Ancient Greece

==Politics and society==
===Political structure===
{{Further|History of citizenship#Ancient Greece}}
[[File:Bust Pericles Chiaramonti.jpg|thumb|upright|Marble bust of Pericles with a [[Corinthian helmet]], Roman copy of a Greek original, [[Museo Chiaramonti]], Vatican Museums; Pericles was a key [[populist]] political figure in the development of the radical [[Athenian democracy]].<ref>Ruden, Sarah (2003). ''Lysistrata''. Hackett Publishing, p. 80. {{ISBN|0-87220-603-3}}.</ref>]]

Ancient Greece consisted of several hundred relatively independent [[city-state]]s (''[[poleis]]''). This was a situation unlike that in most other contemporary societies, which were either [[tribe|tribal]] or [[Realm|kingdom]]s ruling over relatively large territories. Undoubtedly, the [[geography of Greece]]—divided and sub-divided by hills, mountains, and rivers—contributed to the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece. On the one hand, the ancient Greeks had no doubt that they were "one people"; they had the same [[State religion|religion]], same basic culture, and same language. Furthermore, the Greeks were very aware of their tribal origins; Herodotus was able to extensively categorise the city-states by tribe. Yet, although these higher-level relationships existed, they seem to have rarely had a major role in Greek politics. The independence of the ''poleis'' was fiercely defended; unification was something rarely contemplated by the ancient Greeks. Even when, during the second Persian invasion of Greece, a group of city-states allied themselves to defend Greece, the vast majority of ''poleis'' remained neutral, and after the Persian defeat, the allies quickly returned to infighting.<ref>Holland, T. ''Persian Fire'', Abacus, pp. 363–70 {{ISBN|978-0-349-11717-1}}</ref>

Thus, the major peculiarities of the ancient Greek political system were its fragmentary nature (and that this does not particularly seem to have tribal origin), and the particular focus on urban centers within otherwise tiny states. The peculiarities of the Greek system are further evidenced by the colonies that they set up throughout the Mediterranean, which, though they might count a certain Greek ''polis'' as their 'mother' (and remain sympathetic to her), were completely independent of the founding city.

Inevitably smaller ''poleis'' might be dominated by larger neighbors, but conquest or direct rule by another city-state appears to have been quite rare. Instead the ''poleis'' grouped themselves into leagues, membership of which was in a constant state of flux. Later in the Classical period, the leagues would become fewer and larger, be dominated by one city (particularly Athens, Sparta and Thebes); and often ''poleis'' would be compelled to join under threat of war (or as part of a peace treaty). Even after Philip II of Macedon "conquered" the heartlands of ancient Greece, he did not attempt to annex the territory or unify it into a new province, but compelled most of the ''poleis'' to join his own [[Corinthian League]].

===Government and law===
{{Main|Ancient Greek law}}
[[File:Law Code Gortyn Louvre Ma703.jpg|thumb|left|Inheritance law, part of the [[Gortyn code|Law Code of Gortyn]], Crete, fragment of the 11th column. Limestone, 5th century BC]]

Initially many Greek city-states seem to have been petty kingdoms; there was often a city official carrying some residual, ceremonial functions of the king (''[[basileus]]''), e.g., the ''[[archon basileus]]'' in Athens.<ref>Holland T. ''Persian Fire'', p. 94 {{ISBN|978-0-349-11717-1}}</ref> However, by the Archaic period and the first historical consciousness, most had already become aristocratic [[Oligarchy|oligarchies]]. It is unclear exactly how this change occurred. For instance, in Athens, the kingship had been reduced to a hereditary, lifelong chief magistracy (''[[Archon of Athens|archon]]'') by {{circa}} 1050 BC; by 753 BC this had become a decennial, elected archonship; and finally by 683 BC an annually elected archonship. Through each stage, more power would have been transferred to the aristocracy as a whole, and away from a single individual.

Inevitably, the domination of politics and concomitant aggregation of wealth by small groups of families was apt to cause social unrest in many ''poleis''. In many cities a [[tyrant]] (not in the modern sense of repressive autocracies), would at some point seize control and govern according to their own will; often a populist agenda would help sustain them in power. In a system wracked with [[class conflict]], government by a 'strongman' was often the best solution.

Athens fell under a tyranny in the second half of the 6th century BC. When this tyranny was ended, the Athenians founded [[Athenian democracy|the world's first democracy]] as a radical solution to prevent the aristocracy regaining power. A [[Popular assembly|citizens' assembly]] (the ''[[Ecclesia (ancient Athens)|Ecclesia]]''), for the discussion of city policy, had existed since the reforms of [[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]] in 621 BC; all citizens were permitted to attend after the reforms of [[Solon]] (early 6th century), but the poorest citizens could not address the assembly or run for office. With the establishment of the democracy, the assembly became the ''[[de jure]]'' mechanism of government; all citizens had equal privileges in the assembly. However, non-citizens, such as [[metic]]s (foreigners living in Athens) or [[Slavery in ancient Greece|slaves]], had no political rights at all.

