Ancient Greek Government

Greek and Roman Government

by Mr. Boswell & Mr. Jackson

Greek City-States

• There were over 1,000 city-states in ancient Greece.

• Most of them were very small towns.

• The most important were Athens and Sparta. These two cities were very different in many ways.

Multiple Choice

What two city-states were the most important in ancient Greece?

• Corinth and Byzantium

• Sparta and Athens

• Corinth and Sparta

• Argos and Mycenae

Ancient Athens

• Athens' government was a direct democracy.

• That means that citizens could vote on laws and choose their generals and other officials.

• Only men older than 18 whose parents were Athenians could vote however.

Multiple Choice

Which person could vote in the Assembly in Athens?

• A 15 year old boy born in Athens.

• A 30 year old woman born in Sparta

• A 30 year old man whose parents were born in Athens

• A 50 year old man whose parents were born in Rome.

Democracy...it starts in Greece!

• Athens was the very first place where people were given a say in how their government was run.

• Today, Americans can vote in elections and choose their leaders.

• We can thank ancient Athens for starting this idea!

Multiple Choice

What idea about government did the United States get from ancient Athens?

• One president leads

• People have a say in laws and voting

• Each city has a mayor

• No kings

Ancient Sparta

• Sparta was very different from Athens.

• Spartans had two kings as well as several councils of leaders.

• Citizens did not have much of a say, but women were treated more equally.

• They also glorified war and most Spartan boys became soldiers.

Multiple Choice

Most boys in Sparta became?

• Teachers

• Soldiers

• Priests

• Used Car Salesmen

Roman Government

• Ancient Rome shared many ideas with ancient Greece about its leaders.

• Early in its history, they had kings like Sparta.

• Later, they adopt democracy like Athens.

Roman Government

• The Romans had a representative democracy, which means that people voted for leaders who would make the laws.

• In Rome, they had two presidents (called consuls)

• They also had a group of men called the Senate. (America has one too!)

Multiple Choice

In ancient Rome, what did they call their presidents?

• Presidents

• Tribunes

• Questors

• Consuls

Roman Republic

• The Romans had a republic, which meant they had leaders who were chosen by the people.

• They divided power between different jobs so nobody got too powerful and became a king.

• Elected leaders could only serve for a year and couldn't run more than two times in a row!

Multiple Choice

Most officials in ancient Rome could only be elected for how many years?

• one year

• two years

• four years

• their whole life

Multiple Choice

Why did the ancient Romans divide the power between different officials and limit how long they were in charge?

• Most people didn't live very long back then.

• They wanted lots of people to be in government.

• They didn't want anyone to get too much power and become like a king.

The Roman Empire

• The Roman Republic did not last.

• In 27 BC, Augustus Caesar took over as the first Roman Emperor.

• Now the emperor ruled like a king and