February 8th

Today in Western Civ. we took some notes in the beginning of class and here they are now:

• Polis - the fundamental political unit in ancient Greece. It was made up of a city and its surrounding countryside.
• Acropolis - a fortified hilltop in which it contained an agora.
• Monarchy - A king, queen, or both rule.
• Aristocracy - A government ruled by a small group of noble, landowning families.
• Oligarchy - A government ruled by a couple/few powerful people.
• Tyrants - Powerful people who decided to seize the current government and take control of it.
• Democracy - Rule by the people
• Helots - Peasants that are forced to stay on the land they worked.
• Phalanx - a formation of foot soldiers.
• Persian Wars - Between Greece and the Persian Empire, in Ionia and Anatolia's coast.