Title: The City-State and Democracy - 6th Grade Social Studies
Headings: The City-State and Democracy
The City-State and Democracy
The Rise of City-States
Forms of Government
Athens Builds a Limited Democracy

Content: Such leaders were called tyrants. In Greece, a tyrant was someone who took power in an illegal way. Today the term tyrant means a cruel leader. To the Greeks, a tyrant was simply someone who acted like a king without being of royal birth. Some Greek tyrants worked to help the poor. Some created building programs to provide jobs. Others enacted laws canceling the debts that poor people owed to the wealthy. Tyrants played an important role in the development of rule by the people. They helped overthrow the oligarchy. They also showed that if common people united behind a leader, they could gain the power to make changes.