After the rise of democracy in Athens, other city-states founded democracies. However, many retained more traditional forms of government. As so often in other matters, Sparta was a notable exception to the rest of Greece, ruled through the whole period by not one, but two hereditary monarchs. This was a form of [[diarchy]]. The [[Kings of Sparta]] belonged to the Agiads and the Eurypontids, descendants respectively of [[Eurysthenes]] and [[Procles]]. Both dynasties' founders were believed to be twin sons of [[Aristodemus]], a [[Heracleidae|Heraclid]] ruler. However, the powers of these kings were held in check by both a council of elders (the ''[[Gerousia]]'') and magistrates specifically appointed to watch over the kings (the ''[[Ephor]]s'').

===Social structure===
Only free, land-owning, native-born men could be citizens entitled to the full protection of the law in a city-state. In most city-states, unlike the situation in [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], social prominence did not allow special rights. Sometimes families controlled public religious functions, but this ordinarily did not give any extra power in the government. In Athens, the population was divided into four social classes based on wealth. People could change classes if they made more money. In Sparta, all male citizens were called ''[[homoioi]]'', meaning "peers". However, Spartan kings, who served as the city-state's dual military and religious leaders, came from two families.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Anton |title=A Companion to Sparta |date=2017 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781119072379 |page=187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqA6DwAAQBAJ |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>

====Slavery====
{{Main|Slavery in ancient Greece}}
[[File:Grabstein einer Frau mit Dienerin.jpg|thumb|Gravestone of a woman with her slave child-attendant, {{circa}} 100 BC]]
Slaves had no power or status. Slaves had the right to have a family and own property, subject to their master's goodwill and permission, but they had no political rights. By 600 BC, [[chattel slavery]] had spread in Greece. By the 5th century BC, slaves made up one-third of the total population in some city-states. Between 40–80% of the population of [[Classical Athens]] were slaves.<ref>[http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-201729/ANCIENT-GREECE Slavery in Ancient Greece] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201123710/http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-201729/ANCIENT-GREECE |date=1 December 2008 }}. ''Britannica Student Encyclopædia''.</ref> Slaves outside of Sparta almost never revolted because they were made up of too many nationalities and were too scattered to organize. However, unlike later [[Western culture]], the ancient Greeks did not think in terms of [[race (human categorization)|race]].<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = W.W. Norton & Company| isbn = 978-0-393-04934-3| last = Painter| first = Nell| title = The History of White People| location = New York| date = 2010| page = [https://archive.org/details/historyofwhitepe00pain/page/5 5]| url = https://archive.org/details/historyofwhitepe00pain/page/5}}</ref>

Most families owned slaves as household servants and laborers, and even poor families might have owned a few slaves. Owners were not allowed to beat or kill their slaves. Owners often promised to free slaves in the future to encourage slaves to work hard. Unlike in Rome, [[freedman|freedmen]] did not become citizens. Instead, they were mixed into the population of ''[[metic]]s'', which included people from foreign countries or other city-states who were officially allowed to live in the state.

City-states legally owned slaves. These public slaves had a larger measure of independence than slaves owned by families, living on their own and performing specialized tasks. In Athens, public slaves were trained to look out for [[Coin counterfeiting|counterfeit coinage]], while temple slaves acted as servants of the temple's [[List of Greek mythological figures|deity]] and [[Scythians|Scythian]] slaves were employed in Athens as a police force corralling citizens to political functions.

Sparta had a special type of slaves called ''[[helots]]''. Helots were [[Messenia (ancient region)|Messenians]] enslaved en masse during the [[First Messenian War|Messenian Wars]] by the state and assigned to families where they were forced to stay. Helots raised food and did household chores so that women could concentrate on raising strong children while men could devote their time to training as [[hoplite]]s. Their masters treated them harshly, and helots [[slave rebellion|revolted]] against their masters several times. In 370/69 BC, as a result of [[Epaminondas]]' liberation of Messenia from Spartan rule, the helot system there came to an end and the helots won their freedom.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cartledge|first=Paul|title=The Spartans: An Epic History|year=2002|publisher=Pan Macmillan|page=67}}</ref> However, it did continue to persist in Laconia until the 2nd century BC.

===Education===
{{Main|Education in ancient Greece}}
[[File:Plato's Academy mosaic from Pompeii.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mosaic]] from [[Pompeii]] depicting [[Plato]]'s [[Platonic Academy|Academy]]]]

For most of Greek history, education was private, except in Sparta. During the Hellenistic period, some city-states established [[Public school (government funded)|public schools]]. Only wealthy families could afford a teacher. Boys learned how to read, write and quote literature. They also learned to sing and play one musical instrument and were trained as athletes for military service. They studied not for a job but to become an effective citizen. Girls also learned to read, write and do simple arithmetic so they could manage the household. They almost never received education after childhood.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bloomer |first=W. Martin |title=A Companion to Ancient Education |publisher=Willey-Blackwell |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-118-99741-3 |location=Malden, MA |pages=305}}</ref>

Boys went to school at the age of seven, or went to the barracks, if they lived in Sparta. The three types of teachings were: grammatistes for arithmetic, kitharistes for music and dancing, and Paedotribae for sports.

