Greek Government

1
Greek Government Mythology

• Chapter 8 Sections 2 3

2
Government in ancient Greece

• What is government?
• How a country, city, state, is run
• The rules
• The people in charge of a country, city, and
  state
• What is our government like in the United States
  of America?
• Is just one person in charge or does everyone get
  a say in what happens?
• Our government comes from something the ancient
  Greeks started a long time ago

3
Government in ancient Greece

• Greece is the birthplace of democracy-a type of
  government where people rule themselves
• How can people rule themselves???
• Vote!
• But Greece wasnt always a democracy.

4
Other types of government

• At first, kings ruled city-states in Greece
• Later, a group of rich people who owned land
  (they are called aristocrats) ruled the
  city-states
• The type of government where only a few people
  have power is called oligarchy.
• Regular common people didnt have a say in how
  things were done

5
Government in Greece

• Later, Greece was ruled by a tyrant-a leader who
  has power through force
• What does this mean?
• He forced people to listen to him, there was no
  choice!
• Finally, a man named Cleisthenes started a
  completely new kind of government in Greece
  called democracy, where all citizens had a right
  to participate in government

6
How did democracy work???

• The citizens would meet on a hillside and speak
  about their opinions on how the government should
  be run
• For example
• What should the laws be?
• Who should be in charge?
• What should the punishments be for breaking the
  law?

7
How did democracy work???

• They voted on decisions that needed to be made
• Later, they selected people to be on city
  councils
• People were selected to be on juries to decide
  court cases
• Most juries had around 500 people!
• We still use juries in the USA today

8
How is Greek democracy different from our
democracy?

• Greece had a direct democracy where each persons
  vote counted directly toward the outcome
• Example Everyone in the sixth grade will vote
  for their fave lunch, and whatever gets the most
  votes will be served for lunch.
• Also, in ancient Greece only free (not slave)
  males could vote. Women and slaves could not vote

9
How is Greek democracy different from our
democracy?

• The USA has a representative democracy or
  republic where people vote on officials to make
  decisions for them
• Example All sixth grade girls will vote on two
  girls to represent them and all sixth grade boys
  will vote on two boys to represent them. The two
  boys and two girls will vote on a meal to be
  served at lunch.
• The USA has senators and representatives to
  Congress that vote on the laws for our country
• Also in the USA, men and women who are 18 and
  older can vote.

10
Greek Mythology and Literature

• The Greeks lived in a time long before science
  and technology that we have now. To the ancient
  Greeks, things like thunderstorms and the
  changing of seasons were mysterious, and they
  couldnt explain why or how they happened.
  Today, we know the scientific reasons why these
  things happen, but the ancient Greeks had to make
  up their own reasons.thats why they made up
  myths about Gods and Goddesses.

11
The Changing of the Seasons Myth

• STORYTIME! PAY ATTENTION, ITS A GOOD STORY!!! ?

12
Greek gods and goddesses

• The Greeks were polytheistic. They believed in
  many different gods and goddesses.
• The gods and goddesses were in the myths the
  Greeks made up.
• Myths are stories about gods and goddesses that
  try to explain how the world works.

13
The Greek Gods and Goddesses

• The Greeks believed that the gods and goddesses
  lived on a mountain called Mount Olympus
• The major 14 gods that lived on Mt. Olympus were
  called the Olympian Gods

14
The Olympian Gods

• Zeus-the king of the gods
• Hera-the queen of the gods
• Poseidon-god of the sea
• Hades-god of the underworld
• Demeter-goddess of agriculture (farming)
• Hestia-goddess of the hearth
• Athena-goddess of wisdom
• Apollo-god of the sun
• Artemis-goddess of the moon
• Ares-god of war
• Aphrodite-goddess of love
• Hephaestus-god of metalworking
• Dionysus-god of celebration
• Hermes-the messenger god

15
Greek heroes

• The Greeks also have myths about heroes like
• Hercules
• Perseus (who killed Medusa)
• The heroes in these stories do amazing,
  superhuman things, like killing monsters and
  rescuing people

16
Greek Literature

• Homer was a famous Greek poet
• He wrote The Iliad (about the Trojan War) and
  Odyssey (about a mans journey back home from the
  Trojan War)
• Aesop wrote fables, stories that teach lessons
  about life or give advice on how to live
• Most fables are about animals
• The Tortoise and the Hare The Boy Who Cried
  Wolf are two famous fables