Our Life as Greeks
Another series of Ancient Greece
Presented to you by Pink Monkeys
Grab on tight
Cuz its gonna be a rough ride
The Greeks called their city-states polis
It was just like the towns we have today
Made of cities and country sides
People gathered at an acropolis where they discussed about government
They had different types of government
Monarchy was the best they say
Aristocracy, oligarchy came next
Plus the tyrants who were ready
The Athens had a problem with choosing their government
Because it changed again and again
They didn’t have a problem with any upheavals
In the end they decided to go with democracy
How they decided on democracy was a really long story
But it all began by one man named Draco
He made everyone equal under his laws
And whoever broke the law were greatly punished
Then came the man named Solon
He got rid of slavery
Divided the social class by four
According to their wealth
After Solon came Cleisthenes
He reduced the noble’s powers
And created the Council of Five Hundred
But women, children and slaves weren’t invited
Women and men weren’t treated equally
Cuz it was the boys who got to go to school
And it was the girls who stayed at home doing chores
But some girls were able to learn and write
Just like how every story has two sides
The Athens had an arch enemy
They were the strong Spartans
They didn’t care about philosophy
They conquered Messenia
And the Messenians became helots
Peasants forced to stay on land and work
And the Spartans took half of their crops
Spartan’s government was half democracy
Everyone had the right to vote
Which was made up of 30 elders
Sparta had the best army in Greece
They didn’t like art or literature
All they cared about was war and strength
They didn’t want to be weak, never
Guys were in the army until their face became wrinkly
And they went in the army by the time
they knew how to write their names
They were trained like robots but no one cared
Unlike the girly girls in Athena
The girls played hardcore in Sparta
Just like the boys who were trained
The girls were outside even if it rained
Two very different places
They became one
During the famous Persian war
The war that is well-known
When iron replaced copper
Everyone was ready to fight
They used the phalanx technique
Holding spears and shields standing side to side
Greeks were outnumbered
But numbers didn’t matter to them
They still fought
And thanks to the phalanx they won
Because of the bad man Xerxes
The Greeks were very scared
Some joined Persia
Some left Athens to be defeated
The infinite Persians came across a narrow place
And were blocked by only a few Spartans
Poor Xerxes he underestimated them
Then he got his butt kicked by Spartans
Sadly all Spartans were dead
But they were honored for their bravery
The Athenians came up with a new idea
They decided to fight with them in sea
Stories end in a happy ending
So did this story
Persians gave up on defeating Greeks
And they never took a step in their territory
That’s how the Delian League was made
Thanks to Persia they had peace
No one in Greece was ever betrayed
They even shared feasts
Important history put in to words
Easy now, huh?