Boys from wealthy families attending the private school lessons were taken care of by a ''paidagogos'', a household slave selected for this task who accompanied the boy during the day. Classes were held in teachers' private houses and included reading, writing, mathematics, singing, and playing the lyre and flute. When the boy became 12 years old the schooling started to include sports such as wrestling, running, and throwing discus and javelin. In Athens, some older youths attended academy for the finer disciplines such as culture, sciences, music, and the arts. The schooling ended at age 18, followed by military training in the army usually for one or two years.<ref>Angus Konstam: "Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece", pp.&nbsp;94–95. Thalamus publishing, UK, 2003, {{ISBN|1-904668-16-X}}</ref>

Only a small number of boys continued their education after childhood, as in the Spartan [[agoge]]. A crucial part of a wealthy teenager's education was a mentorship with an elder, which in a few places and times may have included [[pederasty]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}} The teenager learned by watching his mentor talking about politics in the ''[[agora]]'', helping him perform his public duties, exercising with him in the gymnasium and attending [[Symposium|symposia]] with him. The richest students continued their education by studying with famous teachers. Some of Athens' greatest such schools included the [[Lyceum]] (the so-called [[Peripatetic school]] founded by [[Aristotle]] of [[Stageira]]) and the [[Platonic Academy]] (founded by [[Plato]] of Athens). The education system of the wealthy ancient Greeks is also called [[Paideia]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

===Economy===
{{Main|Economy of ancient Greece|Agriculture in ancient Greece|Slavery in ancient Greece}}

At its economic height in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the free citizenry of [[Classical Greece]] represented perhaps the most prosperous society in the ancient world, some economic historians considering Greece one of the most advanced pre-industrial economies. In terms of wheat, wages reached an estimated 7–12&nbsp;kg daily for an unskilled worker in urban Athens, 2–3 times the 3.75&nbsp;kg of an unskilled rural labourer in Roman Egypt, though Greek farm incomes too were on average lower than those available to urban workers.<ref>W. Schiedel, "Real slave prices and the relative cost of slave labor in the Greco-Roman world", ''Ancient Society'', vol. 35, 2005, p 12.</ref>

While slave conditions varied widely, the institution served to sustain the incomes of the free citizenry: an estimate of economic development drawn from the latter (or derived from urban incomes alone) is therefore likely to overstate the true overall level despite widespread evidence for high living standards.

===Warfare===
{{Main|Ancient Greek warfare|Ancient Macedonian army}}
[[File:Greek-Persian duel.jpg|thumb|Greek [[hoplite]] and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient [[kylix]], 5th century BC.]]

At least in the Archaic Period, the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict but conversely limited the scale of warfare. Unable to maintain professional armies, the city-states relied on their own citizens to fight. This inevitably reduced the potential duration of campaigns, as citizens would need to return to their own professions (especially in the case of, for example, farmers). Campaigns would therefore often be restricted to summer. When battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. Casualties were slight compared to later battles, rarely amounting to more than five percent of the losing side, but the slain often included the most prominent citizens and generals who led from the front.

The scale and scope of warfare in ancient Greece changed dramatically as a result of the [[Greco-Persian Wars]]. To fight the enormous armies of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] was effectively beyond the capabilities of a single city-state. The eventual triumph of the Greeks was achieved by alliances of city-states (the exact composition changing over time), allowing the pooling of resources and division of labor. Although alliances between city-states occurred before this time, nothing on this scale had been seen before. The rise of [[Athens]] and [[Sparta]] as pre-eminent powers during this conflict led directly to the [[Peloponnesian War]], which saw further development of the nature of warfare, strategy and tactics. Fought between leagues of cities dominated by Athens and Sparta, the increased manpower and financial resources increased the scale and allowed the diversification of warfare. Set-piece battles during the Peloponnesian war proved indecisive and instead there was increased reliance on attritionary strategies, naval battles and blockades and sieges. These changes greatly increased the number of casualties and the disruption of Greek society.

Athens owned one of the largest war fleets in ancient Greece. It had over 200 [[trireme]]s each powered by 170 oarsmen who were seated in 3 rows on each side of the ship. The city could afford such a large fleet—it had over 34,000 oarsmen—because it owned a lot of silver mines that were worked by slaves.

According to [[Josiah Ober]], Greek city-states faced approximately a one-in-three chance of destruction during the archaic and classical period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ober|first=Josiah|url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691146249/democracy-and-knowledge|title=Democracy and Knowledge|date=2010|isbn=978-0-691-14624-9|pages=81–2|publisher=Princeton University Press |language=en}}</ref>