Ancient Greece: City-States & Democracy
Aligned to C3.D2.His.6 — C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Greece's mountains and islands split it into independent city-states (poleis) that shared a language but governed differently. Athens developed the world's first direct democracy, where free adult male citizens voted on laws themselves, while Sparta was a strict military oligarchy built around its army.
Worked example
In Athens around 500 BCE, the reformer Cleisthenes let citizens vote directly in the Assembly — yet women, enslaved people, and foreigners were shut out, so only a fraction of residents actually held power.
Practice questions
- How did Greece's geography lead to separate city-states?
- Explain how Athenian democracy worked and who was allowed to take part.
- Compare Athens and Sparta: how did each city-state decide who held power, and what did each value most?
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
La Grecia Antigua: Ciudades-Estado y Democracia
Las montanas e islas de Grecia la dividieron en ciudades-estado (polis) independientes que compartian un idioma pero se gobernaban de forma distinta. Atenas desarrollo la primera democracia directa del mundo, en la que los ciudadanos varones adultos y libres votaban las leyes ellos mismos, mientras que Esparta era una estricta oligarquia militar centrada en su ejercito.
Ejemplo: En Atenas, hacia el ano 500 a.C., el reformador Clistenes permitio que los ciudadanos votaran directamente en la Asamblea; sin embargo, las mujeres, las personas esclavizadas y los extranjeros quedaban excluidos, asi que solo una parte de los habitantes tenia realmente poder.
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