Transcript C hapter 9 Ancient Greek Civilizations

Chapter 9: Ancient Greek
Civilization
Section 1: War in Ancient Greece
This picture depicts the formation of the phalanx. Image taken from: edsitement.neh.gov
The Persian Wars: Darius Invades Greece
 The Persians didn’t need to wait long to invade the
Greek city-states in their quest for world domination.
The Athenians burned down the city of Sardis to help
the Ionian people in their fight against the Persians.
This was the perfect excuse for the Persians to invade
Greece!
 The plain of Marathon was the perfect place to act as
the battlefield for the Persians, because it would be
advantageous for Persia’s cavalry, or soldiers on
horseback.
Battle of Marathon and the Origin of the
words Marathon
 At the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians attacked the
day after the Persians arrived.
 The Athenians did not give the Persians enough time to
form a strategy and thus their attack was one of a
surprise. In panic, the Persians fled to their ships.
 The word marathon was originated from the Battle of
Marathon. Legend says that a man ran 26 miles to carry
news victory of the Battle at Marathon. The man died
right after letting the Athenian people know of their
victory. Since then the word marathon has been used to
describe a challenging footrace.
Xerxes
 Xerxes was the son of Darius.
 He wanted revenge in the name of his father,
who had initially tried to take over Greece, but
failed.
 Xerxes was successful at the Battle at
Thermopylae, but only because a Greek traitor
advised the Persians the location of the Greek
army.
Battle at Salamis
 The Battle of Salamis, the Persians thought that
they would win, because they outnumbered the
Athenians in everyway an army could
outnumber another, with the exception of
strategy.
 The Athenians waited until the Persians filled
the strait and attacked them. The Persians had
nowhere to go and was defeated.
Delian League
 The Delian League consisted of Athens and
other city-states that formed an alliance in
which they promised to protect each other from
Persian invasion and provide money or ships for
defense.
 The Delian League was initially located on the
island of Delos, but was eventually moved to
Athens.
Athens and the Delian League
 The Athenians were obviously the most powerful members
of the Delian League, even though each member should have
equal standing.
 Athens behaved arrogantly towards the other members by
taking money to build an army even in times of no war. They
also requested only money be given to help the cause instead
of ships, which was one way of contributing. The last straw of
arrogance came when Athens moved the headquarters of the
Delian League’s treasury to Athens. The Athenians started
using the League’s money to rebuild Athens instead of
focusing on their initial goal. These events led to several
members to have resentment towards the Athenians.
Peloponnesian League
 The purpose of the Peloponnesian League was
to show unity against the Delian League.
 The Peloponnesian League feared the power
that Athens was gaining and their style of
government. In 433 B.C. the Peloponnesian
League and the Delian League came into
conflict, because Athens placed a ban on trade
with Megara, this act opened up a can of worms
and war was soon to come.
The Peloponnesian War
 The war between Athens and Sparta was essentially coming
and there was no stopping it.
 The war started when Sparta marched onto Athens…
 The Athenian leader, Pericles instructed the farmers living in
the surrounding area to move into the city’s walled area for
safety. The Athenians also prepared for the Spartan camping
outside their walls, by building two long walls to line the fourmile road that connected Athens to its port city. They were
able to get food through their ships, by this strategy.
Peloponnesian War Continued…
 After a year of living in hiding in the city, a contagious disease
broke out killing thousands of Athenians. This disease probably
became even more contagious, because the city became over
crowded. The disease even took the life of Pericles, Athens’ great
leader. The Spartans eventually decided that they needed to leave
the city’s region or risk getting the plague.
 The Persians saw that the Athenians were weakened by continuous
war and so they gave money to the Spartans to build their navy to
destroy Athens. The Athenian navy did all they could to defend
their city-state, but they eventually had to surrender, because the
Spartan army was blocking ships from brining in food, which led to
the Athenian people starving. The Spartans made the Athenians
gave up their democratic government and the long wall built during
the first Peloponnesian war.
Section 2: Alexander’s Empire
Alexander with his horse. Image taken from: wso.williams.edu.
The Rise of Macedonia and Philip II
 Philip’s brother was king of Macedonia, when he died
his infant son could not take the throne. Due to this, the
nobles of Macedonia elected Philip as their king.
 In order to enhance the ability of his army, Philip
organized his infantry into phalanxes. He then armed
each man with a pike, which is a 18-foot long spear.
Finally, Philip trained his men to change direction
without loosing formation. This allowed Philip’s army to
achieve greatness beyond belief.
Philip II Continued....
 Philip had initially tried conquering Greece
through peaceful means, but failed.
 He then went to war and won. Philip was not a
cruel ruler and let the Greek city-states keep
their forms of government, but they were
expected to fight with him against the Persians.
Alexander’s Conquest
 Achilles inspired Alexander to become a great leader and a
good person.
 Alexander quickly squashed rebellions by the Greek city-
states and to discourage future rebellions, Alexander burned
the city of Thebes to the ground.
 The Egyptians welcomed Alexander into their country, as
they hated the Persians and was grateful to Alexander for
liberating them from the Persians. They named Alexander
pharaoh of Egypt. Alexander then built the great city of
Alexandria.
Alexander Continued….
 Alexander was called “Alexander the Great” because he built
a vast empire in just 11 years.
 Alexander’s horse died in battle and that event led to the
demise of Alexander and his empire. Alexander wanted his
troops to continue on their quest for world dominance, but
his troops were tired and mutinied against Alexander. He
finally gave in to their wishes. When he reached Babylon, he
died of malaria.
