CLCV 1002 Lecture : CLCV 1002A - Oct. 2, 2012.rtf
9 Jun 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
City states were quite small, numbering only in the hundreds and thousands. Only two had major historical influence: athens (cultural capital) and sparta (military city) Others were of very little importance in comparison (corinth, rhodes, syracuse, etc. ) Individuals were somewhat loyal to their city-states, but frequently betrayed their cities if it suited their ambitions for power. Subsets (i. e. clans, phratries, tribes, etc. ) ruled themselves, rather than taking orders from the state. Clans controlled land; individual ownership did not exist until much later. Very large city-state; centre of culture and learning in the ancient world. Changed political system multiple times: aristocracy oligarchy tyranny democracy. Athens had a political assembly called the ecclesia, which created the legislation (leaders were chosen by lot) Until the 6th century, there was no written code of law since individuals were typically illiterate. Aristocracy originally held all power in state, with ordinary citizens depending on it to maintain the justice system.
