Transcript File

Key Terms: polytheism, city-state, acropolis.
Key Ideas: Greek mythology that entertains and
expresses the values of the Greeks.
Identify: Homer, Heinrich Schliemann.
Identify the characteristics and the rise/fall of
the following Early Greek civilizations: the
Minoans and the Mycenaeans.
Understand the main characters and events of
the Trojan War.
•The Greeks were
polytheistic, meaning
they worshipped
many gods.
•Stories or myths
about their gods
expressed Greek
values.
Statue of the goddess
Athena, image – Wikipedia
Commons.
• Many Greek myths
pointed to real cities,
people, and events.
“Oedipus and the Sphinx”
Jean-Auguste-Dominique
Ingres. 1808.
• They also explained
natural phenomenon ,
human nature and
how people were to
behave.
• Greek Myths
demonstrated
their cultural
values:
• Strength, courage.
Jacob Jordaens. Ulysses in the
Cave of Polyphemus. 1630s
• Hospitality
• Beauty
•Mt. Olympus was the
home of the gods.
•They had human
characteristics:
jealousy, anger, love,
courage, infidelity,
etc.
•Chief of all of
the gods on
Mount
Olympus.
•The
“thunderbolt” god.
•The jealous
wife of Zeus.
•Queen of
Heaven and
Marriage.
Patron goddess of
Athens, and wisdom.
•Goddess of
beauty and
love.
•Her son is
Cupid.
•His arrows
make people
fall in love.
•God of War
•Lover of
Venus.
•Patron god
of Sparta.
•The god of the
sea.
•He supports the
Greeks in the
Trojan War.
God of the sun, poetry and music.
His sister, Artemis/Diana is the
goddess of the moon.
•Theseus was
the great hero of
the Athenians.
•He is best
known for his
battle with the
Minotaur.
•Theseus
in the
labyrinth
with the
Minotaur.
•The 1st Greek
civilization was
settled on the
island of Crete.
Map of Greece
courtesy of Microsoft
Office.
•The 2nd was
established on the
mainland of the
Greek
Peloponnesus.
•According to
legend, the
island of Crete
was founded by
the legendary
King Minos.
•Image courtesy of
Wikipedia Commons.
•Frescoes like this one show the popular
sport of bull-dancing or leaping.
•Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons. (Fresco from the palace at Knossos).
Minoan bull and
Europa
•The Minoans were
the 1st Greek
civilization.
•They settled on the
island of Crete.
•This was a very
wealthy civilization
based on trade.
Minoan man - fresco
•The Minoans lived
in peace and
prosperity.
•Most scientists
believe that a series
of earthquakes
destroyed the
civilization.
Minoan Women frescoes
•Around 2,000 B.C. – a
group of warrior kings
called the Myceneans
took over the
Peloponnesus.
The golden mask of
Agamemnon. Image
courtesy of Wikipedia
commons.
•This was the 2nd
Greek civilization.
The Lion Gate of the
Myceneans.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Commons.
•This is the earliest
known example of
Greek monumental
sculpture.
•The Myceneans
fortified their cities with
walls that were 20’
thick. This was the
outer wall of their
kingdom.
•The Greeks built
their city-states on
top of a hill, so that
they could be
fortified against
enemy attacks.
•This was called an
acropolis, or “city
on a hill.”
•Homer - poet
•Wrote the Iliad
about the Trojan
War.
•Wrote the
Odyssey about the
journey home.
“To the fairest of all
women…”
Hera, Venus, and Athena
•Paris was asked to decide
which gift was the best.
•1st, Hera offered power.
Painting, “The
Judgment of
Paris.”
Image courtesy of
Wikipedia
commons.
•2nd, Athena offered victory
in battle, and the wisdom
to rule.
•3rd, Venus offered him the
most beautiful woman in
the world.
•Helen was the wife of the
King of Sparta, Menelaus.
•She fled to Troy with her
lover, Paris, starting the
Trojan War.
•It was said that she was
the “face that launched a
thousand ships.”
•Agamemnon
led the Greeks
on behalf of
his brother,
Menelaus, in
the Trojan
War.
•The Greeks
crossed the
Aegean Sea to
attack the walled
city of Troy.
Map of Homer’s Greece courtesy of
Wikipedia Commons.
•The Trojans were
great horsemen
and archers.
•The top warrior
for the Greeks,
was Achilles.
•All Greek heroes
like Odysseus
and Ajax took
Painting, “The Rage of Achilles,” part in the war.
image courtesy of Wikipedia
commons.
In the painting above, Hector reproaches his
brother Paris and tells him that the Greeks
are on the beaches of Troy.
•Priam was
the king of
Troy, but his
son, Hector
was the hero
and leader of
the Trojans
during the
war.
•After Hector
killed Achilles’
cousin, Achilles
killed Hector.
Alexander Ivanov. Priam Asking Achilles
to Return Hector's Body. 1824
•Achilles would
die the next day
at the hands of
Paris.
•After a 10 year
stalemate with Troy,
Odysseus came up
with a daring plan…
•Hide the Greek army
in a wooden horse,
and leave it as a gift
for the Trojans.
Map of Homer’s Greece courtesy of
Wikipedia Commons.
•The Greeks won,
and they gained
control of the
Aegean Sea trade
routes. They also
gained new
Greek city-states
in Persia.
•So, did the Trojan War
actually occur, or was it
just a great story told by
Homer?
“Homer and his guide”
image – Wikipedia
Commons.
•Archaeologist Heinrich
Schliemann believed
that a real war took
place between the
Greeks and the Trojans.
•Discovered the lost
city of Troy from his
accounts of Homer’s
Iliad.
Photo of Heinrich Schlieman
courtesy of Wikipedia
Commons.
A modern model and replica of ancient Troy.
•These are
stories about the
heroic actions of
mortals.
Jason and the Argonauts
•Greek values
are expressed in
these stories.
What we know for certain:
• 1st Greek civilization were the
Minoans who settled on Crete.
• 2nd – a war-like group of Mycenean
kings settled in Greece, and warred
with the city, Troy.