Hellenistic Culture
 The Hellenistic culture was created due to
Alexander the Great conquest of lands
and his implementation of Greek culture
and customs upon each conquest.
All philosophers of the Hellenistic culture
are pictured here. Image taken from:
abyss.uoregon.edu.
Section 3: Ancient Greek Beliefs and Arts
Picture depicting Greek religious beliefs. Image taken from: historyforkids.org.
Greek Mythology
 The Greeks believed in polytheism, which is the
belief in many Gods and Goddesses, or a deity.
 The Greeks expressed their religious beliefs
through myths or stories that people tell about
their Gods or heroes. The myths the Greeks told
expressed why there is so much suffering in the
world, the changing of seasons, human
behavior, and finally how heroes behave.
Greek Gods and Goddesses
 The Greek Gods and Goddesses each had a
specific role. There were 12 Gods and Goddesses
that the Greeks believed were the most
important. They lived on Mount Olympus and
were known to behave as a human, but were
immortal.
 The Greeks favored Athena, because they
believed that she gave them the olive tree and
protected them at war.
Honoring Greek Gods and Goddesses
 The Greeks honored their Gods and Goddesses by having
public and private religious rituals.
 On holy days, Greeks made sacrifices in front of their Gods
temples.
 They participated in athletic contest in which they displayed
their skill and strength to honor the Gods.
 Finally, they honored their Gods and Goddesses at sacred
sites such as Mount Olympus and Delphi.
Olympic Games and Sacred Sites
 The purpose of the Olympic games was to honor Zeus.
Athletes from all over the city-states came together for the
Olympic games in hopes of winning. City-states had a truce
during the time of the Olympic games, so the games can be
held in peace. Finally, those who won in the Olympic games
often became overnight celebrities throughout the citystates.
 The temple of Apollo held the Delphic oracle. This oracle
could predict the future of those who came to her. Often,
people left the oracle confused, because she would answer
their questions with a puzzling statement.
Ancient Greek Art
 Greek artist portrayed their work in a realistic point of view.
They created an impression of depth and perspective in their
work.
 Greek sculptures were influenced by Egyptian sculptures, but
their sculptures were more realistic in nature. Greek
sculptures also portrayed created images of humans and
deities that inhibit an ideal world of calm and peace.
 The proportions of the human body and the drive for
perfection inspired Greek sculpture and architecture.
Greek Art Pics
Greek Vase. Image taken from:
fc.nbsc.org.
Sculpture depicting the God Apollo.
Image taken from: tccl.rit.albany.edu.
Literature
 Greek tragedies portrayed the downfall of heroic figures
caught in violent conflict with their family, their city, or the
Gods.
 Greek comedies portrayed happy endings that dealt with
current events and made amusing observations about the
Greek society.
 The purpose of a fable was to teach a moral lesson. Aesop
was known for writing fables that taught the Greek society
lessons on how they should behave and live their lives.
Section 4: Ancient Greek Learning
Bust of Plato. Image taken from: departments.bucknell.edu.
The Importance of Reason
 The questions the Greek philosophers asked to seek out
wisdom were: What is the nature of the universe? What is a
good life? How do we know what is real? How can we
determine what is true?
 The Greeks believed that they could answer questions using
the power of reason. They also believed that through reason,
they could answer questions more clearly.
Socrates
 The purpose of the Socratic Method was to utilize a form of
questioning that a person uses to guide another person to
think more clearly.
 The leaders of Athens became very upset with Socrates,
because by using the Socratic method, he challenged
accepted beliefs. This was of course unacceptable behavior
for the leaders and they charged Socrates with corrupting the
young. He was sentenced to death for his beliefs.
Plato
Plato contributed the concept of the
nature of reality.
 He also founded a school on
philosophy called, the Academy.
Stoicism
 Stoics were a group, founded by Zeno,
who believed that people should live in
harmony with nature and work on
controlling their emotions.
Greek Historians
 Herodotus is known as the “father of history”, because he
asked why events happened.
 Thucydides visited battle sites and interviewed participants.
This type of research was known to gain more accurate
information, rather than assumed information. Thucydides
wanted to teach people about the past, so they would avoid
repeating historical mistakes.
Political Thinkers
 Plato did not approve of the Athenian
democracy.
 He thought philosopher-kings, who had
wisdom and the right to make decisions, should
run the government.
 Aristotle thought that the best governments
are ones that avoid extremes. He also noted
that in order for a government to work
appropriately, all citizens must participate in it.
Natural Sciences
 Thales encouraged other scientist to use logic to develop
answers, even if they were incorrect answers.
 Aristotle, who was a student of Plato and attended the
Academy, sought knowledge through observation.
 He analyzed data about plants, animals, rocks, governments,
and the arts and then made his decision about how he felt
about them using logic.
Math and Medicine
 Pythagoras contributed the Pythagorean theorem. This
mathematical formula is used in geometry.
 Hippocrates wrote many medical books and ran a school
teaching new doctors how to practice medicine. He taught
his students to question patients and make observations of
the patient so they could learn about the symptoms the
patient is having. He also contributed the Hippocratic oath,
which is when medical students take an oath promising that
they would only use their knowledge in ethical ways. Today
this oath is still used to guide doctors.
Medicine Continued…
 The study in human anatomy resulted in the Greeks finding
that the optic nerves linked the eyes to the brain, the brain
was the center of thought, and the pulse sent blood through
arteries.
Hellenistic Learning
 Alexander required that all of the lands he captured be
transformed to look like a mini Greek city.
 He also encouraged the people living in those lands to
practice Greek culture.
 This led to the creation of Hellenistic learning.