Chapter 10 Section 1 The Polis Objectives: Students will be able to explain why the Polis was the geographic and political center of Greek life.

Terms Polis Acropolis Agora Aristocrats Oligarchy Constitution Mercenaries

I. Section 1 The Polis Geography of Greece consist of mountains and sea, that separated communities, but they spoke the same language. These communities became city-states and a regular feature of Greece. The city-state is called a Polis. At first they were made up of farming villages, fields, orchards, grouped around a hill called an acropolis. They soon fortified them for protection. On top of the hill was a temple and at the foot was an agora open area for a market-place. The farms around it became the city-state.

4. Each City-State had its own government and laws 4. Each City-State had its own government and laws. They held about 5000-10,000 citizens. 5. The non-citizens included workers born outside of Greece, women, children, and enslaved people. 6. Citizens owned property, could vote, hold office, speak for themselves in court, and in return they were expected to defend he Polis and take part in government.

7. For citizens civic and personal honor were one and the same 7. For citizens civic and personal honor were one and the same. It gave them a sense of belonging and they put the good of the Polis above everything else. 8.Two of the greatest Greek City-States were Sparta and Athens. Sparta had the strongest army and Athens had the strongest Navy. However, they both had different governments and way of life.

Assignment Complete the Questions page 164 Section 1 Assessment.