Transcript The Greek Polis

Ancient Greece
Brief History
Climate and Culture
Brief History of Greece
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The first great civilization in Greece and
Crete was the *Minoan.
 It lasted roughly from 2000 BCE until 1400
BCE.
 Around 1400 BCE, the *Mycenaean
civilization replaced the Minoan, and
dominated Greece until about 1100 BCE,
when barbarians known as *Dorians
invaded.
Brief History of Greece
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Mycenaeans became the 1st culture to arise
in Greece.
– Mycenaeans were ruled by powerful warrior-
kings.
– Mycenaeans adopted much of its traditions
from the Minoan culture.
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Including writing and religious beliefs.
– According to legend the Mycenaeans fought a
long war with the people of Troy (Trojan War)
Brief History of Greece
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The culture of the Mycenaeans fell about
1200-1150 B.C.
– Sea raiders destroyed the Mycenaean palaces.
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As a result Greece went into a decline.
– So deep that no written records exist from this
period.
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New group of people known as Dorians
moved into this war-torn countryside.
Geography of Greece
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Lives of Ancient Greeks were shaped by the
geography of their land.
– Greece is a rocky land with high mountains and
deep valleys.
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Difficult to move over this land.
Greeks living in different areas could not be easily
united.
Geography of Greece
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Good farmland only covered about ¼ of
Greece and could not support many people.
– As a result the easy access to the sea became
very important.
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Greeks became excellent sailors
Trade became very important
Climate
– Very mild climate
 Much time and business was held outside.
Greek Culture
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Lacking the written documentation of the
Dorian time period many stories got passed
down my word of mouth.
– Events such as the Trojan War were passed
down through spoken word.
– The Greatest storyteller according to Greek
tradition was named Homer.
Homer
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Little was known about Homers personal
life but it is known that he was a Blind Man.
 Homer composed Epics-Narrative poems
celebrating heroic deeds.
– The Trojan War is the basis for Homer’s tow
great epic poems, The Iliad and the Odyssey.
Greek Myths
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Greeks developed a rich set of mythstraditional stories, about their gods.
– These myths helped to understand the mysteries
of nature and the power of human passions.
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Example: Myths explained the changing of seasons
Greeks attributed human qualities, such as
love, hate, and jealously.
– Gods fight with each other constantly.
Emergence of the Polis,
or Greek City-State
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Starting around 800 BCE a new civilization,
the Hellenic, became dominant in Greece.
 The Hellenic civilization was composed of
two strands, the Dorian and the Ionian.
 This civilization gave rise to a new form of
social/political organization: the polis.
The Polis
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The polis was an independent, selfgoverning city of between 50,000 and
300,000 people.
 Several dozen polises (Greek “poleis”)
dotted the Greek countryside
 In each polis, politics, religion, and social
life were closely intertwined.
Types of Government
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Two types of government were used in the Greek
Polises.
The Dorians generally had an oligarchic form of
government.
The Greek word oligarchy means rule by the few.
The Ionians developed the first democratic form
of government.
Democracy means rule by the people.
Sparta and Athens
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Generally speaking, the Dorians depended upon
agriculture, while the Ionians were seafarers and
merchants.
 The two primary polises were Sparta and Athens.
 Sparta was Dorian, oligarchic, and had an
agriculture-based economy.
 Athens was Ionian, democratic, and depended on
seafaring and trade.
Sparta Vs. Athens Activity
• Using your class notes and p. 115-119
(orange book) or 127-133 (Blue Book)
Answer the following question:
• How was living in Athens different from
Living in Sparta?
*Think about-Roles of citizens,
type/form of government, and
societal values.
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Then make a poster representing either Sparta or
Athens.
Greece at War
Challenge of Persia
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As the Greeks spread throughout the
Mediterranean, they battled with the
Persian Empire to the East.
 After Darius, leader of Persia died, Xerxes
became the new Persian King.
 Xerxes vowed and planned to invade
Greece.
