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The Greeks had a very advanced government for their time. Perhaps that is why we use some of the same exact concepts today. For example: democracy, and the law that all men are innocent until proven guilty. Six hundred years before Christ, Athens began to use a system of government called democracy. This meant that even the poorest man could vote at the city's general assembly, but women and children could not vote. We still use this democratic system today. In fact, it is more democratic today since anyone over 18 years old can vote. Another thing the Greeks did was pass a law defining who was a citizen. In Athens, only grown men who weren't slaves were citizens. They could choose their government officials and vote for or against new laws. Citizens could also speak at the Assembly. This was a huge open-air meeting where people stood up and told the government what it should be doing. There had to be at least 6,000 citizens at every Assembly. They met on the slopes of a hill in Athens and voted by raising their hands. |
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Citizens who spoke at the Assembly weren't allowed to drone on for too long. Each speaker was timed with a water clock. When the last drop of water had dripped from the jar, his time was up. He had to sit down and hold his tongue! |
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The warm, dry climate and mountainous countryside of Greece meant that there was a lack of good farmland for growing crops. Although about half the population worked on the land, Greece was not self sufficient in grain or other natural resources. It had to trade olive oil, pottery, and wine for grain, timber, and metal. There was also a widespread slave trade. Traders from each city state and colony sailed all over the Mediterranean in merchant ships, such as the one shown below. At first they used bundles of iron rods as money, but then some cities began to mint their own coins. During the eighth century there were more people than the land could support. The overcrowded cities decided to send people to start new settlements in places where they had traded. Soon there were Greek colonies all around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. |
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Money The first coins were made at the end of the seventh century B.C. in Lydia, Asia Minor. The use of coins soon spread to Greece. Each city state minted its own coins. The coins were stamped with the city's emblem, for example an owl for Athens, or with a god or hero, and later with the head of a ruler. |
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