Textbook page 2

• Agora - Also known as the acropolis, where citizens gathered to discuss political actions. 
• Polis - Made of the city and its surrounding countryside.
• Monarchy - A government that is ruled by a single person who holds all the power. (a king). The leader usually assumes his/ her power through heredity. Succession usually follows from a father to a son. The society usually supports an indigenous leader who will properly represent its historical goals and advance its interests. However, since the citizens do not have a say in who assumes power, this does not always happen.
• Aristocracy - Rule by a small group of noble, very rich, landowning families. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". The representation of government only includes a certain class.  The Greeks considered the aristocracy the most qualified citizens to rule the government. Although this is considered more beneficial to the common people, it is still very exclusive and excludes a large amount of the population.
• Oligarchy - Wealthy groups, dissatisfied with Aristocratic rule, who seized power (often with military help. The small group of people could be decided by many factors such as nobility, wealth, family ties, education, or military control.
• Symposiums - Meetings where the elite men would enjoy wine and poetry, performances by dancers and acrobats, and the company of hetaeras (courtesans) while they discussed.
• Draco - A nobleman who took power in 621 BC. He developed a legal code based on the idea that all Athenians, rich and poor, were equal under the law. He made death the punishment for practically every crime.
• Solon - A ruler who came to power in 594 BC and outlawed debt slavery, all Athenian citizens can speak at the assembly, and any citizens can press charges against wrongdoers.
• Isagoras - An Athenian aristocrat in the late 6th century BCE. He had remained in Athens during the tyranny of Hippias, but after Hippias was overthrown, he became involved in a struggle for power with Cleisthenes, a fellow aristocrat.
• Cleisthenes - Statesman regarded as the founder of Athenian democracy, serving as chief archon (highest magistrate) of Athens (525–524).
• Direct Democracy - A government where citizens ruled the city-state. The rule was based on citizenship. Citizens decided on laws based on majority rule. Their method of voting consisted of using white and black stones which would represent yes and no.
• Tyrant - In Ancient Greece, someone who rules outside the framework of the polis. Usually a powerful individual who seized control by appealing to the common people for support.