HIST 150 Lecture 2: THE POLIS & ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY
17 Jan 2017
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History 150- lesson 2 - january 13, 2017. Herodotus- greek historian, polis= city state, where we got the word politics. Ionia- western part of present day turkey, greek speaking. 1000 or more independent city states covering the mediterranean. Athens was the largest greek city state, covered about 1000 square miles, population of. Was unusual because it had a democratic political system, which was not like most other city states. Athenian democracy lasted almost 2 centuries (started out as a monarchy, then oligarchy, then democracy) Evolved over the years, did not happen immediately. Most people did not actually live in the city, most lived outside in the countryside on farms. A lot of far(cid:373)ers struggled, a(cid:374)d li(cid:448)ed (cid:448)ery close to the edge o(cid:374) s(cid:373)all far(cid:373)s. (cid:373)ost la(cid:374)d (cid:449)as(cid:374) t good. Rich families would own vineyards and made wine. Center of city is called acropolis - marketplace. Walls surround the city, it is very packed and crowded.
