The
Early History of Greece
The Acropolis in Athens
Photo
courtesy and ©1997 Leo Curran, Maecenas: Images of
Ancient Greece and Rome
People first moved into what is now
Greece about 4000 years ago. They came in groups and settled together in tribes. These
tribes developed seperate towns called city-states. The city-states developed because of
Greece's geography. Greece is very mountainous with many isolated valleys. It also has
many islands. These tribes built towns on the hills. In the valleys the people grew crops.
They kept their animals on the hills. On top of the tallest hill in each city-state the
Greeks built a collection buildings called an acropolis. The acropolis was used for three
things:
religious festivals
banks
a fortress
Each city-state had its own laws and
government. There were over 100 city-states in Ancient Greece. These city-states could not
get along with each other. They were often fighting with one another. Some of the more
prominent ones were:
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Government
These city-states had three kinds of
government:
Some city-states changed the kind of
government from one type to another.
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