Governments
Ancient Greeks weren't ruled by a single government, they had city-states. City-states mean that each city was ruled by a different government. The most common types of governments were democracy, monarchy, and oligarchy. Democracy was created by Athens, which meant that only citizens would've been allowed to vote, meaning only men. The most famous Ancient Greek monarchy was in Macedonia, where the monarch would share power with an assembly. An oligarchy is when a group of people would rule the government. Oligarchies were the most common type of city-state government and usually happened when democracy failed. Back then there were over 1000 city-states in Ancient Greece, but nowadays, there are only a few in the world and none of them in Greece.
Democracy in Athens.
Laws
In the early ages of Ancient Greece, they had no official laws or punishments. During 1200-900 BC, you would be allowed to kill someone's family member, and that person could kill you too. This would create endless fights between families. Around 620 BC, the first written law was set in Ancient Greece by a lawgiver named Draco. Solon later changed Draco's laws to make them fairer, and then created many more that would fit into categories. Tort laws, family laws, public laws, and procedural laws were the four categories. Tort law is when someone damages or harms you or your property. Family laws controlled the behaviors of men and women. Public laws controlled how public services were provided for and how they would work. Procedural laws were instructions for judges on how to use other laws. In court systems, two people would argue in front of an audience, then the audience would vote for either guilty or not guilty. If they were voted guilty, another vote would be made to decide the punishment. Many of these laws and systems affected the modern world.
The lawgiver, Draco.