Why were city states important in ancient times?
If you cannot answer this basic question then you may need to examine your research habits. It is the very core of your paper's thesis. The City State is the precursor to the nation idea. A large population (larger than a village or tribe, together with only their political identity in common. A radical change from the clan idea that served mankind for 10,000 years.
What were hoplites and why were they important?
A hoplite was a citizen soldier from a city-state in ancient Greece. Very few city-states in that era had full-time, professional armies. When a city-state needed soldiers, they relied on hoplites to meet the enemy. A hoplite could be farmer, teacher, smith or any number of other trades. It may help to think of them in a similar manner to the National Guard units in the USA, they are soldiers when necessary, but had other lives and professions most of the time.
How did Ancient Greece develope into city-states?
Ancient Greece wasn't one large empire but a collection of smaller city-states. The term the Greeks used was polis, which meant (more or less) "city-state." A polis was bigger than a city but smaller than a state. They were scattered throughout the Mediterranean area. Some were sea-ports; others were more inland. Some of the more famous city-states were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Delphi, and Thebes. The reason why Ancient Greece had developed city states was due to the fact that the people of each city-state did different things and had different beliefs. Sparta, for instance, was a place of great determination. The Spartans believed in a strong army. All Spartan boys were trained to be soldiers. When the Persians invaded Greece, the other city-states looked especially to Sparta and its army to keep them safe. Athens, another large city-state, was the birthplace of democracy, or the idea that each person could have a voice in what laws were passed and who made up the government. This, of course, meant each citizen could take part in government. A citizen was a person who was born in Athens and who owned land there. This was nowhere near the majority.