. The story of the ancient nations : a text-book for high schools. was through the Greek city-states thatdemocracy was first brought into the world. In them it wasimpossible for the kings to be very powerful or to oppresstheir subjects because the people were too close to theirmonarchs. In most of the states they began to curtail theroyal powers, and in some the kings were driven out en-tirely, the power going into the hands of the citizens of the 101 102 THE HISTORY OF GREECE state. As a result, the historian finds in Greece severalforms of government existing at the same time in stateswhich
. The story of the ancient nations : a text-book for high schools. was through the Greek city-states thatdemocracy was first brought into the world. In them it wasimpossible for the kings to be very powerful or to oppresstheir subjects because the people were too close to theirmonarchs. In most of the states they began to curtail theroyal powers, and in some the kings were driven out en-tirely, the power going into the hands of the citizens of the 101 102 THE HISTORY OF GREECE state. As a result, the historian finds in Greece severalforms of government existing at the same time in stateswhich were close neighbors. Two of these city-states weshall study more particularly, because of their importance,and because of the marked contrast in their first is Athens, in central Greece, the second is Sparta,in the Peloponnesus. 125. Conditions Which Helped the Feeling of Unity.—The feeling of unity among the Hellenes was made strongerby the colonization movement, and still further developedby the spread of the Homeric poems. These became the. Great Temple and Altar of Zeus at Restoration from Curtius und Adler, Olympia. national possession of all the Greek world. The epic storiesof the gods and goddesses were known everywhere, and bythis means the became a national one. As thereligion became unified, certain temples and shrines conse-crated to local gods assumed a place as Panhellenic (that is,including all Greeks) meeting-places. They were, therefore,an expression of the unifying national tendency of Greekhistory. 126. The Sacred Games Develop the National Feeling.—Another element which was powerful in forming the nationalHellenic spirit lay in the religious games celebrated in honor DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS IN ATTICA 103 of the Greek gods. Of these the most famous were those heldevery four years at Olympia in Elis, on the banks of the Alphseusriver. To the Olympic Games came the best athletes from allthe cities of the Greek world. The
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