Transcript Greece

Greece
Geographic
Influence
• Mountains
– Fertile valleys
– Independent city-states
Geographic Influence
• Insufficient farmland
– Founded colonies on
Mediterranean coast
Geographic
Influence
• Location
– Peninsula in Mediterranean
– Exchange of culture/trade
• Deep harbors
– Numerous good harbors on
its irregular coastline
The
Diolkos
Athens
• Democratic, leading
city-state
• After 750 BC slow
progress:
– Monarchy--one-man, inherited
– Aristocracy--group of nobles
– Tyranny--one-man, for people
– Democracy--rule by people
Athens (cont’d)
• Move toward democracy (600s-400s BC)
– Draco—Codified law (including severe
punishments)
– Solon—Granted male commoners right to
vote in Assembly
– Cleisthenes—extended male citizenship
– Pericles—Golden Age of Athens
• Paid salaries to public officials
• Society and economy thrived
Sparta
• Aristocratic/military city-state
• On Peloponnesian peninsula
• Population
– Helots
• Large number of slaves
– Nobles
• Small number of citizens
• Feared helots
Sparta (cont’d)
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Did not develop trade/industry
Remained agricultural
Emphasized military might
Neglected:
– Art
– Literature
– Science
Uniting Bonds
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Greek language
Religion
Olympic games
Fear of Persians
Felt superior to non-Greeks, referring
to them as “barbarians”
Persian
Wars
• 500-479 BC
• Greek colonies in Asia
Minor revolted
• Darius defeated them and wanted to
annex all of Greece
• Persians defeated at Marathon
• Greeks rallied to beat Persians
• Preserved Greek independence
Peloponnesian War
• 431-404 BC
• Sparta (Peloponnesian League)
defeated Athens (Delian League)
– Sparta unable to unite Greece
Philip of Macedonia
• 359 BC-king of Macedonia
– Admired Greek culture
– Wanted to unify Greek city-states
• 338 BC-conquered/united all Greek
city-states, except Sparta
• Assassinated
• His son, Alexander (aged 20) came to
power
Alexander the Great
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336-323 BC
Taught by Aristotle
Conquered Persian Empire
Created Hellenistic culture
Suddenly died at
age 33
Greek
Contributions
• Theater
– Sophocles--Oedipus Rex
• Poetry
– Homer—Iliad & Odyssey
• Historical Writing
– Herodotus (Father of History)
• Embellished facts
– Thucydides (scientific historian)
• Accurate account
Greek Contributions
(cont’d.)
• Architecture/Sculpture
– Marble
– Simple
– Well-proportioned
• Philosophy
– Socrates (individual)—Questioned
– Plato (group)—Ideal government
– Aristotle (world)—Philosophy/science
Greek Contributions
(cont’d.)
• Science and mathematics
– Pythagoras/Euclid—Geometry
– Hippocrates—Medicine
– Aristarchus—Geocentrism
– Archimedes—Levers/pulleys
– Eratosthenes--Accurate estimate of earth’s
circumference