Transcript The Ancient Greeks

6th Grade World History
The Early Greeks

Essential Question:
 How did geography play a part in the
development of Greek city-states?
The Geography of Greece
 Peninsula
 Fishers, sailors, traders
 Mild Climate
 Farming
 Mountainous
 Early Greek communities were very
independent
 A lack of unity always existed among
Greek city-states
The Minoans
 Island
of Crete
 Earned their living by building ships
and trading
 Pottery, ivory and metals
 1450
B.C.E. Civilization collapsed
 Undersea earthquakes?
 Invaded by the Mycenaeans?
Palace at Knossos
Mycenaean Kingdoms
 Ruler
lived in a fortified palace on a
hill
 Surrounded by giant stone walls
 Beyond
palace walls were farms and
estates of the nobles
 Slaves and farmers lived on and worked
the estates
Mycenaean Palaces
 Lots
of activity
 Artisans
 Bronze workers
 Government officials
 Wheat, livestock and honey collected as
taxes
 Power
from trade and war
Dark Age
1200 B.C.E. – Earthquakes and fighting
destroyed hill top forts
 Trade slowed
 Poverty
 Written language disappeared
 Many skills were lost

A Move to Colonize
 700
B.C.E. Greece moved out of the
Dark Age and population grows
 Not enough food to feed everyone
 People sent outside of Greece to form
colonies
○ Greek culture spreads
The Polis
 City-State
 town/city and surrounding countryside
 run like an independent country
 Acropolis
 Fortified area for protection
 Religious center
 Agora: meeting and market place
Citizenship
Duty to fight as
a soldier to
defend your city
state
Duty to serve in
the government
Right to defend
themselves in
court
Gather in the
agora to
choose officials
Citizenship
(Usually native
born men who
own property)
Right to own
property
Gather in the
agora to pass
laws
Right to vote
Right to hold
public office
Citizens as Soldiers
 Fought
on foot
 Heavily armed
 Round shield
 Short sword
 9 foot spear
Making Connections

1. What changes occurred in Greece
during the Dark Age?

2. Name three rights granted to Greek
citizens that Americans citizens have today.

3. Answer the Essential Question: How did
geography play a part in the development
of Greek city-states?
Sparta and Athens

Essential Question:
 What major differences existed between
Sparta and Athens?
Tyranny in the City-States

Farmers, artisans and merchants were
unhappy that they had no say in running
the polis
 They did not own property

Growing unhappiness led to rise of
tyrants
 Able to overthrow nobles with support of
common people

Most city-states eventually became
oligarchies or democracies
Sparta
 Government
firmly controlled the
people
 Trained boys and men for war
 Afraid slaves would rebel
Spartan Military
Boys left family at age 7 – treated
harshly
 Entered regular army at age 20 for 10
years
 Returned home at age 30 but
remained in military until age
60

Women in Sparta
Girls trained in running, wrestling and
javelin throwing
 Could own property and go where they
wanted
 Freer than other Greek women

Sparta’s Government
 Oligarchy
 2 kings headed a council of elders
 28 citizens over age 60 made up the
council
 All men over age of 30 belong to the
assembly
 Assembly votes for 5 ephors each year
○ Enforce laws, collect taxes
Spartan Culture
Discouraged foreign visitors
 Banned travel abroad for any reason
other than military ones
 Frowned upon citizens who studied
literature or the arts
 Fell behind other Greeks in trade

Athens
High value on well rounded education
 Boys finished school and became
citizens at 18
 Athenian girls stayed at home to learn
household duties
 Wealthy families taught girls to read,
write and play the lyre

Athenian Government

Originally an oligarchy
 Athenians rebelled against the nobles

Solon
 Man who both sides trusted
 Allowed all male citizens to participate in the
assembly and law courts
 Council of 400 men wrote the laws

Peisistratus
 Seized power in 560 B.C.E.
 Tyrant to forgave debts and money to the
poor
Democracy

Council to help carry out daily business
 Proposed laws
 Dealt with foreign countries
 Oversaw the treasury

Non citizens could not participate in
government
 Women
 Foreign born men
 Slaves
Making Connections

1. Answer the Essential Question: What
major differences existed between
Sparta and Athens?
Persia Attacks the Greeks

Essential Question:
 How were the Greek city-states able to
force the Persian Empire out of Greece?
Persian Empire
The Persian Empire
 Modern
day Iran
 Cyrus the Great captured Babylon in
539 B.C.E. and kept going
 Merciful rule and extensive
road system kept the empire
together
 Skilled
career soldiers
The Persian Wars
 King
Darius felt the Greeks were
interfering with the Persian Empire
 Battle of Marathon
 Athens defeated the Persians
 Pheidippides ran 25 miles to the center of
Athens to tell of their victory
Persia Attacks Again
King Xerxes invades Greece again but
with greater force
 Greeks joined forces

 Sparta sent soldiers under King Leonidas
 Athens sent navy
 Plan to block the Persian army off from their
supply line at Thermopolye
 A traitor led the Persian army around the
Greeks who were soon defeated


Persians burned Athens
United Greek city-states finally crushed
the Persians who retreated from Greece
Fall of the Persian Empire
 Weakened
by the Greeks
 Internal problems




High taxes
Greed of kings
Rebellions
Many sons of the King each wanted
power
 Alexander
the Great took over the
weakened empire
Making Connections

1. What led to the fall of the Persian
Empire?

2. Answer the Essential Question: How
were the Greek city-states able to force
the Persian empire out of Greece?
The Age of Pericles

Essential Question:
 In what ways did Pericles make Athens
more democratic?
The Athenian Empire
 Gradually,
the Athenians gained
control of neighboring city-states
 Athenians sent troops to help city-states
rebel against the nobles in power
Democracy in Athens
 Direct
Democracy
 Every citizen can vote firsthand on laws
and policies
 Assembly
 Passed laws
 Elected officials
 Made decisions on war
 Conducted foreign affairs
Pericles
Leading figure in Athenian politics
 Treated other city-states like subjects
 Made Athens more democratic

 Believed people’s talents were more important
than their social standing
 More Athenians than ever before were involved
in government

Culture flourished




Temples and statues
Philosophers
The Arts
Academics
Life in Athens
 Slavery
was common
 Farmers and herders
 Also imported food
 Merchants
and artisans
 Made and sold jewelry, pottery, leather
goods
Athenian Men
Worked in the morning
 Often attended meetings of the
assembly in the evening
 All male gatherings to relax and discuss
politics and philosophy

Athenian Women
Home and family
 Lower class women

 Worked in fields with husbands or sell goods
in the agora

Upper class women
 Could not leave the house without a male
escort
 Supervised household servants
 Responsible for spinning, dyeing and
weaving

No property or political rights
The Peloponnesian War

Sparta and Athens went to war for
control of Greece
 Neither city-state trusted or understood the
other

Pericles Funeral Oration
 Reminded Athenians of their duties as
citizens and the power of democracy
 Gave them the strength to keep fighting

Athens is defeated by Sparta with the
help of allies including the Persians
Effects of the Peloponnesian War
 Weakened
all major Greek city-states
 Many lives lost
 Farms destroyed
 Jobs lost
 Continued fighting among Greek citystates
 Failure to notice growing kingdom of
Macedonia to the North
Making Connections

1. What were the causes and effects of
the Peloponnesian War?

2. Answer the Essential Question: What
is democracy? In what ways did Pericles
make Athens more democratic?