From left to right: Greeks were the first to invent democracy, an Ancient Greek monarchy.
There were multiple states in Ancient Greece using different ruling systems at any one time. For the most part of country, Greece began by having monarchies ( a form of government in which the ruler was born into a position of power and became a king or queen), then oligarchies ( a form of government in which all power is vested into a few people in a dominant class), then tyrannies ( a government ruled by a tyrant showing excessive use of power), and then democracies ( a government in which the ruler is elected by the people.) In the late bronze age (myceanan period) between about 2000 and 1200 BC, all Greek cities and states had monarchies ruled by kings. At the start of a monarchy, a king was decided due to richness or class, and then all his children would succeed him as king. After the Dark Age, though, few Greek cities still had kings. Sparta is the most famous of these, although Sparta usually had two kings (brothers or cousins.) One king would stay home to rule the land, and the other would go off to fight wars. Most states in the Archaic period were ruled by oligarchies, which is a group of aristocrats who tell the rest of the people what to do. Tyrants took over in 500s and 600s BC. Usually, tyrants were one of the aristocrats who got power over the others by gaining support from peasants and poor people. They ruled like kings, but without any legality. In 510 BC, the city of Athens instated the first democratic government, and soon after, other Greek cities imitated them. Even foreign cities like Rome took heed of giving the people more power. But democracy in Athens wasn’t the same as the system we know today. Most citizens of Athens couldn’t vote- women, slaves, foreigners (even Greek people from other states), or children. Ancient Greek government went through many changes over time.