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How Can Anceint Greece Be Best Defined
Government ~ Military ~ Education ~ Social Classes

01

Government

 

The government of Kymphados was a direct democracy. In the government there  is a jury which dictated affairs. There was also a council and all citizens could take apart. There are ten tribes on the island and each tribe had representatives . The representatives for each tribe were chosen by lottery.  The council of elders were some of the eldest people from each tribe. Their responsibilities were to mediate everything in the tribe and keep everything at peace. Only males were allowed to take part in government and they had to be 20 years or older and be a citizen.

 

 

 

03

02

Education

 

In Kymphados the education was under direct supervision of the community. Boys started school at age 7 and stayed until 18. At 18, they start military and naval training which lasted until they were 22. Girls were educated from age 7 to 16 with no further education, but learned basic household needs from their mothers after school. After military training, men can decide whether or not they want to be apart of the military or navy, government, or have another job such as optional apprenticeship or trade jobs (ie. merchants/ship builders). In Kymphados, the people believe strongly in the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

Military

 

In the military there is one major general who controls everything and two other commanders. They have a very strong navy since they live on the island and there is a commander in charge of the naval forces.  

 

 

04

Social Classes

 

In Greek society, social classes were divided based on their wealth. The ancient Kymphodonian society was grouped into four classes: upper: the wealthy aristocrats, middle: the common citizen, lower: women and children, and slaves. The population of Kymphodos and the surrounding area was quite large; ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 people. The upper class were the symbolized as the topmost wealthiest citizens. These people were the most influential and had most of the power in government. Being in the upper class represent good skills, being civilized and socialized. Also, the middle class people were not born in Athens, and could not receive citizenship. The men were free men, and could freely live, same as the upper class. When working they worked as, merchants, crafters, contractors, and manufacturers. Due to the middle class’ income they were prohibited with no citizenship. And, the lower class possessed the least amount of privileges compared to higher classes. They had no possible way of being granted with citizenship. Lastly, slaves had no authority over their own life due to the fact that they were being controlled. Very little number of Greeks were not slaves. In order to receive freedom, they had to pay their ransom money to get freed, and be freed. But, if slaves had children they would be able to receive citizenship, if they were born in a city-state.

 

 

     In comparison, Kymphados is like Athens because they have many common interests in their government. For example, both governments had an extraordinary amount of middle class villagers, consisting of mostly male citizens. Further, only some citizens were able to participate in their government, if they were qualified citizens. Whereby, only some were able to make decisions by which way they lived, and the opportunity to have freedom of speech. Also, both governments contained military camp for young men starting at the age of 18 years old. This made their government stronger and extremely powerful, as it was full of men. Each government was complex enough to sustain decision-making process by the upper class. But, a difference between the governments, are woman in Athens were able to receive some education from housework and cleaning, as Kymphados didn’t. In conclusion, both governments provided with an enduring government to learn from.

Comparison

     The city-state of Kymphodos was more like Athens than Sparta also due to the economy and education. In both Athens and Kymphodos, the economy was mostly based on trade. Athens had little land for farming, but was close to the sea, which made them rely on trade for food and other goods. While Kymphodos’s surrounding region was extremely fertile and allowed it to be self-sustained, it was still an island, and depended on trade to supply some of the more exotic goods.

Alliances and Rivals

     Kymphados is allied with the city states Epournaios and Pezhetairos, with Antigonos as a rival and Coro as a nuetral. Kymphados is allied with Epournaios becuase they provide an excellent harbour for mainland trading. Also, Epournaios is the closest city-state to Kymphados and provides a sufficent and quick arriving ally in times of need. Pezhetairos is the second ally becuase although they have the lesser ability to trade, they  have many natural resources Kymphados lacks. Antigonos is a rival becuase the two city-states' have different views on government, as well as both economies are based on trade. Lastly, Coro is nuetral becuase of their location and distance from the island of Kymphados. 

City-States

Geography

 

 Kymphados sits on an island 500 meteres long and 200 metres wide in a north-eastern facing harbour off the isand of Crete. Kymphados is an isle fortress with a port for trade. Connected to the mainland with a dam, the city-state exports cypress trees, wine, currant fruit, olive oil, wool and cloth, herbs, and purple dye. As well as having sheep and goats as its livestock. The island of Crete is mountainous with its largest peak, Mount Ida, at 2,456 m.

 

Most Kymphonians relied on the sea for a living and were either traders or fishermen. Since it was an island, Kymphodos did not have a large standing army, and instead focused on naval power. Although their navy was superior to any other city-state’s, Kymphodos tried to stay out of any conflict to preserve trade.

 

Most of Greece did not like foreigners, but because Kymphodos was so culturally diverse due to trade, citizens generally were indifferent to outsiders. Trading with Phoenicia, Egypt, and Mesopotamia greatly affected the culture of Kymphodos and as long as the foreigners did not intervene in any of their personal affairs, citizens were not interested in them.

Foreign & Domestic Affairs
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