=268. The Government of the Cities.= At first, just as in the case of other nations, the Greeks had kings in all their cities. But unlike the other nations, the Greeks drove their kings out and made for themselves a kind of government called a republic. This was the best and wisest government for a people as intelligent as the Greeks. In a republic all the people, or a majority of them, take part in making and in carrying out the laws. This is the kind of government we have. But while a republican government is the best, it is also the hardest to run. It demands that each one of its citizens shall be educated so that he may be able to vote wisely. [Illustration: AN ATHENIAN SCHOOLBOY LEARNING TO PLAY THE LYRE _From an Athenian vase_] The Greeks had a hard time keeping their self-government. There were shrewd men among them who seized the power in the city and compelled the people to obey them. Such a man the Greeks called a "tyrant." A tyrant was either good or bad. He sometimes gave the people a better government than they had when they ruled themselves. But the Greeks were liberty-loving and liked to govern themselves even though their government was worse than a tyrant's government. So they generally drove out the tyrants and again set up a government under rulers of their own choosing. =269. The Two Rival Cities, Athens and Sparta.= The people of Athens were the most democratic in all Greece. The Spartans, on the other hand, were the most soldier-like of the Greeks. The Athenians loved new things while the Spartans liked old ways best. The Athenians made Athens the most beautiful city in the Old World. The Spartans cared nothing for beautiful things. They loved only things that were useful. All the citizens of Athens came together to make the laws. In the center of their city they met in their assembly, a semicircle of stone seats rising one above another. Here the men of Athens listened to their speakers. Each speaker placed a wreath upon his head before he began speaking. [Illustration: THE DISCUS THROWER] [Sidenote: =The public life of the Athenians=] Often there were exciting debates between great speakers called orators. They spoke eloquent words and sometimes stirred people deeply. The Athenians enjoyed these debates almost as much as they did their Greek plays. [Illustration: THE WRESTLERS] [Sidenote: =Athenian orators=] The people of Athens, because they made their laws after debating them in the assembly, placed emphasis on public speaking. All the citizens were taught how to speak in public and how to appear before the assembly. It was natural for the best orators to have the most influence. But the people were keen and quick to see the difference between orators who were interested only in winning applause and honor for themselves through their speeches and the ones who were true patriots and spoke for the good of the city.