The rise of the City-State By: John Helm

The major regions In small city states everybody knew each other very well. A Corinth was a polis () whose strategic location on the narrow isthmus and made its people rich by trade. People wishing to trade from the Aegean sea wanting to trade to the Ionian sea and vice versa had to be hauled up on rollers ().The Corinthians built this roadway and got paid by whoever used it to cross over the land. Sparta was a powerful city state. The inhabitants enslaved Mycenean farmers and called them helots (Enslaved people). Sparta grew and took over fields of crops and land everywhere. When Sparta () started trading goods they had a flourishing of arts and culture. They crafted many things of metal and made beautiful music

Sparta’s War . A century later one of their enslaved countries people (Messenian’s()) revolted against Sparta changing the government greatly to make sure the helot’s would never revolt again. It took 17 years to bring the helot’s under control. Sparta came into a tight military state where soldiers were as good as unquestioning servants of the king.

Sparta’s War (continued) The king made no sacrifices except his soldiers and civilians. In the sixth century B.C.E the Spartans created the Peloponnesian league where the Spartans either were helped or owned every polis in the Peloponnese. They were helped by having sufficient refuge in every polis that would add to their cause.

Surrounding Athens Surrounding Athens was the plain of Attica where farms were produced large quantities of wheat, grapes and olives while sheep and goats graze on untrimmed lands.

Surrounding Athens (continued) As the city got bigger farms could not feed every one, so the Athenians opened trade with other cities and they received many items from their local crafts and wheat and eventually Athens became a high class merchant spot.

Thebes’ location Thebes was strategically located in the center of fertile plains. This place has existed since the early Bronze Age, and there is archaeological evidence that Theban merchants once traded with the Minoans.

Thebes’ location (continued) Mycenaean graves had been found with weapons, Ivory and tablets. Thebes formed a league, under their rulers the archons, Boeotian cities in the sixth century B.C.E.

Innovations from Ionia Ionia was a region in central coastal Anatolia. It was named after the Ionians, A Greek tribe settled there around eighth century B.C.E.

Innovations from Ionia (continued) Although it was fertile with rivers and valleys, the Ionians were more tradesmen than farmers. Soon it would become and International harbor for people from Europe, Africa and Asia

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