Various Government and War

The Ancient Greeks may be most famous for their ideas and philosophies
on government and politics. It was in Greece, and particularly Athens,
that democracy was first conceived and used as a primary form of
government. Ancient Greece was made up of city-states. A city-state was a
major city and the surrounding areas. Each city-state had its own rule and
government. 

So the Ancient Greece decide to do types of government: Democracy,

Monarchy, Oligarchy

Democracy: government ruled by the people (male citizens).or assembly.

Officials and leaders were elected and all citizens had a say. Greek states did
establish a similar political system, notably, Argos,
(briefly) Syracuse, Rhodes, and Erythrai. Athens is, however, the
state we know most about. The assembly of Athens met at least once
a month, perhaps two or three times.

Monarchy:   Single ruler like a king. In Athens this ruler was called a
Tyrant. In the Greek world monarchies were rare and were often
only distinguishable from a tyranny when the hereditary ruler was
more benevolent and ruled in the genuine interest of his people. 

Oligarchy:  is a system of political power controlled by a select group

of individuals, sometimes small in number but it could also include
large groups. For the Greeks (or more particularly the
Athenians) any system which excluded power from the
whole citizen-body and was not a tyranny or monarchy
was described as an oligarchy.
Bodies of Government 
There were three main bodies of the government: the Assembly, the
Council of 500, and the Courts. 

The Assembly:  included all citizens who showed up to vote.

Everyone who was a citizen could participate as part of the
assembly. The assembly would decide on new laws and important
decisions, like whether or not to go to war. 

The Council:  oversaw much of the day-to-day running of the

government. The Council was determined by lottery. If your name
was chosen, then you would be on the council for one year. 

The Courts handled lawsuits and trials. The courts had large juries
to help make decisions. For private lawsuits the jury was at least
201 people, for public lawsuits the jury was at least 501 people.

And in order to vote, you had to be a citizen. However, not

everyone who lived in Athens was a citizen. Only men who
had completed their military training were counted as
citizens.  
 Wars
In ancient times, Greece wasn't a single country like it is today.
It was made up of lots of smaller states. These states were
always squabbling and often went to war. Sparta and Athens
fought a long war, called the Peloponnesian War, from 431 to
404BC.

Their biggest enemies were the Persians, who came from an area
around modern day Iran. The Persian kings tried to conquer Greece
a few times between 490 to 449BC, but the Greeks managed to fight
them off.

Fighting formation
The backbone of the Greek army was the 'hoplite'. He was a
foot soldier, who fought with a long spear and used a large
round shield for protection.

In battle, hoplites fought as a team. They lined up in ranks

and locked their shields together with just their spears
pointing over the top. This formation was known as a
‘phalanx’.

The Spartan soldier state

Fighting wars was what the Spartans did best. Greeks said that
in battle one Spartan was worth several other men.

The Spartans believed that strict discipline and a tough upbringing

was the secret to making the best soldiers. Boys left their families at
seven to begin their 23-year-long training to become a soldier.
The war at sea
Greek warships had oars as well as sails. The largest warships
had three banks of oars and were called ‘triremes’.

A trireme needed 170 men to row it - one man to each oar. It was
steered by long oars at the stern or back of the ship. Fixed to the
front of the trireme was a sharp metal ram.

 In battle, the triremes tried to get close to the enemy ships, and if
possible crash into them.

When the trireme struck the side of an enemy ship, the ram
smashed a hole in the wooden planks. Water flooded in and the
damaged ship either sank or had to be beached on the nearest
shore. The trireme's soldiers sometimes jumped onto a damaged
ship to capture it.