Persian Wars
Ready for War
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Greek states formed a defensive league under the
Spartans.
 Xerxes led a massive invasion force into Greece.
– Included 180,000 troops and thousands of warships.
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In spite of their differences, Athenians, Spartans,
and other Greeks joined to fight against the
Persian Invaders.
300
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The Greeks tried to delay the Persians at the Battle
of Thermopylae.
– 300 Spartans were extremely brave in holding off the
Persian army.
– When told that Persian arrows would darken the sky in
battle, one Spartan responded, “That is good news. We
will fight in the Shade!”
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Unfortunately, a traitor told the Persians how to
use a mountain path to surround the Greek force.
Persian Defeat
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A few months later, in 479 B.C., the
Greeks defeated the Persian army at
Plataea.
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Greece fought two Persian wars.
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Greece won both wars and ensured that
the roots of western civilization would
include Greek thought.
The Great War
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After the Persian Wars, Greece was
divided into two power blocs.
 One, the Peloponnesian League, was led
by Sparta.
 The other was the Delian League, led by
Athens.
 These power blocs fought a great war, from
431-404 BCE.
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR,
431-404 BC
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During the war, the soldiers of the Peloponnesian
League (Sparta) besieged the cities of the Delian
League (Athens) by land.
 The Delian League used its navies to supply itself
with food, and to harass the home cities of its
enemies.
 The Spartans and their allies finally defeated
Athens and its allies.
Effects of Peloponnesian War
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Peloponnesian War weakened the major
Greek States and all would struggle to
dominate Greek Affairs.
 Still Greek States would continue to have
their petty wars, ignoring the growing
power of Macedonia, a Greek State to their
North.
Greek Culture
Greek Philosophy
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After its defeat, Athens became home to
several philosophers who tried to
understand human life.
 The work of many of these Greek
philosophers are still influential today.
Socrates and The Rise of
Political Philosophy
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One of the greatest contributions of
Hellenic Civilization was its origination of
political philosophy.
 Just before and during the Great War, an
Athenian citizen, Socrates, began raising
questions such as, “What is justice?”
 Socrates asked these questions of his fellow
citizens, in public places.
Socrates (c. 469- 399 B.C.E.)
The Socratic Method
Socrates’ mode of inquiry, asking questions
and analyzing the answers, became known
as the Socratic Method.
 Socrates was perceived by many Athenians
as a threat to their settled way of life.
 He was finally put to death by Athens for
impiety and corrupting the young.
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Death of Socrates
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
Plato (c. 429- c. 349 B.C.E)
Plato
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Socrates’ most famous student was Plato, who
wrote the first great works of political philosophy.
Plato’s most famous work is The Republic,
Plato’s books are written as dialogues, or
conversations.
These conversations are usually between a
character named Socrates, and other Athenian
citizens.
In the Republic, Socrates is portrayed as talking to
two young men, Adeimantus and Glaucon.
Plato and Aristotle
from School of Athens by Raphael
Aristotle
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Plato started a school, called The Academy.
His most famous student was Aristotle.
Aristotle wrote many works of philosophy, and
made the first systematic effort to collect and
organize information on a wide variety of topics.
Aristotle might be considered the first scientist.
His works are written as treatises, which are more
systematic, but much drier than dialogues.
One of these is the Politics, the first systematic
treatise on politics.
Other contributions of Greece
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Greece gave rise to the Olympics games
– Allowed soldiers and athletes a way to compete
and gain glory and honor through competition.
Theater
Based upon Heroic stories and sagas theater
began to become popular. (Comedies and
Tragedies)
-Stories such as The Trojan War were
immortalized. Once believed to be mythical, no
researchers have found proof that this existed.
-Homer wrote: The Odyssey and the Iliad.
Sciences
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Along with theater and philosophy, other
things were gaining importance in studies.
Astronomy, Astrology, Medicine, left lasting
effects of this great Greek societies.
Representative Democracy
Most importantly was the idea started by the
Athenians known as a Democracy or a
representative government.