Ancient Greece was divided into city states known as poleis. The polis was the center of Greek culture. Greek consisted of hundreds of Poleis. Each polis was independent and ran itself. The polis was a complex hierarchical society built around citizenship. All the citizens had a share in the polis, which centered on a citadel that could be defended in time of war.
A few factors led to the formation of the polis system in Greece. Lacking large distinctions between the rich and the poor, kings and priests could not rise to power and prominence, and Greeks were forced to develop different, more democratic systems of government. The Greeks' similarity of condition and their residence among foreign peoples created the preconditions for the growth of the polis, or city-state. Greece has many mountains, hills, and rivers that divide it up. This contributed to the fragmentary nature of ancient Greece.
The Iliad is an epic poem written by Homer. The quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles starts when Achilles tells Agamemnon to return Chryseis to her father. Apollo is punishing them for capturing Chryseis and being rude to her father Chryses. Achilles tried to get Agamemnon to return Chryseis, but Agamemnon is arrogant and selfish and doesn't want to return her. He goes farther and threatens to take away Achilles mistress. Achilles denounces Agamemnon and refuses to fight.
Agamemnon is rude and greedy and should have listened to Achilles. Agamemnon let his arrogance take a hold of him when he should have just returned Chryseis to her father.
The Iliad is an epic poem that the Greeks consider a huge part of the ancestry. The most influential parts of the Iliad in the development of Greek culture are Achilles defiance of Agamemnon, the involvement of the gods, and the funeral games.
Achilles defiance of Agamemnon taught the Greeks that it was alright to defy a king and fight for your beliefs. It also showed that a king is not always right just because he is a king and that no one is perfect. This led to Greeks to move away from monarchies and tyrannies and move towards more democratic forms of government.
Threw most of the story the gods are intervening with the war and helping individuals out. This instilled a belief that the gods had had a direct involvement in the development of Greece. It would have help legitimize the gods and there role in society.
The funeral games at the end seem to be just like the Olympic Games. They have chariot races, wrestling, boxing, and shows of arms. These are exactly like the Olympic Games. The games developed to be a huge part of Greek life and affected their society.
