Transcript Polis - TimeTrek.org

It’s All Greek to Me!
Directions: The teacher shows the PowerPoint program, “It’s All
Greek To Me” on a large screen projection while students follow
along, filling in the blanks on the accompanying worksheet. Students
try to guess the blank words. The teacher clicks on the blanks to have
the words and accompanying sound effects appear. Students fill in the
correct words. Students use the worksheet as a review for a test on
the Greek vocabulary words.
This program was created by Marie Sontag [email protected]
It may be freely used for educational purposes by credentialed
teachers in a classroom setting. All other uses must obtain
permission.  Marie Sontag, 1999
thens and
Independent city-states such as A_____
S_____.
parta A p____
olis consisted of the city and
its surrounding countryside. Some were
large, such as Athens (1,000 square miles).
Most were much smaller (many had less than
00 square miles.)
1__
ity
The fortified, h igh
___-ground area of a c___.
The Acropolis usually overlooked the sea,
reeks could easily see if they were
so G_____
being attacked.
ree men of a p____.
olis In Athens, only
The f___
the citizens could take part in the government
rmy
and vote. They all had to serve in the a____
and volunteer for jury duty. To qualify as a
orn to Athenian
citizen, a man had to be b___
arents
p______.
utside Athens, but who had
A man born o_______
come to live in Athens, usually to trade or
etics had to pay taxes and
practice a craft. M_____
serve in the army, if required. Metics could
ot
o say in
n____
become citizens. They had n__
government, could not own houses or land, and
could not speak in a court of l___.
aw
laves
Workers owned by the people. Some s_____
were skilled craftsmen. Their owners would
sometimes set them up in a business, sharing
the profits with the slaves. Some slaves saved
uy their freedom. However,
up money to b__
itizens or
freed slaves could never become c______
metics.
est
This is a Greek word meaning “the b___
people.” The aristocrats were usually
ich landowners and were the ones who
r___
r__
an the government.
ule by
This is a Greek word meaning “r___
the f__.”
ew The aristocratic form of
government was called an oligarchy.
ouncil of rulers
The aristocrats formed a c______
who made policies for the city-states, which
were then carried out by magistrates. This
council was called the A__________.
reopagus
Archons were the m________
agistrates who
carried out the policies of the A________
reopagus
(council of aristocrats). The Archons
were also a__________.
ristocrats
This word means “r____.”
uler
By 650 B.C, trade had
increased, creating a large middle class of
ankers who wanted
merchants, craftsmen and b______
more of a say in the government, but couldn’t
because they weren’t a_________.
ristocrats Occasionally,
riots broke out between the middle class and the
aristocrats or the p___
oor and the aristocrats. Strong
yrants then arose who took over control
rulers (t______)
of the government, taking away voting rights of
the c_______.
itizens
In 621
___ B.C., a man named D____
raco was appointed
by the citizens of Athens to rewrite their l___.
aws
arsh that a crime such as
The new laws were so h____
stealing food was punishable by d____.
eath Ever
since, harsh laws have been called “draconian.”
City-states consisted of a f__
ew rich people and a
l____
___ B.C.,
arge number of poor people. Around 650
city-states also began to include a growing
m_____
iddle class. When the rich and poor fought
tasis
with each other, the Greeks called this “s____”
because things came to a standstill. Many states
were weakened by it. One reason Athens and
Sparta became so powerful is that they both
managed to a____
void much stasis.
The Greek root words for democracy are
demos¸meaning p_____,
eople and kratos, meaning
ule Some city-states overthrew their
power or r___.
t______
yrants and adopted democracy, or rule by the
508 B.C., Athens was the first city-state
people. In ___
to introduce democracy. Under this system, all
citizens had a s__
ay in the government of their citystate.
After 508
___ B.C., the council drew up new laws and
policies that were then debated in the assembly.
The people of Athens descended from ten tribes,
so 50 councilors from each t____
ribe were chosen by
ot making the entire council a body of ___
500
l__,
c_______.
itizens
Under democracy, e____
very citizen could speak and v___
ote at the
Assembly, which met about once every ten days. At least _____
6,000
citizens had to be present for a meeting to take place. If too f__
ew
people attended, special police were sent out to round up more
citizens. The Assembly debated proposals which were then
passed on to the Council. The Assembly could approve, change
or r_____
eject the items drawn up by the Council. The art of debate
and making persuasive speeches developed during this time
period, because a persuasive speaker could s___
way the votes of the
people.
Those accused of breaking a law went before a
j___
ury of over 200 c______
itizens to have their case
decided. All citizens over 30 were expected to
volunteer for jury service, and were paid for their
loss of earnings while hearing a case. There were
no judges or lawyers. Since m_____
etics couldn’t
speak in court, it became popular among metics to
peakers who were c_______
itizens to speak
hire good s_______
for them.
Credits
“It’s All Greek to Me” was created by Marie Sontag and may be
reproduced for classroom use only by credentialed teachers.  Marie
Sontag, 1999, all rights reserved. For more information, go to
www.TimeTrek.org