Western Civ Blog 12

Today in class Mr. Schick was out, so Mrs. Ferry was our sub. We read pages 127-133 in our textbooks. The text was focused on Warring city-States. The main idea was power and authority. The growth of city-states in Greece led to the development of several political systems, including democracy. It matters now because many political systems in today's world mirror the varied forms of government that evolved in Greece. Some important terms were polis, acropolis, monarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy, tyrant, democracy, helot, phalanx, and Persian wars. Polis was the city-state that was the fundamental political unit in ancient Greece. Acropolis was a fortified hilltop. Monarchy is a form of government ruled by a single person, called a king. Aristocracy is a government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families. An oligarchy is a government ruled by a few powerful people. Tyrants were powerful individuals, usually nobles or other wealthy citizens, they were rulers. A democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Helots are peasants forced to stay on the land they worked. Phalanx is a fearsome formation. the Persian wars were wars between Greece and the Persian empire, the war began in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia.