Transcript CHAPTER 5: ANCIENT GREECE

CHAPTER 5:
ANCIENT GREECE
1750 B.C. – 133 B.C.
Section 1: Early People of
Aegean
• Europa- daughter of the king of
Phoenicia married the king of Crete.
–Continent of Europe bares her
name.
• Crete-not much is known about this
civilization.
–Called the Minoans after Minos,
legendary king of Crete (1750-1500
B.C.).
• Success based
on trade
• Acquired ideas
and technology
from Egypt and
Mesopotamia.
• Knossos – palace
in the empire.
– Included many
religious
shrines a
sacred place like
a chapel or an
alter.
– Walls were
covered with
colorful fresco
colorful painting
on wet plaster.
• Around 1400 the Minoans vanished.
–Possible reasons:
•Volcanic eruption
•Earthquake
•Tidal wave
•Invaders-the most possible
reason
–These invaders were the
Mycenean’s
Mycenaean’s 1400 -1200 B.C.
• Indo-European people
• Conquered Greece and Crete
• They were sea traders
• Passed on Egyptian & Mesopotamian
influences to later Greeks.
• Developed numerous city-states in
Greece.
Trojan War
1250 B.C.
• May have started
due to economic
rivalries between
Mycenae and Troy
(trading city in
Asia Minor).
Legend
• Trojan Prince kidnapped Helen, wife of a
Greek King.
• Mycenaean’s sailed to Troy to rescue her.
• War started and lasted 10 years.
• Troy would be burned down by the
Mycenaean’s.
• Mycenaean’s would collapse later after
taking over Troy.
• Dorian’s would move in the area.
• Between 1100 – 800 B.C. Greek civilization
took a step back.
– People forgot skill and did little writing.
– Except for two epic poems the Iliad and
the Odyssey.
– Both written about the time of the Trojan
War, by a blind poet named Homer.
• Epics- narrative poems celebrating heroic
deeds
• These two epics
tell us about the
VALUES of the
ancient Greeks.
Section 2: Rise of Greek City-States
• Mediterranean and Aegean Seas were
central to development of Greek
civilizations.
• Greece is part of the Balkan Peninsula
– Mountains divided the peninsula into isolated
valleys.
• Small city-states arose: political units
made up of a city and the surrounding
lands.
– Greeks defended their city-states.
•The seas
provided safe
harbors for
ships.
•Greeks
expanded the
Phoenicians
alphabet, which
became the basis
of all western
alphabets.
• 750 B.C. – population
growth forced people
to move. Greek
colonies took root
from Spain to Egypt.
• Polis: Greek citystates that were the
fundamental political
units in ancient
Greece.
•Built on two levels:
Fortified hilltop was the
acropolis. Temples dedicated to
gods and goddesses were built
there.
Flatter ground walled the main
city with its marketplace, theater,
public buildings, and homes.
•Men spent time debating issues and
there were festivals for gods and
goddesses.
• From 750 B.C. there were many different
ways of ruling:
– Monarchy a government in which a
king or queen exercises central power.
– Aristocracy rule by a landholding elite.
– Oligarchy power is in the hands of a
small, powerful elite, usually from the
business class.
Warfare:
• Shift from bronze to
•
•
•
iron weapons
Hoplites an item of
armor or equipment.
Formed large
phalanx a massive
formation of heavily
armed foot soldiers.
Ordinary people were
defending the citystates.
Sparta
• Located on the Peloponnesus Peninsula
• Defeated Mycenaean’s became helots in
the Spartan army.
– Helots outnumbered the Spartans 8 to 1
• Maintained an aristocracy
• Didn’t develop trade or industry just
agriculture
• Spartans isolated themselves from other
Greeks
Emphasized military
• Spartan boys: left home at age 7, strict
military education, no shoes, hard beds.
• At age 20 they could marry, but live in the
barracks for 10 more years, and eat there 40
more years. Age 30 joined the assembly.
• Spartan girls: underwent physical training to
prepare them for motherhood. Ran,
wrestled, and played sports. Their role was
more than other city-states.
• Sickly children were abandoned to die.
• Spartans
emphasized a
totalitarian
philosophy: the
individual exists
to serve the
state.
Athens
• North of Sparta
• Under aristocracy wealthy got wealthy
while the ordinary people suffered.
• Simple professions were losing money.
– Farmers: some had to sell land; some
sold themselves and their families to
pay their debts.
Athens shifted to a democracy
*After clashes with aristocrats and common
people Athens jumped to their democracy.
• Only free males counted as citizens
• Women, slaves, and foreigners were
excluded
• Women had little to do with city life
• Girls received no education
• Boys attended school, received military
training, athletic competition
• Boys were encouraged to explore their
options
• Solon (594 BC)- given full power to run
the government.
– Fighting broke out again and Solon left
• Tyrants soon won support
• Pisistatus: became the 1st tyrant in Athens
(546 BC)
– Helped the peasants
• Cleisthenes- set up the Council of 500-
proposed laws and counseled the
assembly.
• Made the assembly a genuine legislature.
Forces of Unity
• Spoke the same language
• Common festivals
• Prayed the same gods
• Same ancient heroes
• Temples and festivals
• Non-Greeks-outsiders were called
Barbarians people that didn’t speak
Greek.
• Greeks were polytheistic.
–Gods lived on Mt. Olympus
–Zeus-king of the Gods.
–Aphrodite-goddess of love
–Ares-god of war
–Athena-goddess of wisdom, also
Athens was named after her.