Ancient Greece Government and Democracy

Greece believed to be one of the oldest civilizations of the world has seen several rise and fall during the period of Classical Greece dating from 8th century B.C to 146 Century B.C.

The Government of ancient Greece was run by the Aristocrats during early 8th Century B.C. Aristocracy in Greek term was known as rule by the best.
This period commenced with the fall of Mycenaean and the end of Dark Ages. During this time the Greek alphabet was created from Phoenician alphabets.

Rise of Tyrants and Spartans:

In the 7th Century B.C there came a major change in the ancient Greece Government with the emergence of the Middle class. They were the group of people who replaced the aristocrats in several Greek states - cities. They were not the tyrants in modern sense but they were usurpers of supreme power, thus known as the same. However in other states the middle Classes were wilfully included in the running of the Government by the aristocrats.

These states were known as Oligarchies which meant Rule by Few. Most successful and prominent among these Oligarchies was the Sparta.

End of Tyranny:

All the tyrants were not very successful in sustaining peace in their own states due to constant conflict and snatching of power. However some were dedicated towards the development of their people. Some of the tyrants like Cypselus of Corinth, Cleisthenes of Sicyon, Pheidon of Argos, Polycrates of Samos, Pasistrautus and Hippias of Athens are well known in the history of Greek for their noble work.

But the Tyrants had constant threat from the Aristocracy and Spartans. The last Tyrant Hippias was defeated by the Spartan in 510 B.C. Thus the Spartan became a strong power in the Government of Ancient Greece in 5th Century B.C.

Rule by the People:

Until 6th century B.C Greek had only seen aristocracy and Oligarchies. In the second half of 6th Century the people of Athens formed the first Democratic Government of the World. The ancient Greece Government experienced a radical change as the Aristocrats were overthrown and the government was formed by the people.

The Citizens Assembly was formed to discuss the city policies in Athens. Everyone but the metics (i.e. Foreigners) and slaves had equal political rights. After Athens the other states of the Government of ancient Greece also saw the rise of Democracy in late 6th century B.C.

Ancient Greek Life History / Ancient Greece Facts for Kids

We owe a lot to Ancient Greek Civilization. History of ancient Greece is a fascinating. On this site, we have given information on various ancient Greek life aspects - Arts, Boys and Girls, Architecture, Dancing, Gods, Myths, Medicine, Inventions, Houses, Government, Religions, Wars, Politics, Weapons and ancient Greece Cities.