![]() Another reason city-states formed, rather than a central, all-encompassing monarchy, was that the Greek aristocracy strove to maintain their city-states’ independence and to unseat any potential tyrants. The sea was often the easiest way to move from place to place. These physical barriers caused population centers to be relatively isolated from each other. The landscape features rocky, mountainous land and many islands. Greek city-states likely developed because of the physical geography of the Mediterranean region. Rather than have a strong army, Athens maintained their navy. In Athens every male citizen had the right to vote, so they were ruled by a democracy. One of the most brilliant civilizations in world history, that of the ancient Greeks laid many of the foundations for the whole of Western civilization. It emphasized maintaining a strong military, while Athens valued education and art. For example, Sparta was ruled by two kings and a council of elders. They differed greatly from the each other in governing philosophies and interests. There grew to be over 1,000 city-states in ancient Greece, but the main poleis were Athína (Athens), Spárti (Sparta), Kórinthos (Corinth), Thíva (Thebes), Siracusa (Syracuse), Égina (Aegina), Ródos (Rhodes), Árgos, Erétria, and Elis. ![]() The majority of a polis’s population lived in the city, as it was the center of trade, commerce, culture, and political activity. The Parthenon was a temple built to honor the goddess Athena. ![]() The temples and government buildings were often built on the top of a hill, or acropolis. A surviving example of a structure central to an ancient acropolis is the famous Parthenon of Athens. Characteristics of the city in a polis were outer walls for protection, as well as a public space that included temples and government buildings. Each city-state was organized with an urban center and the surrounding countryside. ![]() A city-state, or polis, was the community structure of ancient Greece. ![]()
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