a war or invasion. It also contained the main religious buildings to honor the gods. The oracle has just consulted the gods about the possible war with a neighboring city-state, and the oracle has advised in favor of the war. As a free citizen, you owe military service. Go prepare for war.

The Acropolis above was built in the Greek polis Athens

The Agora

An agora was a meeting place in a Greek polis, usually serving as a place to approve of community decisions or assemble before a military campaign. There were also often government buildings, gymnasiums and a marketplace. Today, citizens are discussing a decision to go to war with a neighboring city-state. Before any decisions can be made, though, the gods must be consulted. Head to the acropolis.

The Agora

An agora was a meeting place in a Greek polis, usually serving as a place to approve of community decisions or assemble before a military campaign. There were also often government buildings, gymnasiums and a marketplace. Today, citizens are discussing the oracle’s advice to go to war with a neighboring city-state. As a free citizen, you owe military service. Go prepare for war.

Greek Warfare: The Hoplites

In Greece, armies were made up of commoners like yourself, mostly farmers, who were called up in times of war. War could be common, as city-states were highly jealous of one another. Watch the video to learn how to be a hoplite-an armored infantryman.

After watching the video, continue here.

You won the war! Your polis now has heightened prestige & wealth, and it is time to expand & form a new colony. Apollo has spoken through an oracle, approving of a new colony where Greek culture & trade can be spread and there will be plenty of farmland. Where should the new colony be formed? Click on one of the orange regions on the map.

Southern France & Spain

Southern Italy

The Black Sea

Northern Africa

Excellent choice. Your new colony will help relieve population pressures. Plus, encountering new people leads to new ideas. Developments first appearing in the colonial world traveled back to the Greek homeland—urban planning, new forms of political organization, and new intellectual ideas. Coins from Anatolia have just entered Greece, making trade much easier. Now olive oil, wine & pottery can be exchanged for coins as well as wheat, timber & slaves. Plus, warriors can be paid & easily carry money. You might still be a commoner, but because of Greece’s prosperity, you’re much better off than a commoner in Egypt.

GREEK COINS OF PARTICULAR CITY-STATES CARRIED SPECIFIC DESIGNS THAT WERE RECOGNIZABLE. CHOOSE A DESIGN BY CLICKING ON IT.

All this expanded wealth & trade is contributing to some new political trends. For much of Ancient Greece to this point, governments were ruled by monarchies or aristocracies. Which would you prefer? Select one.

In an aristocracy, a small group of noble, landowning families ruled. However, with increased trade & economic opportunity, a new group of wealthy men emerged who wanted more power. Soon, newly wealthy people as well as peasants in debt to the old aristocrats began supporting tyrants: men who seized power by unconstitutional means, often hiring hoplites. They often took advantage of the disorder that occurred when powerful aristocratic families fought for power, capitalizing on the discontent of the population and seizing power. Tyrants were not necessarily evil, but they did sometimes murder in order to remove those in power. Will a tyrant come to power in your polis? Click here to find out.

​

Just like in Homer’s works The Iliad and The Odyssey, kings ruled in some ancient Greek city-states, passing their titles on to their sons. However, with increased trade & economic opportunity, a new group of wealthy men and a middle class emerged who wanted more power. Soon, newly wealthy people as well as peasants in debt to the old aristocrats began supporting tyrants: men who seized power by unconstitutional means, often hiring hoplites. They often took advantage of the disorder that occurred when powerful aristocratic families fought for power, capitalizing on the discontent of the population and seizing power. Tyrants were not necessarily evil, but they did sometimes murder in order to remove those in power. Will a tyrant come to power in your polis? Click here to find out.

In the 500s, it looks like tyrants are rising to power. In Athens, Peisistratus is backed by the poorer majority of the population against the aristocrats in power and claims that the goddess Athena supports his rule. In Corinth, Periander is poised to become the second tyrant, replacing his father who had overthrown the monarchy. Whom do you want to support (click one)?

Periander

Peisistratus

Periander’s rule helps bring prosperity to Corinth, although some nobles allege that he is a harsh ruler (rumor is that he killed his wife when she made him angry.) Nonetheless, Periander expanded trade and established friendly relations with other cities. He also used this new wealth to support the arts and built new temples. Go check out some of these new Greek cultural trends that would become defining characteristics of Classical Greece

here

As tyrant of Athens, Peisistratus strengthened both agriculture and trade and helped the poor, even giving them loans or land. He also built new public buildings and aqueducts to supply water to the city. Finally, Peisistratus helped make Athens a cultural center that would shape the Greek world for centuries. Go check out some of this classical Greek culture

here

Greek Theater

Literature and theatre, which were very intertwined, were important in ancient Greek society. Greek theatre began in the sixth century BCE in Athens with the performance of tragedy plays at religious festivals. These, in turn, inspired the genre of Greek comedy plays. Watch the video clip (it is time stamped). Then, end your day by attending a symposium.

Go to the symposium

In ancient Greece, the symposium was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, or conversation. It was a forum for men of respected families to debate, plot, boast, or simply to revel with others. Food and wine were served. Entertainment was provided, and depending on the occasion could include games, songs, flute-girls or boys, slaves performing various acts, and hired entertainment. Women could not attend (except for those there for “entertainment.”)

​

The Greeks and Romans customarily served their wine mixed with water, as the drinking of pure wine was considered a habit of uncivilized peoples. Following the Greek virtue of moderation, one was also not supposed to allow oneself to overindulge and become drunk. Symposia highlight the leisurely and social sides of life in Ancient Greece, but there was another side to the people of Greece. Click the image to explore one more side of life in Ancient Greece.

Slavery in Ancient Greece

Slavery existed throughout the ancient world and was often the result of debt or warfare. Slavery was most prevalent in Athens, where the possession of at least one slave was seen as both a right and a necessity (most families had 3-4 slaves, except in poor families). Plato, the owner of 5 slaves, wrote that the wealthy averaged about 50 slaves. Estimates of the slave population in Athens are between 80,000 and 100,000. Slaves were typically used in agriculture, but they could be found in all parts of the economy, including in mines, in the home (domestic slaves), and as craftsmen or workshop laborers. Unlike later forms of slavery, ancient slavery was not based on race, and slaves came from all over the ancient world, usually from regions on the border of Greece. Skilled slaves, especially those who could read, were very expensive. While slaves were technically protected by law against abuses, it was very difficult for them to lodge official complaints.

A satirical depiction of a master and his slave

Slave Conditions

Slave Gossip?

We lack historical records from slaves themselves, but Greek writers themselves reveal the imagined conversations slaves had when left to their own devices. This passage from Aristophanes’ play Frogs reveals the anxieties masters felt about the conversations and actions of their slaves:

Slave A: “I’m absolutely thrilled when I can curse my master behind his back.”

Slave B: “what about not minding your own business?”

Slave A: “That’s terrific!”

Slave B: “What about eavesdropping when he’s having a private conversation and gossiping to your friends about what you heard?”

Slave A: “That’s enough to make me wild with delight!”

return

One of the few sources we have to shed light on the treatment of slaves comes from Greek historian Diodorus Siculus:

“Slaves who work in the mines produce unimaginable revenue for their masters, wearing their bodies out toiling day and night in the shafts underground. Many of them die due to the terrible conditions. They get no respite [relief] or interruption in their toil but are forced by their overseers, who beat them, to endure their terrible conditions. And so their lives are thrown away, though there are some who endure the hardship over a long period of time, due to their physical strength and psychological stamina. For them death is preferable to life because of the enormity of their sufferings.”

return