The Geography of GreeceMountains divided the Balkan Peninsula into small valleys. Each valley and each

island was an independent state.

As such, the ancient Greeks never developed a unified system of government.The ancient Greeks developed the polis or city-state.

A polis was an independent city and its surrounding farmland.

Every polis had its own government and laws but

the Greeks shared a common language and

religion.

The most important polis were Athens and Sparta.

PolisEach polis was built around

an acropolis, a fortified hill with the temple of the

local god at the top.

At the foot of the acropolis was the agora, an open area used as a marketplace.

The History of Greece

s. VIII-VI B.C. s. V-IV B.C. s. IV-I B.C.

There are three main periods : Archaic Period, Classical Period and Hellenistic Period.

The History of GreeceArchaic Period

During the Archaic Age, the Greeks started to live together in city-states.

The rulers were usually rich people, or aristoi, which means ‘the best’. This form of government was called ‘aristocracy’. Sparta is a famous example of aristocratic

government.

Later, in some polis, democracy replaced aristocracy. Citizens met regularly at assemblies to make decisions. Athens is a famous example of democratic government.

The History of GreeceArchaic PeriodBetween the 8th and the 6th centuries BC, Greece went through a period of crisis. The

population increased and there were many poor, hungry people.

Many Greeks migrated and founded colonies around the Mediterranean Sea.

Colonization had important consequences. Greeks mixed with other peoples, such as the Phoenicians, the Etruscans and the Egyptians. Colonization spread Greek

influence beyond its frontiers.

The History of Greece

Classical PeriodThe 5th century BC and the first half of the 4th century BC are known as the

Classical period.

There were two important wars during this period.

The most important battles were

Battle of Marathon

Battle of Thermopilas

Battle of Salamis

Greeks won and, after the Persian Wars, Athens became the richest and

most influential polis.

This war confronted Athens against Sparta.

AthensSparta

Sparta won the war and became the most powerful polis.

The History of GreeceHellenistic Period

Macedonia was a very large kingdom in the north of Greece. The wars between the

poleis had weakened Greece, and the king Philip II of Macedonia took advantage of this

situation.

He conquered the Greek territories and his son Alexander the Great continued

the conquest.

Alexander conquered the Persian empire and controlled the largest empire the world has ever seen.