How did the government of ancient Greece evolve over time?

In the archaic period, also called the Mycenaean period, Greece was a series of small kingdoms, or cheifdoms, where heavily fortified citadels dominated small provinces of land. Each citadel had a king, or chief. read more

While Ancient Greece never really had a united government (for most of its history; the one time it was united, it the cities were given a large amount of autonomy), the structure within the area certainly evolved over time. Supposedly, ancient Athens was ruled under a line of kings originally. read more

In the pre-Classical period, ancient Greece was composed of small geographic units ruled by a local king. Over time, groups of the leading aristocrats replaced the kings. Greek aristocrats were powerful, hereditary noblemen and wealthy landowners whose interests were at odds with the majority of the populace. read more

The forms of government changed over time dramatically. The three governments were monarchy, aristocracy, and oligarchy. The idea of a monarchy started to shrink in the 750 BC. This happened because the people that were able to help the citizens, were the people that could actually afford to buy things. These people were part of the noble landowners. read more