Athens Ancient Greek City

Athens was the largest ancient Greek city. It was governed by a region called Attica. It was a prosperous city.

Between the mountains, were verdant, fertile valleys which had productive firms. They also had precious metals like gold and silver as resources. Athens also had the largest navy in Greece.

Athens was an advanced and a popular place. People came to study and carry out trade. It had a temple called Parthenon. This was a famous piece of architecture. This temple was built on top of a hill. It had the powerful goddess Athena who was worshipped by the people.

Political Setup

The Athenians invented the democratic system of government. They followed the same notion of democracy as is followed today, that is, the government is of the people, by the people and for the people. Though, all the citizens did not have the power to vote. Only the men could vote. The ruling council had 500 members and all male members. Women, slaves and foreigners could not vote.

The Judiciary

The jury was the head of the law courts. The jury was formed of a large number of people, as large as 500. Lawyers did not exist, so the accused person defended himself.

After heading the entire episode, the jury voted. They believed in extreme punishments and death penalty was a common form of punishment. The citizens had the right to remove a politician they did not like by voting him out. Any politician, who got a majority of 600 votes against him, was exiled from the country for 10 years.

Slavery

Slavery was practiced in Athens. Those imprisoned in wars were taken as slaves. People born in the family of slaves, naturally became slaves. Those who could not repay their debts were also treated as slaves. The slaves did the meanest and the hardest possible works. Some were skilled as nurses, pottery painters or teachers. The only road to freedom was escape. Some could buy their freedom in monetary terms.

The ancient Greek city of Athens had annual festivals of athletics, drama, and religious activities.

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.