Title: 
Headings: Four Forms of Government in Ancient Greece
Four
 
Forms
 
of
 
Government
 
in
 
Ancient
 
Greece
 

Monarchy
 

Oligarchy

 

Tyranny
 

Democracy

 

~
 
 
The
 
Development
 
of
 
Democracy
 
in
 
Ancient
 
Greece
 


 
 
Monarchy
 
Oligarchy
 
Tyranny
 
Democracy
 
•


Content: Over
 
time,
 
a
 
person
 
who
 
ruled
 
by
 
tyranny,
 
or
 
a
 
tyrant,
 
became
 
known
 
for
 
holding
 
onto
 
power
 
by
 
cruel
 
and
 
abusive
 
means. Tyrannies
 
in
 
Greece
 
first
 
arose
 
during
 
the
 
mid
 
600s
 
B.C.E.
 
In
 
many
 
city­
states,
 
a
 
growing
 
wealthy
 
middle
 
class
 
of
 
merchants
 
and
 
manufacturers
 
became
 
angry
 
with
 
their
 
rulers. This
 
middle
 
class
 
demanded
 
political
 
and
 
social
 
privileges
 
to
 
accompany
 
their
 
new-found
 
wealth,
 
but
 
the
 
ruling
 
oligarchies
 
refused
 
to
 
grant
 
thenl
 
a
 
say
 
in
 
the
 
government. Various
 
individuals-mostly
 
former
 
military
 
leaders-responded
 
to
 
the
 
demands
 
of
 
the
 
middle
 
class
 
population
 
and
 
promised
 
to
 
make
 
the
 
changes
 
they
 
wanted. Backed
 
by
 
the
 
middle
 
class,
 
these
 
individuals
 
seized
 
power
 
from
 
the
 
ruling
 
groups. Once
 
in
 
power,
 
these
 
leaders-or
 
tyrants-often
 
reformed
 
the
 
laws,
 
aided
 
the
 
poor,
 
canceled
 
debts,
 
and
 
gave
 
citizens
 
other
 
than
 
nobles
 
a
 
say
 
in
 
the
 
government. As
 
a
 
reward,
 
citizens
 
often
 
gave
 
gifts
 
to
 
tyrants,
 
who
 
in
 
tum
 
became
 
quite
 
wealthy. Many
 
tyrants
 
ruled
 
for
 
short
 
periods
 
of
 
time. In
 
some
 
city-states,
 
tyrants
 
became
 
harsh
 
and
 
greedy,
 
and
 
were
 
simply
 
overthrown
 
by
 
the
 
people. The
 
last
 
important
 
tyrant
 
to
 
rule
 
mainland
 
Greece
 
was
 
Hippias
 
of
 
the
 
city-state
 
of
 
Athens.